(Photo by ABC Photography)
FREMONT, Ohio – Tacking on three more events over the past week, Cale Thomas added his first race of the season with the World of Outlaws at Kokomo Speedway last Wednesday, then took to Ohio’s Attica Raceway Park and Fremont Speedway on Friday and Saturday. Competing against nearly 40 of the country’s best sprint car drivers at Kokomo proved tough, but Thomas earned his second career quick time award on consecutive Saturdays, following up last week’s effort at Atomic Speedway with the fastest qualifying lap at Fremont. Early in the feature on Saturday, front end contact slowed his pace for the rest of the event, condemning him to 15th.
On Wednesday versus the Outlaws, the Fairland, Ind. Native registered a 12.069-second round of Kokomo in qualifying, 29th out of 39 cars signing in. After starting eighth in heat race one of four, Thomas fell to ninth early, but regained his spot in eighth after seven of ten laps were completed. In the B-main, an opening-lap mishap shuffled him back to 12th. After that, he improved his lap times nearly every circuit, but with no cautions to bunch the field back together, he was held to a tenth-place run.
Off on Thursday to regroup, Thomas set out for northwest Ohio for two nights. The racy semi-banked oval in Attica held events for the Fremont/Attica Sprint Title Series, reeling in 29 cars for action in the 410 class. Going 22nd-fastest in qualifying put Thomas starting fifth in his heat race, and getting beat to turn one by his row-three colleague resulted in finishing sixth. Missing the top-four transfer to the feature, he would have to put the Engler Machine and Tool No. 91 into fourth or better in the B-main to move to the main event. Starting seventh, Thomas moved to sixth on lap one, but the 12-lapper saw little passing after that point, and he would miss the feature, taking sixth.
With one more attempt for the weekend, Fremont Speedway started exceptionally well for Thomas. His qualifying lap of 12.690 seconds was the fastest among 31 entrants for the night. With the front three rows of heat races inverted, Thomas would still have to charge forward at least two spots to earn a place in the feature. Contact on the first lap saw other plans play out, however, and Thomas ended up with a flat tire. Forced to pull off after two laps, he would also be forced into the B-main. Taking the victory there still got him to the feature, but starting further back than if transferring straight from the heat.
From 11th, Thomas still had a shot to earn a strong run. Quickly, those hopes were soiled, when a collision folded the nose wing on his J&J/Engler entry at the start of the 30-lap race. Determined to run the best he could given the adversity, Thomas nonetheless slipped backwards with the lessened downforce. After holding steady in 16th for most of the event, the 17-year-old earned the 15th spot in the late going. “We had a rocket of a car,” a disappointed Thomas reflected. “It’s a shame it went to waste.”
Thomas would like to thank Engler Machine and Tool, Factory Kahne, J&J Auto Racing, Kaeding Performance, Donovan Engineering, Spike Products, Simpson Indy, Maxima Oils, Hoosier Racing Tire, Blackbeard, and Shadow Graphics, as well as all of his fans for their continued support.
Thomas is currently seeking additional sponsorship going forward. For more information, please contact Thomas or Redbeard Promotions with any inquiries.
Thomas is next scheduled to compete on June 13 at Route 45 Raceway in Flora, Ill. with the Midwest Open Wheel Association in the No. 91 410ci winged sprint entry.
Quick Results
June 3 – Kokomo, IN – 410ci Winged Sprint – Qualifying: 29th; Heat: 8th (8); B-Main: 10th (9)
June 5 – Attica, OH – 410ci Winged Sprint – Qualifying: 22nd; Heat: 6th (5); B-Main: 6th (7)
June 6 – Fremont, OH – 410ci Winged Sprint – Qualifying: 1st; Heat: 6th (6); B-Main: 1st (1); Feature: 15th (11)
2015 Stats
7 races, 3 features, 0 wins, 1 top five, 1 top ten, 1 DNF
Social Media
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Twitter: http://twitter.com/CaleThomas91
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