With her victory in the Hot August Nights Mini Series just two weeks ago at Motoplex Speedway in Vernon, Sarah Cornett-Ching was eager to get back behind the wheel after a week off.
The night started out well for Summerland’s Cornett-Ching as she posted the fastest time in the first practice session, and had the fourth fastest speed in qualifying.
“The team has worked hard all night getting the car dialed in,” said Cornett-Ching. “We struggled a bit in our heat race, but we are confident that we made the right changes for the main event.”
At the drop of the green flag in the 100-lap feature, Cornett-Ching realized that the changes they made were in the right direction. She worked her way to the front, taking over the lead on lap four and stretched it through the mandatory pit stop on lap 25. Cornett-Ching picked up where she left off and she regained her lead and built up a half-track advantage over second place. Confidence soon turned to disappointment. Mechanical problems forced Cornett-Ching to the pits on lap 46. The team quickly diagnosed the problem and she rejoined the field 10 laps down. Although out of contention, the fast car allowed the young racer to work her way through the field. She made her way to the front of the pack before a yellow with 10 to go put her back behind the lead lap cars.
“It is pretty disappointing to know that we had the dominant car tonight and lost because of a mechanical failure,” said Cornett-Ching. “The team did a great job getting me back out there.”
The next race on the schedule for Cornett-Ching is Sept. 10 at Motoplex Speedway. The race will be the final ARCA West Series event of the season.
