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 IRVINE,
CA
(7-24-11) – It was by far a full weekend for Lakeport’s Derek
Thorn, with two events in two different venues in two different
states, just days apart. For Thorn, what started off as the busiest
weekend of his racing career soon became the weekend that is still
being talked about with a pair of third place finishes. After
charging from the rear of the field to finish 3rd in the
SPEARS SRL Southwest Tour event in Utah last Saturday, Thorn capped
his weekend off with another podium finish with a impressive third
place finish in his first ever road course with the NASCAR K&N Pro
Series West in Portland, Oregon.
“Overall I am
really happy with how this whole weekend turned out,” said Thorn.
“It took a lot of extra work and preparation on everyone’s part but
the flights, equipment and the teams were absolutely flawless. I
can’t thank everyone enough for making the special flight
arrangement to race in both events; Misty and Marty Melo, Cheryl
Archer, Joe Farre and my whole family. I could get really use to
riding on those private jets after a weekend like that.”
It all started for
Thorn at the Rocky Mountain Raceway in Salt Lake City Utah with the
SPEARS SRL Southwest Tour Series aboard the Superior Crankshaft/JRC
#26 Toyota Camry for the sixth event of the 2011 season. For Thorn
and his team, complete focus was the motto as they faced limited
practice time due to his travels back and forth between Utah and
Portland to juggle his busy schedule between practice sessions and
qualifying for both venues.
After a strong run
in practice in Utah on Friday, Thorn would travel back to Portland
for practice and not see the Utah track again until just before
qualifying at which time he strapped into his Superior Crankshaft/JRC
rocket and went out and posted the fastest lap of the day with a
14:625 setting his third fast time in a row in the series. With a
seven car inversion for the line up of the Century Boatland 115,
Thorn started on the inside of the fourth row and quickly drove his
way up to second place by the 16th lap of the race to
begin challenging for the lead behind early race leader Brennan
Newberry.
Following a long
stint in pursuit of Newberry, Thorn turned up the heat on the leader
some 15 laps later in an effort to get to the front of the field for
his third win of the season. On lap 46 contact ensued between the
two front runners which sent Newberry into a spin and Thorn to the
rear of the field by means of an infraction presented by SRL
officials following the incident. The set back didn’t slow Thorn
down a bit as he and the Junior Joiner led crew kept their chins up
and fought their way back to the front of the pack.
With 65 laps
complete, Thorn rallied back into the top ten and then reached the
top five once again with 82 laps under his belt. At the 90 lap mark
he muscled his way into third place where he later finished at the
checkered flag. Although the earlier incident may have cost him a
victory, the event resulted in a good point’s day for Thorn and his
power house team.
“The Superior
Crankshaft, JRC, Sigma team was on rails this weekend,” said Thorn.
“We had a really good car and it showed. We were in second by lap 16
and after I made a charge for the lead we ran into problems when the
leader and his spotter were speaking two different languages. It’s
frustrating when your racing against those that aren’t running for
points because they just don’t give you any room, even when you have
a much better car. I can’t thank my team enough for giving me such
good equipment and for being able to get me back up to third after
being sent to the back. It just goes to show you how well these JRC
cars are performing.”
On Sunday, Thorn
took the green flag for his very first road course event at Portland
International Raceway with the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West. Thorn’s
debut on the 12 turn 1.967 track located in the Pacific Northwest
came aboard the well known and competitive Sunrise Ford Racing #9
team fielded by veteran car owner Bob Bruncati. Sunday’s event was
Thorn’s third points start of the year in the NASCAR West Tour which
he has produced all podium finishes even with this being his first
time he has raced on a road course.
In qualifying,
Thorn drove to a top speed of 91.266. The effort earned him a 77.589
second lap which was good enough for an 11th place
starting spot on the starting grid for the Bi-mart Salute to the
Troops 125. Using a great deal of patience and guidance from his
team and spotters, Thorn drove his way to an outstanding performance
in his first experience that required him to go fast and make right
hand turns.
Thorn is currently
one of the regions most talented and aggressive stock car drivers.
On this day he drove a smooth, conservative race and saved all of
his muscle for the final laps of the race. As the checkered flag
neared the shuffle for the top positions became every man for
himself and Thorn was right in the middle of it as he pushed his way
to a podium finish, placing third in his very first road course
event. Thorn’s teammate, Luis Martinez Jr. won the event, for his
first career victory in the K&N Series.
“Road course racing
is a whole different animal entirely,” said Thorn. “Running my first
road course race with the Sunrise Ford/Eibach Springs/Lucas Oil team
was a dream come true. I can’t thank the whole team enough for all
their help and patience. I had quite a few driver errors in the
first 40 laps but Ty Joiner and the crew never gave up on me. The
spotters were a huge help as well. By the end of the race I had
found a lot of speed and we were running up front. We stayed out of
trouble, stayed on course and had an awesome finish. My hats off to
Bob Bruncati, Luis Martinez and the entire Sunrise Ford group for
picking up their first win of 2011.”
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 Cars, PepperJack Kennels,
Eibach Springs, Sigma Engineering, JRI Shocks, Joe Gibbs Driven,
Joe's Racing Products, ARP Bodies, Finishline Signs, and Fastenal.
To learn more about this talented young driver
visit Derek Thorn's personal website at
www.derekthorn.com. Further
information can also be found at the site of one of his title
sponsors,
www.superiorcrankshaftracing.com.
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