The August 25 Hot August Nights race was a testament to how hard the team works, there had been considerable damage done to the car in a pileup accident two weeks prior, where the back half of the car had been destroyed. The two weeks leading up to the race saw the team in the shop every night getting the car back into winning shape. Upon arriving at the track the team continued to chase issues and work out the kinks on the newly repaired car.
After not competing in the first practice session due to an unstable car, the team worked feverishly to get it to a more drivable state. In second and third practice despite the car still being a handful the #99 Snap-On Tools car was second on the speed charts.
"I think everyone was fighting the track in practice it was really green and the setups that were working here at the start of the year werent translating well here today." Said the determined youngster.
When qualifying time rolled around, the team made a big swing at the car with adjustments in the back end. Ending up third in qualifying of 10 cars, the car had gone from loose all day in practice to tight in qualifying which hurt the speeds a little but it was a good sign that they were closing in on the setup.
The first heat race was a dominating win, starting from 6th spot Sarah drove the 99 car straight to the front and took the lead with an outside pass on lap 5. After the ten lap heat race Cornett-Ching crossed the start finish line with a full second lead.
Starting the main event from mid pack, getting out front as soon as possible would be key. The top three cars broke away in a pack and it was a three way battle until pit stops began around lap 20. The 99 team had a strategy to stay out as long as possible before pitting which ended up being around lap 45.
The pitstop was a huge success and on the stopwatch the fastest of the night, after a caution when the field lined back up for green the Snap-On Tools car was sitting in second place. After a hard fought battle on the outside Sarah fell back into line in 3rd place. The top two cars were battling for position keeping the 99 bottled up in 3rd.
When the front cars fell back into single file Sarah began working on moving to the front. When she made it around the 2nd place car taking the spot there were only 7 laps left in the 100 lap feature and not enough time to chase down the leader.
The team couldn't have been more happy with the finish considering how badly the car had been wrecked two weeks prior.
"It really says alot about the determination and heart of my team, especially my dad who really is the driving force behind this team. With more time between now and the next Arca race I wouldn't count us out, we have what it takes to win here."
A Special Thanks to: Snap-On Tools; Bill Smythe, Mike Ernst, Paul Wedlake, Jason Anderson, Melissa Hunt, Holly Parker, everyone else who has helped us out along the way, and most of all my dad Joe Cornett-Ching.
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