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July 24th: Gastonia, North
Carolina
Carolina Speedway
After two strong runs the week
before at Carolina Speedway, Jordan Anderson was poised for
another strong run at the speedway. Bright sunshine and 90
degree weather greeted the fans and drivers as a strong
field of GM Performance Crate Late Model drivers turned out
for the Friday night race.
As usual starting places in the
qualifying races were drawn by random, giving Anderson a 4th
place starting spot. When the green flagged dropped on the
qualifying race, the green and white Forest Acres machine
took the highline and took over 2nd spot, but then was
caught up in a first lap wreck. Starting from the rear,
Anderson came back and grabbed 4th place, giving him an 8th
place start for the feature race.
After qualifying, the Jordan
Anderson Racing crew worked hard to get the 19 car back
together after the qualifying wreck. Just minutes before
race time, the crew made a few final adjustments, took the
car off the jackstands, and Jordan Anderson rolled up to the
starting grid.
As the full field of Crate Late
Models took to the field, Anderson knew he had a good car.
When the field took off after receiving the green flag, he
was off. Sliding around the high side of the track Anderson
began his move towards the front, one car at a time. After
making his way up to the 4th spot, he had one more chance to
improve his spot when a late race caution bunched the field
back up for a 3 lap shootout to the finish.
"Throughout the entire race, I
had been running up high through both corners of the track
and utilized that to pass cars on the outside. The only bad
thing about it was each car in front of me was running the
same line. I knew I had to try something different If I was
to move forward."
When the cars gassed back up for
the final 3 lap dash, they dove into the first turn, and
this time Anderson took his machine straight to the bottom,
and completed the pass on 3rd, and then set his eyes on 2nd.
With only two laps left at this point, time simply ran out
and Anderson had to settle for a strong 3rd place finish
behind two of the best in the business.
"This week for me was a sign of
improvement - my comfort in the car has increased each week,
and my continued understanding of how these cars work has
really helped to allow me the opportunity to improve my
driving style. After each race, I'm already looking forward
to the next one, thinking of areas where I can improve and
get closer to the front."
Look for Jordan Anderson and his
#19 City of Forest Acres crate late model next Friday at the
Carolina Speedway for the NDRA touring race.
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