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Van Dam Escapes 22nd annual Trophy Cup with Race Car in One Piece

(Photo by Malcolm White Photography)

Inside Line Promotions – TULARE, Calif. (Oct. 20, 2015) – Henry Van Dam wrapped up his season last weekend during the 22nd annual Trophy Cup at Thunderbowl Raceway.

“We go down to Trophy Cup to survive the weekend and then gain whatever we can out of that,” he said. “I think we did a good job of that. The results didn’t show it, but we always base our performance on our speed. Also, our team values our equipment so for us not to tear anything up was a huge bonus.”

The tripleheader began last Thursday with Van Dam qualifying 24th quickest in his group. However, rain washed out the remainder of the night and postponed Thursday’s program to early Friday afternoon.

“We found something and had to switch motors so that got us behind from the start on Friday,” he said. “We didn’t get any hot laps and we just struggled because we were behind the eight ball.”

Van Dam finished fifth in a heat race, which relegated him toward the back of the C Main. He then placed 12th in the consolation race to end the opening round.

Round 2 began later Friday with Van Dam qualifying 20th quickest. He again ended fifth in a heat race on the tricky track, but this time made progress in the C Main.

“I got some stuff working in the C Main and we knew where we wanted to go,” he said. “I got the transfer out of that and made some adjustments.”

Van Dam advanced from fifth to third place in the C Main before he charged from 19th to fifth in the B Main, which missed a transfer into the feature by only one spot.

“We had some help the first couple of laps with some guys crashing,” he said. “I think the whole B Main I stayed on the bottom. There was a slick spot in the middle of the bottom. I was able to get through it and hold the moisture coming off. Once I did that I had such a drive down the straightaways I was able to gain more ground than I gave up entering the corners. I was in the transfer spot for about half the race. I was passing for third and a driver chose to do a defensive move, which really screwed me up. I had to go to the top in order to dodge him and that allowed someone else to pass me with only a lap to go.”

The weekend concluded on Saturday with Van Dam quickly maneuvering from third to win a heat race. That lined him up on the outside of the fifth row for the B Main, which transferred the top four to the main event.

“We were aggressive and I think went from third to first on the first lap of the heat,” he said. “In the B Main I tried the bottom for the first few laps thinking we’d have the same success from the night before, but there wasn’t anything there. I had to jump to the top. I kept working at it, but really couldn’t get to where I needed to be. I took what I could get.”

Van Dam ended with a sixth-place finish to narrowly miss a transfer into the main event.

QUICK RESULTS –

Oct. 16 – Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, Calif. (Round 1) – Qualifying: 24; Heat race: 5 (2); C Main: 12 (14).

Oct. 16 – Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, Calif. (Round 2) – Qualifying: 20; Heat race: 5 (3); C Main: 3 (5); B Main: 5 (19).

Oct. 17 – Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, Calif. – Heat race: 1 (3); B Main: 6 (10).

SEASON STATS –

30 races, 5 wins, 11 top fives, 17 top 10s, 21 top 15s, 24 top 20s

MEDIA LINKS –

Website: http://www.HenryVanDam.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/VanDamRacing

APPAREL –

Van Dam has t-shirts available for sale at his race trailer and at Enumclaw Xpress Lube.

SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Enumclaw Xpress Lube

Located in Enumclaw, Wash., Enumclaw Xpress Lube offers a full range of vehicle oil and fluid services. It can also service air filter and wiper blades.

“Enumclaw Xpress Lube was my very first sponsor and have been with us ever since,” Van Dam said. “They’ve been there for the good years and the bad years and have provided ample support.”

Van Dam would also like to thank Kovash Logging, Johansen Excavating, Highmark Concrete Contractors, Les Schwab Tire of Enumclaw, Clems Enumclaw Powersports, A.R.T. Speed Equipment, Northwest Welding & Fabrication, Van Dam Dairy, Village Green Resort, Factory Kahne, D&L Equipment Repair, Zender Equipment, Big Bob’s Flooring Outlet, Bob and Joan Shumway, Kellan and Kelsey Hall, Foothills Auto Supply, American Powder Coating, Pete Vos, Char’s Barber Shop, Wesmar Race Engines, SpeedMart, Van Dam Farms and Rich Van Dam Dairy for their continued support.

INSIDE LINE PROMOTIONS –

Inside Line Promotions specializes in affordable public relations and media management for motor sports drivers, teams, sponsors, tracks, series, events, organizations and manufacturers. ILP Founder Shawn Miller leverages professional journalism with new media technologies and social networking to improve your exposure and the return on investment for your sponsors.

To meet the media relations needs of your program by joining Team ILP, contact Shawn at 541-510-3663 or Shawn@InsideLinePromotions.com. For more information on Inside Line Promotions, visit http://www.InsideLinePromotions.com.

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