PORTLAND, Oregon — Joey Tanner and his Jody’s Nothing But Fun race team return to Yakima Speedway Saturday night looking to bounce back from last weekend’s sub-par finish after a strong start to their evening.
The Engage Energy Drink pit crew gave Tanner a car that was able to win the A-Trophy Dash as Tanner was among top teams in qualifying. A motor issue just three laps into the 75-lap main event forced the Mt. Hood College student to the sidelines and pondering this week’s return to the Central Washington half-mile.
Tanner takes the ups and downs in stride as the dawn of his second season of asphalt late model racing after years of success in the dirt late model ranks.
“It’s been tough that’s for sure,” he said. “The luck so far in my short asphalt racing career has been pretty bad and it’s hard to swallow at times. On the plus side I know we have a great team that never gives up and we’ve won the Fall Classic last year so that is big. Even with all the bad luck our performance has always been at the top so it’s just a matter of time when the luck turns around and we finally get our new Port City chassis into victory lane.”
Gains on the set-up have been made to make the Tidricks Chevrolet Impala more competitive and a contender for victory, Tanner added.
“We’ve gone back to the basics that were on the car at the (NASCAR Toyota
All-Star) Showdown. That was fast right out of the box and it seemed to be good last week. The tire change to the Hoosiers (implemented by Yakima Speedway last weekend) was a big help for our car as it made it hook-up better overall on the track.”
Every race in the 2010 season has thrown a tremendous amount of challenges at the 20-year old Tanner. This week’s run in Yakima will be no different, he noted.
“Our challenge this week is to get back into the championship race for the late model class. Last week with blowing the motor at the third lap caused us to lose a lot of points so a win is the biggest key to getting our team back in the thick of things.
“It’s tough to start the season in Yakima with a DNF but the car was at its best handling wise. Our team and I are ready to go this weekend and get back to making a run at this Yakima Speedway late model championship.”
With school winding down for the quarter Tanner will have some free time on his hands but the racing schedule is heading towards its peak with summer just around the corner.
“My racing schedule is always jammed packed with races from start to finish. All of the racing and school can make it tough to stayed focused on both especially with all the traveling our team does for racing but the break (from school) will be nice,” he explained.
Yakima Speedway hosts its second late model event of the season en route to a payoff for its champion with $30,000 in total purse up for grabs. To learn more log onto www.yakimaspeedway.us
For more information on Joey Tanner Racing head to the driver’s website at www.joeytanner.com
