“We had a really good night going, but I just went a little too far on the adjustments before the feature event and we were a little too tight,” Willie Croft said. “It is a great event, and I wish we could have finished the night off like we started it.”
A total of 38 cars made the trip to Ocean Speedway to honor San Jose, CA legend, Howard Kaeding, and Croft opened the night up by earning quick time honors in qualifying time trials.
Taking the green flag from the second row of his heat race, Croft flexed his muscle aboard the Holey Smokes BBQ/Rudeen Development/Amerikote backed No. 29 as he worked his way to a second-place finish.
His heat race points coupled with his qualifying points were more than enough to make Croft eligible for the Dash he eventually found himself fourth on the starting grid of the six lap shootout.
Just as he did in the Dash, Croft was on a mission from the second row as he quickly moved into second on the running order. Chasing after Justin Sanders, Croft hung on to second which put him on the front row of the 30-lap Howard Kaeding Classic feature event.
When the green flag was displayed to the field, Croft slipped back to third as Joel Myers Jr overtook the second position as the field exited turn four. Though the Ocean Speedway surface was slick, Croft was on the tighter side and had the wrestle his machine around the bullring in the opening stanzas as he fell to fifth just prior to the halfway point of the ‘A’.
As the track continued to go away over the course of the feature, Croft was able to settle into the Top-10. Though he was still tight, the slicker conditions allowed him to maintain his position in seventh as the laps clicked down.
Able to hang on to his position in the Top-10, Croft brought his HK Classic to a close with a seventh-place finish.
“It is a little disappointing to finish back in seventh after starting up front, but we just missed it,” Croft said. “I have to thank my guys for their help, and everyone who makes this possible for us.”
Willie Croft Racing would like to thank Holey Smokes BBQ, Rudeen, Amerikote, SCI, Brown and Miller, FK Rod Ends, Factory Kahne, Schoenfeld, Team Simpson, Stilo, Smith Precision Products, Kaeding Performance, AL Drivelines, XYZ, Vortex Wings, DoTerra and GUTS for their support.
BY THE NUMBERS: Races-20, Wins-1, Top 5’s-9, Top 10’s-13.
ON TAP: Willie Croft will follow the KWS/NARC series to Stockton, CA on Saturday night.
STAY CONNECTED: Stay connected with Willie Croft Racing by visiting www.williecroftracing.com. You can also follow him on Twitter @WillieCroft29.
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