7/24/2014
Danny Clark
Childhood Dream Come True
I have been very busy since that special Saturday night on June 28, 2014, when I completed a POWRi feature event at Tri-State Speedway finishing 14th. Just buying pit passes and registering to race at a track that it seems like I went to 100 times as a kid was amazing! Pulling out on the track and having really fast hot laps caused the excitement for race time to build even more because I felt like I had a chance to get a good finish. All that came crashing to a halt on lap 1 of my heat race as I dove in low into turn one and got tangled up on the exit with a car on my outside jumping his left front tire. I didn’t have any damage, but just as what happened at the High Banks Hustle, my chain came off the sprocket somehow.
I am usually so patient, but I wanted to live out this dream by winning it all! That’s racing, and things like this happen. I had so many emotions built up from thinking about this day for so long, I didn't handle it very well. I am super competitive and with my emotions running wild, it was very hard to control myself. After some time to let it all out, and getting moral support from my family and friends, and signing my first autograph for a cute little girl, I took a deep breath and started focusing on the feature.
The good thing about starting at the tail of the field is that the pressure is off, and there is only one way to go. The bad news was it was only a 20 lap feature which makes for a short amount of time to get the job done. We did a 4 wide salute and then it was time to let it rip. After lap 1, I already had 3 cars passed and the car felt amazing. There was only one caution, but in 20 laps I passed 9 cars going from 23rd to finish 14th. Finishing my first feature race ever at US24 Speedway in 2013 was an amazing experience causing me to smile for days, but this was something so different I can’t explain. I do know the range of emotions felt on that special day were very similar to what I experienced during my Ironman in 2008.
I had 12 people in my pits, which is amazing on its own, and appreciate every one of you being there to support me and cheer me on! Thanks to all my sponsors, Xtreme Vehicle Designs, Four Star Escort, Calvin Landscape, and Sager Orchards. Hopefully I can put something together for next year with some sponsors to help me get back to Tri-State Speedway again, and get another chance for a win as I saw Bill Shaw do so many times as a kid. Regardless, I was on cloud 9 after my first feature finish at the class track, and will never forget it!
Submitted By: Danny Clark
