JIM MARDIS FINISHES EIGHTH IN ASA MODIFIED SERIES DEBUT

Source: Sinister Motorsports
Date: 04/30/2007

"It was definitely a good experience. I learned a whole lot," Mardis said after starting 18th and finishing eighth in a 75-lap main event won by Jason Patison, of Corona, Calif. "The competition level is so extreme that if you're just a little bit off, you're going to be in the B main. I learned a lot of what we need to do and how prepared we need to be to race with those guys. There's a lot of talented teams and really talented drivers."

Mardis, 21, of Riverside, Calif., had raced at the 3/8-mile oval just once two years ago, and his familiarization process during Friday night's practice was slowed because the car was "beyond junk, way out in left field." He said on Saturday morning he, crew chief Dave Tressler, Sinister Motorsports teammate Bill Hoagland and friend Bryan Becker made wholesale changes and improved the car considerably. Four new tires made the car "phenomenally better." But in the last practice Mardis brushed the wall and destroyed the right front suspension. The group managed to get repairs made in time for Mardis to qualify, but his time left him 21st in the 28-car field and sent him to the 20-lap B main. A second-place finish in that race earned Mardis a spot in the 22-car main event.

"At the start of the race the car was pretty free," he said. "I was able to work the top the first couple of laps and get by several people, then I got down in line and just kind of rode it out and stayed out of trouble. About the halfway point the car got better, it started coming in, and we got faster. We stayed on the bottom and worked our way through one person at a time and kept our nose clean. With about nine or 10 laps to go I was running eighth. I ran down the pack of cars that were fourth through seventh. I was right there, but I just ran out of laps."

Mardis was cheered on by his parents, who flew out from Michigan for his Modified debut. The race will be televised on a tape-delay basis at 7:30 p.m. June 2 on the Versus network.

The next event in the nine-race touring series is scheduled for May 19 at Havasu 95 Speedway in Lake Havasu City, Ariz.

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