(Cameron Hageman Photography)
Lemoore, CA | June 10, 2018 – Competing in the seventh and eighth rounds of the King of California Micro Sprint Series this weekend, Joey Ancona continued his stellar 2018 season as he returned to the two central valley tracks in the “Golden State.” Beginning his weekend on Friday night at Plaza Park Raceway, Ancona was innocently collected in someone else’s mess and forced to limp his injured CS9 Chassis No. 88A from the tail to seventh. Rebounding with a phenomenal night on Saturday, the 13-year old young gun earned a second-place finish and expanded his points lead at the halfway point of the King of California series.
Opening the weekend on Friday night at Visalia’s Plaza Park Raceway, Ancona kicked the weekend off on a good note as he timed in fourth quick during qualifying with an 11.091. He followed that with a fourth-place finish in the heat race and earned the outside pole of the main event. Looking poised to contend for the win, heartbreak struck early in the feature when Ancona was collected in someone else’s accident and a broken Jacob ladder was the result. Determined and dedicated to finish the night out, Ancona continued on and charged an ailing machine back through the field to claim a seventh-place finish.
Although the end result was a bitter pill to swallow, it marked the end to an impressive feat that leaves Ancona with plenty to smile about. Before that seventh-place finish in the seventh round, Ancona had recorded a top five finish in all six King of California events prior.
Looking for a better night on Saturday, the Ancona Racing team took the DRYCO Construction, CS9 Chassis, Factory Kahne No. 88A over to Lemoore for the second night of their doubleheader. The #2 would serve as the number of the night for Ancona, as he timed in second with an 11.221, then finished second-from-second in the heat race, and concluded the night a second-to-second run in the main event. Rolling out the from the outside pole, Ancona quickly fell into the second spot and gave chase for the lead, but ultimately fell just short and claimed runner-up honors to end his weekend on a high note.
At the halfway point of the season, Ancona currently leads all three points championships he is chasing. In the pursuit of the crown for King of California, the young man holds a 61-point lead with eight more races remaining. At the local tracks, Ancona is ahead by 78 points at Lemoore Raceway and eight points at Plaza Park Raceway. Looking to continue his epic start to 2018, the Concord, California native will prepare to close out the season with hopefully a trio of titles.
EVENT RESULTS:
6/8: King of California at Plaza Park Raceway in Visalia, CA – Qualifying: 4th (11.091), Heat Race: 4th (3), A-Main: 7th (2).
6/9: King of California at Lemoore Raceway in Lemoore, CA – Qualifying: 2nd (11.221), Heat Race: 2nd (2), A-Main: 2nd (2).
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