Tim Skoglund Won Western Pabst Blue Ribbon Winged Series Championship at Madera Speedway
- Jan 23, 2014
He won two races in the series of winged sprint cars and super modified cars. The first was in the 10th annual Fred Gerhardt Classic in July. Gerhardt is the grandfather of Cody Gerhardt, who also drives for Western Speed Racing, and the father of Kevin Gerhardt, the owner and manager of the team. Skoglund had one runner-up finish and two third-place finishes in addition to his two wins at Madera Speedway.
"You can't have any DNFs. You can't have any mechanical failures," said Skoglund, driver of the No. 60 K&N Western Speed Racing Ignite Midget. "You gotta be spot on in order to pull through the whole year." He won his second race in August and took over the lead in the standings. Skoglund qualified second in his heat race and started the main event on the outside of the second row. Cody Gerhardt won his heat race and started on the front row of the race. But a crash at the start of the race collected Gerhardt and knocked him out of the race. Skoglund avoided the collision and went on to win the race. But Skoglund's championship season didn't start off so promising. He didn't post his first podium finish until the third race of the six-race season. He didn't notch his first win until the fourth race. "The second race was terrible. I was chasing my tail," Skoglund said. "We go into the third race and I came out to the track and it was the same result. It was just wasn't what I was looking for." Cody Gerhardt finished in sixth place in the Winged Series standings at Madera Speedway, the team's home track. He didn't finish on the podium in any of the six races.
He said he had the most success at Meridian Speedway in Idaho. During a three-day event over Memorial Day weekend, he posted a second-place finish. But he also crashed on the last day of the Diamond Cup at Meridian Speedway. "A lot of it was bad luck," Gerhardt said. "Most of it was a learning curve, running the winged series this year." With a track championship, Western Speedway Racing is planning an ambitious campaign in 2014. The team plans to race at tracks all across the country. It's not only a way to test the team's drivers against the top competition in the country, but a way to spread the word about the team's sponsors, like K&N. "I'm just excited for the opportunity for one," Skoglund said. "To see so many places, it will be fun to figure out how to get the car to handle in a hurry. Making the adjustments as a driver, it's going to be fast, but I'm up for it." Gerhardt said he is looking forward to racing at the tracks in the Midwest. "I feel confident knowing what to expect going back East," Gerhardt said. "I'd like to see the most improvement at my home track." |
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| Related K&N News Articles about Western Speed Racing: Western Speed Racing's Cody Gerhardt Takes 2nd at 2012 Al Pombo Classic; Western Speed Racing Rules USAC Pavement Midgets at Vegas & Sprint Team Invade Irwindale; Cody Gerhardt and Western Speed Racing Makes a Showing in His Rookie Year; USAC Ford Focus Western Speed Racer Earns Podium Spot at Turkey Night Grand Prix |
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