Youngquist Backs Up Win with Second Place Finish
Alger, WA - Saturday night's John Carroll Classic at Skagit Speedway saw another strong showing for Justin Youngquist and the 56 team in their second race of the season.
"For us, coming out and doing so well in our first week back really set the tone that none of us really expected. After taking so much time off, it was an unknown where we were going to stack up against the guys that have been racing consistently every week," said Justin.
The John Carroll Classic saw the Cascade Pizza sponsored number 56 qualify 5th, which set him on the outside front row for the 8-lap heat race. Youngquist slipped back to third on the start of the heat race and was unable to gain position on the dry-slick surface. With an invert of 5 for the feature, Youngquist set to line up on the outside front row of the 25-lap A-Main. "They did some track work before we went out for the main, so there were some unknowns going out as to what the track was going to do and what lines there would be," said Justin.
The start of the race looked much like the week prior as the Farmers Equipment Company machine stuck to the top of the track and build a commanding lead through the first three runs of the race until a caution at lap 16 slowed the field. On the restart, an in-car issue hindered Justin from getting the restart he needed to hold Eric Fisher from stealing the top spot. "I had a problem throughout the race with my glasses fogging up, and on that restart, I could hardly see Eric's car once he got by me." The red flag flew after just one circuit was completed and Justin teed up in the 2nd position for the last run of the race.
The last handful of laps saw Fisher build a small lead which Youngquist chipped away at with just a few laps to go, inching nearer to the rear bumper of Fisher's machine, but not close enough to strike and make a threat to the lead. "I think if there were two or three more laps, we would have at least been able to get next to Eric and battle for the win. Our car came alive a few laps into a run, I have nothing to be mad about - I just know we could have won the race."
The Justin Youngquist Racing team plans to return to competition on Thursday, June 21 for night one of the Jim Raper Memorial Dirt Cup at Skagit Speedway. The three day event will run June 21-22-23, 2018.
2018 season sponsors include Cascade Pizza, Farmers Equipment Company, 92.9 KISM, 192 Brewing Company, Sign Pro of Skagit Valley, Stedman Powdercoating, Pyrotect, Ultra Shield, Behrent's Performance Warehouse, Triple X Race Co, Shark Racing Engines, and 5 Point Media.
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