(Photo by TeeJay Crawford)
Inside Line Promotions – WHEATLAND, Mo. (May 8, 2018) – Zane Hendricks endured a tough weekend of racing in Missouri that saw a pair of promising nights in competition with the POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget League both end in crashes for the Tucker-Boat Motorsports driver.
“It was a really rough weekend,” he said. “Both crashes were my fault. I apologize to the others involved and to my team. They’ve given me a great opportunity and work hard to give me a fast car every time I’m on the track. I’ve let them down, but I’ll learn from my mistakes.”
Hendricks’s weekend began on Friday at Valley Speedway in Grain Valley, Mo., where he started last in his eight-car heat race.
“I got up to fifth and then had to go to the back again,” he said. “Then I got back up to third when I went into the corner a little too hard and spun the car right in front of another car. Then a third car came in and hit us and sent all three of us flipping. Unfortunately, the initial damage went from a bent axle and maybe a shock to a complete frame.
“I definitely had a fast car. If I would have finished in third I most likely would have started on the front row of the feature.”
Saturday evening at Lucas Oil Speedway also began with a fast car for Hendricks.
“That was the best car I’ve ever had on a big track like that,” he said. “We were fourth quickest in hot laps behind three of the Kunz cars.”
Hendricks started seventh in his heat race and was running well until a misjudged slider a few laps into the race ended his night.
“We don’t run as many big tracks and they’re a larger learning curve,” he said. “I just completely misjudged how far back I was. I thought I was close enough to complete the slider, but I came up about a foot-and-a-half short and ended up destroying our car and someone else’s. On a smaller track, that move probably wouldn’t have been that big of a deal. But on a big track like that at such a high speed, a little bit of contact can go a long way.
“I felt especially bad for Grady and Eric. We’ve raced with them ever since I started racing a midget. If it had to be anyone involved, I really didn’t want it to be one of the POWRi West guys.”
Other than having a fast car both nights, another positive item about the weekend was its timing.
“At least this happened just before a break in our schedule,” Hendricks said. “We don’t race again until USAC Speed Week, which is after Memorial Day. We need that time to get two more cars together.”
His next race is scheduled for May 29 at Montpelier Motor Speedway in Montpelier, Ind., with the USAC P1 Insurance National Midgets.
