Cole Wood – Dashing with the WoO!
(Bill W) June 18, 2014 – Cole Wood registered the third quick time of the night with the World of Outlaws at the Knoxville Raceway Saturday night. It was an accomplishment considering his recent struggles in qualifying at Knoxville, and it happened in only his third ever race with the WoO. A strong heat race saw him qualify for the Dash as well. The Cole Wood Racing #17w team has a busy week planned that includes four events.
The Auburn, California driver’s weekend started at the US36 Raceway near Osborn, Missouri. The tight bullring was uncharacteristically dry. Cole would start third in his heat with the ASCS-Warrior region. “The track was dry-slick, one-lane around the bottom,” he says of the surface. “There really wasn’t a lot we could do starting third, so I kind of ran my deal and we finished third.”
Starting tenth in the feature, Cole found some room to move forward. “I was able to work my way up to fourth at one point,” he says. “With about ten laps to go, it started laying rubber around the bottom. I got a little tight and drivers that were a little freer were able to roll through the middle and get around us. We ended up eighth.”
As expected, Knoxville gathered a stellar 48-car field on Saturday for the only visit for the WoO before the Nationals. An early pill draw helped Cole’s fortunes. “We ended up going out second, which was fortunate,” he says of time trials. “The first lap we laid down was pretty good. The second one wasn’t anything to be proud of, but our first time was good enough.”
The team hit the setup well in the heat where Cole started fourth and finished third, earning a spot in the Dash. “The car was working well in the heat,” he says. “In the Dash, the track was slick to kind of a curb on top. I think I just got into three and four a little hot, and got over the cushion. I bent the right rear wheel. At that point, I knew we had a spot in the feature, and I didn’t want to risk tearing the car up.”
The track was uncharacteristically dry at Knoxville, lending to a rare reworking before the main event. Cole would start eighth. “Honestly, we figured the track would go back to how it had been, and I think it did,” he says. “I was just tight in the feature. Before it laid rubber, I was tight on the cushion on the right rear. After the rubber was laid, I was balled up on the right front. I could never carry any speed into the corner. It would get hard on the right front.”
Cole would be scored 24th, but took plenty away from his qualifying effort. “This was my third Outlaw race ever,” he says. “To qualify third out of forty-eight cars…I may have been happy to go home after that. That was a huge highlight for me.”
He will compete in three races in Iowa and one in South Dakota this week. “We’ll be racing with the Sprint Invaders on Thursday and Friday at Donnellson and Bloomfield,” says Cole. “Then we’ll be back at Knoxville on Saturday, and Huset’s on Sunday if it doesn’t rain out again!”
Visit Cole Online
Visit Cole’s website at www.ColeWoodRacing.com!
Visit Cole’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/cole.wood.7?fref=ts&ref=br_tf
Follow Cole on Twitter @Wood17w
Cole’s Weekly Releases
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The Cole Wood Racing team would like to thank: Elk Grove Ford, Speed Mart, Moss Racing Engines, Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center at Elk Grove Ford, Wion’s Body Shop, CSI Shocks, Prime Time Customs, Weld Wheels, Sparco, NorCal Boxer Rescue and ButlerBuilt Professional Seat Systems.
(Danny Howk Photo)
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