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 IRVINE,
CALIFORNIA (MAY 17, 2011)
– Lakeport's
Derek Thorn was on his way to a potential second season victory
Saturday during the third round of the SPEARS SRL Southwest Tour
Series at the Bullring in Las Vegas. After taking the lead again
early and leading 64 laps of the Stream Pay Per View TV – Blackjack
121, disaster struck aboard the Superior Crankshaft/JRI Shocks
Toyota when an oil line ruptured that resulted in a major fire late
in the race. Thorn was able to walk away from the blaze with out
injury; however the fire caused significant damage to the #26 Camry
and a disappointing 19th place finish.
“The fire was
intense, the flames got big in a hurry. The oil line must of been
leaking for awhile, when it finally erupted it seemed like fire was
everywhere instantly,” said Thorn. “I have never been on fire before
and being as tall as I am, I feel real lucky everything went as
smooth as it did getting out of the car. I have to thank Simpson and
Ringers gloves for making such great safety equipment, I was able to
walk away unscathed and for that I can't thank them enough for
keeping me safe.”
Entering
Saturday's event, Thorn carried a great deal of momentum into the
.0375 bullring which is one of the most popular stops on the SPEARS
SRL Southwest Tour. After scoring a third place finish in the series
opener at Vegas back in March, Thorn garnered his first victory of
the season at All American Speedway in Roseville last month. The win
awarded him the series point lead as he returned to Vegas for the
third segment of the 10-race campaign.
From the moment
he entered the track in Vegas, Thorn and his Junior Joiner led crew
were ready for action. In the first practice of the day they were
the fastest car in competition with a top lap of 14:871 which
registered at 90.781 miles per hour. In the second practice of the
day they turned the eighth quickest lap in the field with a 14:905
lap at 90.574 miles per hour and were feeling confident with the
overall balance of the car.
“The car was
awesome to start off the race, this car we have been running has
been great and it was proving the same again,” added Thorn. “We had
the lead and the car started to free up a lot, I'm going to say it
had a lot to do with the oil leak. I held off the 16 for as long as
I could, but once he got by I was just trying to hang on to salvage
a good point’s night. The last thing I expected was the car to erupt
in fire like that.”
In qualifying,
Thorn drove to a top speed of 92:025 miles per hour to post a 14:670
second lap. The effort was strong enough for fifth place overall,
giving him a fourth place starting position after the invert for the
Stream Pay Per View TV – Blackjack 121.
At the drop of
the green flag, Thorn wasted no time whatsoever in powering his way
to the front of the field showing his talent by using the high
outside groove. With just three laps down he overtook Jacob Gomes
for the third position and one lap later moved into the bridesmaid
position after overtaking Bear Rzesnowiecky and set his sites on the
lead that was held in the early laps by Jeff Oleen.
After taking the
lead from Oleen on the 16th lap, Thorn began to dominate the event
out in front until the 80th lap when he fell back several positions
in a heated battle for the lead. It wasn't until lap 103 that the
oil line ruptured and the #26 Camry became engulfed in flames. Thorn
was somehow able to get his car stopped on the apron of the front
stretch and climbed quickly from his badly burned machine without
injury.
“To see that
much fire in the cockpit area and our driver still inside was
difficult to watch said Marty Melo SP Marketing Director. “Derek did
a great job activating the fire suppression system and getting out
of the vehicle. I want take this opportunity to thank Sheri Luft of
Simpson that helped design Derek’s race suit and everyone at Simpson
for providing such top quality suits.”
Following
Saturday's damaging accident, crew chief Junior Joiner and the
Superior Crankshaft Team will be hard at work to rebound in the
series point standings. The next SPEARS SRL event will take place on
June 4 at Stockton 99 Speedway. Thorn currently sits 5th in the
series point standings entering round four of the series.
Derek Thorn is
proud to carry the sponsorship of Superior Crankshaft and a number
of marketing partners in the 2011 SRL Spears Southwest Tour. Among
the many contributors are Joiner Race Car Chassis, PepperJack
Kennels, Sigma Engineering, JRI Shocks, Joe Gibbs Driven, Eibach
Springs, Joe's Racing Products, ARP Bodies, Finishline Signs,
Fastenal, and Encore Metals.
“I can’t thank
Superior Crankshaft and Cheryl Archer enough for providing me such a
great Simpson Suit and such great support this season,” added Thorn.
“I was really hoping to get my second win of the season in the
books; we will show up to Stockton on a mission. Special thanks to
Joiner Motorsports, JRC, JRI, Joe Farre at Sigma Engineering, Misty
Melo of PepperJack Kennels and Eibach Springs for their continued
support.
In addition to sponsoring Derek Thorn,
Superior Crankshaft is proud to be the official Crankshaft of the
SPEARS SRL Southwest Tour Series and the sponsor of the Winner's
Bonus program for each event. To learn more about Superior
Crankshaft Racing and primary driver Derek Thorn, visit them online
at
www.superiorcrankshaftracing.com. Derek
Thorn's personal website can be found at
www.derekthorn.com. Further information on
Superior Crankshaft and the series can be found at
www.superiorcrankshaft.com and
www.srlsouthwesttour.com
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