[JessicaJ]

Tough Finishes Follow Strong Starts in IL for Justin Peck
By Jessica Jenkins

Returning to Illinois for the first time in nearly a month and a half, Justin Peck was looking forward to repeating the success he experienced in his previous MOWA 410 Sprint starts at the Jacksonville and Macon Speedways. He picked up right where he'd left off in July with strong qualifying runs this weekend in Jacksonville Friday and Saturday at Spoon River Speedway.

With the Sun heading towards the horizon on the warm early September evening, Peck laid down the second quickest time in single car qualifying, a mere 1/100th behind the fastest qualifier. In the ten lap heat he was slated to start from the sixth position in heat two. Once the green flag waved, it took very little time for Peck to sweep away the two drivers just ahead of him by running the highest possible line. He quickly moved into third and set off for the leaders as the battle for the lead intensified. Taking the runner-up spot with two laps remaining, he put himself on the tail tank of the leader when the race restarted following a quick yellow. He went straight back to the high side and crossed under the checkered flag in the second position. That finish sent the Monrovia, IN racer to inside row 3 for the Feature where he once more started off strong, jumping into the fourth position. A short time later he looped the car around in turn two and rejoined in 17th at the restart. He fought back the best he could in traffic and staged a fight with the driver just ahead of him in the closing laps as the leader began to catch the tail of the field on the 1/4 mile speedway. The new college student was awarded a fifteenth place finish when the dust settled. Afterwards he explained what happened, recounting, "I just thought it took rubber. I went in there to try to get under Tripplett and I could smell the rubber forming, so I went in through the middle and it just didn't stick, it wasn't there yet, and I just spun out."

Keeping his head up and staying focused on finishing the weekend on a high note, Peck and his family owned team unloaded the #5x at Spoon River Speedway. Not yet having a 410 sprint car start at the 3/8th mile track, he went out in qualifying and placed third fastest, barely three-tenths behind fast time. The 18 year old took that speed into the third ten-lap heat race and needed only a top five to advance to the Feature. He instantly used the high line on the super-banked track to move up to fourth. With the high side working so well to his advantage, he continued to push higher and higher up the track. He then used the high side to his advantage on the fourth lap and took second spot away. No sooner had Peck conquered that position than he drove off into the un-walled turn four and spun halfway around, backing into the wall at corner exit and bouncing off to continue running. The white and black winged sprint car looked to be fine, but was commanded to stop on track with fuel running out the back of the car before being taken off track. Back in the pits it was discovered that the fuel tank had been punctured when he bounced off the wall and, without a spare tank, the Justin Peck Racing team's night was done before the Semi even pushed off.

He later lamented, "I think I was just driving in over my head. I got to second pretty quick and was working on Danny Smith when I just kind of got into 3 a little too hot and was back-pedaling it and blew past the cushion. I was in a transfer spot and just lost my cool thinking I needed to win a heat race when really first and second would have put me in the same position in the Feature. It makes me a smarter driver and I'll be that much better and a lot more mentally prepared for the next race. I just feel so bad for these guys just because this whole weekend we were working on good finishes and putting some money back in the bank, but instead we tore some stuff up, chewed some tires up and now we're spending some money and going home."

As Peck's debut sprint car season draws nearer to its close, he still has a few opportunities to finish off strong and turn that natural, extreme speed into wins. Stay tuned to his Facebook fan page @JustinPeckRacing for when he will race again, follow him on Twitter @Justin_Peck5 and check JustinPeckRacing.com for more results.

[i love dirt track racing]

Jessica thanks for the updates. I have been following the racing teams. Good luck to you and your racing team . Have fun and enjoy. Thanks for all the great things that you do for all of our racing families. Thanks. Go justin peck racing.