Gage Walker Lincoln Postrace

JessicaJ · 8/27/15, 1:08 PM

Tough Race in Lincoln Leaves Gage Walker Wanting More
By Jessica Jenkins

Rolling into Central Illinois on what looked to be a perfect weekend for racing, Gage Walker was ready to get back on track after a week off from POWRi racing. Ideally the racing at Lincoln Speedway on Friday night would yield the same results as a few weeks earlier in his first POWRi victory at Tri-State Speedway before taking off for Macon Speedway on Saturday.

Starting second in heat 3, it looked like the night might turn into a decent one for him, but a rough track instantly made things a lot tougher. Speaking about the track’s condition, Walker stated, “The track was just kind of polished off in the middle. So there was no middle at all and the cushion was really rough.” Just after the start of the heat, he caught one of the ruts but managed to hang onto it, unlike one of his competitors behind him who flipped and brought out a red flag. That prompted a complete restart, lining him back up on the outside of row one. This time they all got running and the 17-year-old hung onto second place as positions swapped around him. As the heat drew to a close, a couple cars managed to figure out the line that worked best for them and knocked him back to fourth. He fought hard and moved back into the top two but fell back and did not have time to rally back before the checkered flag.

Finishing fourth in the heat race lined him up inside row seven for the feature and he instantly moved inside the top ten, wheeling his #7x around the bottom line. After the momentum shifted to the high side and a couple cars drove by, Walker tried his hand at running that groove. He described what happened next: “As soon as I got the chance, I went to the top and instantly, in that corner, I got passed by 4 people because I caught a rut again.” Since that did not work, he dropped back to the low side and raced his way back up to 12th. After a caution he moved to the high side then back to the bottom, but neither groove was particularly working. Summing up his night, the Indianapolis driver remarked, “I just couldn’t get going and I passed a couple cars, got passed by a couple and then ended up 14th.”

Looking forward to ending the weekend on a high note, Walker returned to Macon Speedway where he had finished sixth his previous time at the track. The forecast all week had promised a perfect day for racing, but unfortunately the weather did not cooperate. After surviving a few little showers, the night was called off after the driver’s meeting when a huge thundershower dumped enough rain on the area to turn the dirt track into a mud pit. POWRi is currently working to reschedule the race. When the new date is released, it will be posted on GageWalkerRacing.com, so keep an eye on the website. Also, check out the new fan page for this up-and-coming star at Facebook.com/GageWalkerRacing.

8/27/15, 1:08 PM	#1 Gage Walker Lincoln Postrace
JessicaJ Member Race Count This Year: 12+ Race Count Last Year: 7 Join Date: Jan 2015 Posts: 145	Tough Race in Lincoln Leaves Gage Walker Wanting More By Jessica Jenkins Rolling into Central Illinois on what looked to be a perfect weekend for racing, Gage Walker was ready to get back on track after a week off from POWRi racing. Ideally the racing at Lincoln Speedway on Friday night would yield the same results as a few weeks earlier in his first POWRi victory at Tri-State Speedway before taking off for Macon Speedway on Saturday. Starting second in heat 3, it looked like the night might turn into a decent one for him, but a rough track instantly made things a lot tougher. Speaking about the track’s condition, Walker stated, “The track was just kind of polished off in the middle. So there was no middle at all and the cushion was really rough.” Just after the start of the heat, he caught one of the ruts but managed to hang onto it, unlike one of his competitors behind him who flipped and brought out a red flag. That prompted a complete restart, lining him back up on the outside of row one. This time they all got running and the 17-year-old hung onto second place as positions swapped around him. As the heat drew to a close, a couple cars managed to figure out the line that worked best for them and knocked him back to fourth. He fought hard and moved back into the top two but fell back and did not have time to rally back before the checkered flag. Finishing fourth in the heat race lined him up inside row seven for the feature and he instantly moved inside the top ten, wheeling his #7x around the bottom line. After the momentum shifted to the high side and a couple cars drove by, Walker tried his hand at running that groove. He described what happened next: “As soon as I got the chance, I went to the top and instantly, in that corner, I got passed by 4 people because I caught a rut again.” Since that did not work, he dropped back to the low side and raced his way back up to 12th. After a caution he moved to the high side then back to the bottom, but neither groove was particularly working. Summing up his night, the Indianapolis driver remarked, “I just couldn’t get going and I passed a couple cars, got passed by a couple and then ended up 14th.” Looking forward to ending the weekend on a high note, Walker returned to Macon Speedway where he had finished sixth his previous time at the track. The forecast all week had promised a perfect day for racing, but unfortunately the weather did not cooperate. After surviving a few little showers, the night was called off after the driver’s meeting when a huge thundershower dumped enough rain on the area to turn the dirt track into a mud pit. POWRi is currently working to reschedule the race. When the new date is released, it will be posted on GageWalkerRacing.com, so keep an eye on the website. Also, check out the new fan page for this up-and-coming star at Facebook.com/GageWalkerRacing.