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Sarah Cornett-Ching Learns as Fast as She Drives; Adapts Well at First Visit to Agassiz Speedway By Craig Revelle - Finish Line Web Design - August 11, 2011
At
the beginning of the day, there were two 30-minute practice sessions and
Sarah spent the first session feeling the car out, and getting
comfortable with the track. Sarah
spent most of the final session observing the faster cars and watching
what lines they are utilizing on the track.
“I
felt that I could learn more in that second session by watching the
other cars on the track, and seeing what they are doing”, commented
Cornett-Ching as she began to prepare for qualifying.
“Hopefully we can get a great finish here today”. Before
qualifying, Sarah walked the track looking for her marks to hit so she
can run a similar line as the fast cars that she witnessed in practice.
She then buckled into her car and spent several minutes
visualizing what she needed to do on her qualifying run.
By skipping the final practice session, Sarah was the first car
out onto the track, and quickly she proved that she is a fast learner.
Her speed was a half second faster then her practice run, and
only two-tenths of a second off the Agassiz Speedway track record.
At the end of qualifying, Cornett-Ching was satisfied with her
run, posting the seventh fastest speed. “We
are real happy with that, considering it is our first time here, and we
have only had a few minutes of practice”, says Cornett-Ching.
“In the feature, we are going to start from the rear of the
field, and hopefully we can have a good, solid finish”. Starting
at the back of the pack in the main event, Sarah Cornett-Ching was
looking to gain some valuable experience, and keep the car clean
throughout the event. On
such a small track like Agassiz though, slower traffic ahead can really
slow up a fast car, and early in the event Cornett-Ching was passed by
the race leaders. On lap
25, she lost the clutch, and also survived a late race incident that
knocked the toe out. Sarah
was able to keep the pace with the leaders throughout the event, and
finished a very solid seventh place in her maiden run at Agassiz. “All
in all it was a great run for us considering some of the issues that we
had during the race”, says Cornett-Ching.
“We lost the clutch early and it made it extremely difficult to
keep the car running under caution.
We were able to battle through it all and brought the car home in
one piece with a solid finish”. Cornett-Ching
will battle adversity again this weekend as she is currently recovering
from a neck injury that she obtained at work.
Cornett-Ching will push on though, and feels she has a great shot
at the win this weekend at Motoplex Speedway in Vernon, BC racing in the
West Coast Sportsman Series race on Saturday in the Hot Summer Nights
Race #2. Since 2005, Sarah
Cornett-Ching has racked up a pile of awards, including Most Aspiring
driver as well as Champion in her division that year.
Two years later, after moving up a class, she claimed the
championship again. In 2008
she claimed her first ever top five finish in the NASCAR Whelen All
American Series, and the following year she finished third overall in
the series points standings. In
addition to here third place in points, she also claimed awards for Most
Improved driver, Most Dedicated to the Sport and West Coast Sportsman
Rookie of the Year Award. Last season she claimed fifth place in points in both the
Okanagen Street Stock Series and the West Coast Sportsman Series.
She was also named Most Improved Driver and Most Dedicated Driver
of the West Coast Sportsman Series.
She plans to run the full ARCA West Regional traveling Series
this season. For more information on Sarah Cornett-Ching and to follow her racing accomplishments, please visit her newly revamped website, www.sccracing.com or visit her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/sccracing.
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This
past weekend, Sarah Cornett-Ching and her team made the three-hour trek
from her Summerland home to Agassiz Speedway, located in Agassiz,
British Columbia.
