5/27/2015
Cornell Heads West for California, Notches Top-Ten
(Photo by Jonathan Cornell)
CHICO, Calif. – For the first time this season, Jonathan Cornell and crew chief Chad Cypert voyaged from Sedalia, Mo. to the west coast to turn laps with the Civil War Series in California. Pairing up with the Main Motorsports team to drive the H.A.M. Construction No. 35M sprint car, the group plans to race several times in the coming weeks, with racing over the past weekend at Marysville Raceway Park and Silver Dollar Speedway, where they collected a top ten on Saturday at Marysville.
The “Mel Hall Memorial” in Marysville, Calif. hosted a whopping 43 sprints, with Cornell qualifying 19th-quick with a 13.767-second lap on the quarter-mile oval. In heat race action, he would drop back two spots to eighth at the drop of the green after starting sixth; he finished eighth, sending him to the B-Main to attempt to qualify for the feature race. Starting fourth, all Cornell needed to do to transfer was finish in the top six. Attempting for the third spot proved unsuccessful, but finishing fourth was sufficient.
For the 30-lap feature, Cornell faced a starting spot deep in the field, but looked to capitalize. Going 19th, an early caution helped the seasoned driver to 16th by lap three, and on lap eight, he moved into the 13th spot. It was not until lap 23 that he could get into the tenth position. Unable to move forward from there, Cornell took the checkered in tenth in his first race in the No. 35M in 2015.
With many teams traveling from Marysville to a special Sunday fair race at Silver Dollar in Chico, 42 drivers signed in for 360 sprint action. It took 13.176 seconds for Cornell to circle the storied quarter-mile in qualifying, placing him 25th on the speed chart. Again starting sixth for his heat race, he would run in that position for the entirety of the ten-lap race. Still missing out on a direct transfer, an appearance in the B-Main would be tougher this time around . Starting in ninth, Cornell roared by three competitors to take the final transfer spot to the feature.
From the 20th spot in the main event, Cornell was involved in a lap-two incident. Restarting from the tail, he would soon find himself in trouble again, and an incident on lap six again involved the Main Motorsports entry. With two cautions to his credit, Cornell’s event was over, with an official scoring of 19th place.
Jonathan Cornell Racing would like to thank Main Motorsports, Kiowa Line Builders, Starline Brass, Gas Monkey Tequila, VKCC Motorsports, Yeager's Cycle, Champion Brands, LLC Hi-Tech Lubricants, Ostrich Racing Engines, Peak Performance, Kinsler Fuel Injection, Weld Racing, Hoosier Racing Tire, Maxim Chassis, Rod End Supply, Lucas Oil, KSE Racing Products, ButlerBuilt, Factory Kahne Midwest, Duinkerken Farms, Steve Watt Enterprises, R2C Performance Products, Simpson Race Products, Don's Truck Towing & Truck Wash, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions LLC, Outlaw Wings, Sparks Electric Co., SureCoat, Xtreme Fuel Stick, and Steve and Charlie Smith, as well as all of his fans for their continued support.
Cornell is next scheduled to compete on May 29 at Keller Auto Speedway (formerly Kings Speedway) in Hanford, Calif. for a weekly race and on May 30 at Placerville Speedway in Placerville, Calif. with the Civil War Sprints, both in the Main Motorsports No. 35M 360ci winged sprint entry.
Quick Results
May 23 – Marysville, CA – 360ci Winged Sprint – Qualifying: 19th; Heat: 8th (6); B-Main: 4th (4); Feature: 10th (19)
May 24 – Chico, CA– 360ci Winged Sprint – Qualifying: 25th; Heat: 6th (6); B-Main: 6th (9); Feature: 19th (20)
2015 Stats
4 races, 4 features, 2 wins, 2 top fives, 3 top tens, 0 DNFs
Social Media
Twitter: http://twitter.com/teamtwentyeight
Article Credit: Redbeard Promotions