Funk, Jacobson make their marks with M&S Motorsports

H2H Photo

Evan Funk & Travis Jacobson make their marks with M&S Motorsports

For the past month and change, Travis Jacobson has been making strong runs for Mike & Shaylen Motorsports. In the last couple of weeks, Evan Funk has also gotten involved with the team’s 360 sprint car program, driving to a pair of Top 5 finishes at Skagit Speedway.

On August 15^th, Jacobson in the 410 sprint and Funk in the 360 sprint both earned Top 5 finishes. For Funk, it was his first time back in a sprint car after a long layoff. Driving the No. 18 Shark-powered Rocket sponsored by R/C Hobbies, Shark Racing Engines, Speedmart Inc., SignMart USA and Anderson Power Washing, Evan ran a very good fifth place in the 360 sprint car main event at Skagit Speedway that night.

In Jacobson’s 410, an Eagle chassis, he won his heat race after leading every lap. On a track that was seeing record times that night, Jacobson managed to finish a very good third place in the main event when it was generally difficult to pass because of the speeds.

Both guys were back at it at Skagit on August 22^nd. Funk was one of only two 360 cars in the 11’s in practice. In qualifying, Evan was third quickest with a lap of 11.896 seconds around the 3/10-mile, high-banked clay oval. Evan finished third in the evening’s first heat race to secure his spot near the front of the field in the feature.

At the start of the 25-lap main event, Funk established himself in the fifth position and raced with Mike Melwicks and Logan Forler early on. On Lap 12 Funk moved up into the third position after Brock Lemley crashed out. With Alan Munn leading and Melwicks in second ahead of him, Funk kept at it. It was on Lap 20 where Evan ran his fastest lap of the event, a 11.962 second trip around the track.

Melwicks, the only driver who put up a quicker lap than Funk (but only by 0.006 seconds), got around Munn for the lead on Lap 23. Funk, still motoring strong, caught Munn on the 25^th and final lap and made the pass for second place. Funk was again one of just two drivers who turned in laps in the 11’s during the main event.

Jacobson’s night in the 410 sprint did not end so well as an accident ruined a solid Top 10 run and his bid at another Top 5 finish, but things went fairly well before that in the 25-lap feature for the big motors. After finishing fifth in his heat race, Jacobson started a bit further back in the field, finding himself in the 11^th spot in the early going.

With the Skagit Speedway surface again being very grippy and producing very fast times, skill was needed to make passes. Jacobson worked his way up to the seventh position by Lap 10. On Lap 15 Jacobson would race with Rick Fauver and make the move around him to take the sixth position. Over the next several laps, Jacobson would work on former World of Outlaws star Jason Solwold for the fifth spot. It was on Lap 20 when Jacobson clocked a lap of 11.897 seconds around the track, just a couple of laps before the accident happened and ended Jacobson’s otherwise very good run.

Even with his own bad luck happening to him on Saturday, Travis is still having a good time driving for M&S Motorsports and said he’s enjoying working with the crew. He also wanted to give a shout out to Evan for his performances in the team’s 360 sprint car.

Next for Evan and the M&S Motorsports team’s 360 sprint car is this Saturday’s weekly show at Skagit Speedway. With finishes of 5^th and 2^nd in his two starts back, Evan looks like he hasn’t missed a beat. Jacobson is hoping to run the M&S Motorsports 410 car in the upcoming World of Outlaws event at Skagit Speedway, which will be held on Friday and Saturday, September 4^th and 5^th. This is during the Northwest swing of the season for the drivers who are considered to be among the finest group of sprint car racers in the world.

Evan, Travis, car owner Mike Anderson and the rest the of the M&S Motorsports team would like to thank all of their sponsors for their support this season.

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Mike & Shaylen Motorsports sponsors for 2009

Performance R/C Hobbies
Shark Engines
Speedmart Inc.
SignMart USA
Burlington Collision
H2H Photo
Anderson Power Washing
Race Outfitters
Heavy D