4/26/2018
Matt Covington
Covington Comes Home 2nd and 7th this Past Weekend.
CG Motorsports-GLENPOOL, Ok. (April 25th, 2018) Matt Covington came home with a runner-up and 7th place effort this past weekend with the ASCS Red River Region at Creek County, followed by the Knoxville Raceway season opener.
Friday night at Creek County, Covington was able to finish 2nd in the heat and draw the outside pole for the feature. With the drop of the green, Matt fell in behind Sean McClelland for the first couple laps working the top. But soon Matt was able to build up the momentum to drive around Sean to lead the field. While Matt worked through lap traffic on the top, Wayne Johnson began to close the gap on the bottom. Wayne was eventually able to slip by, diving underneath going into three, on lap 17 where he remained for the rest of the race. A late caution reset the field, allowing Wayne to pull away from him. Matt ultimately had to settle for 2nd place.
“We were good on Friday, just didn’t have the luck we needed going through the lap traffic, stated Matt. " We honestly also missed some drive and set-up for the dry-slick conditions that showed up late in the race running the top. I had been playing around a bit with the set up, especially with the right rear shock and I second guessed myself. But at least we learned what direction we need to go next time and got some notes for that. But I’m happy with our results, I don’t always do well at this track.”
After the race, Covington and crew loaded up to make the overnight trek to Knoxville for Saturday’s opening night action.
Matt ended up with a 14th place qualifying effort, starting him outside on the front row for the heat. Covington was able to finish 2nd in the heat, earning the 13th starting position in the 18-lap feature. With the A-main underway, Matt worked on the high side, picking them off one by one to work into the top-10 early. He continued his charge and had cracked the top-5 when the final caution came out with only a handful of laps to go. When the restart waved, Matt fought right rear tire issues before salvaging a 7th place finish.
“We were a lot better than where we finished at Knoxville on Saturday,” commented Covington. “We were headed for the podium if the bleeder hadn’t shut off after that last caution. I was just fighting it and holding on there at the end with no side bite or drive. But I’m still happy with how fast we were in the feature. We haven’t performed very well there the last couple of years and I’m glad there was improvement. That place is a different animal than anywhere else we go and I think we was able to finally pinpoint a couple things late in the night on the setup that will help us when we go back. We turned the 3rd fastest lap of the field behind Ball and Garner in the feature even though I was in traffic and unclean air most of the race. So, I am very optimistic for our next trip there.”
This weekend Matt Covington will travel to a new track in Kentucky with the ASCS National Tour to get back into the points hunt and will be in Pennsylvania next weekend.
Matt and his CG Motorsports team would like to thank all partners who have helped make this 2018 season possible. We look forward to the continued relationship throughout the year, along with future seasons to come: T&L Foundry, Triple X Chassis, A-Rock Materials, Winters, C.G. Martin Company, Factor 1 Racing, All-Star Performance, Outlaw Wings, DMI Components, Smiley’s Racing Products, Hoosier Tire, Keizer Wheels, Wilwood Brakes, ButlerBuilt, Best Graphics, Simpson Race Products, Wesmar Racing Engines, Huggins Cams, Bob Hurley RV, Eaton Industrial, Maxwell Oil, Schoenfeld Headers, CSI Shocks, KSE Steering, STW Trailer sales, and Brodix Cylinder Heads
2018 STATS: Starts-11, Wins-0, Top 5’s-4, Top 10’s-5
ON TAP:
4/26/2018 Paducah International Raceway - Paducah, KY
5/4/2018 Williams Grove Speedway - Mechanicsburg, PA
LIVE RACE COVERAGE: Visit http://www.RacinBoys.com for free, live audio (Select Pay-Per-View video) during the season to catch all the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour events.
MERCHANDISE: Leftover 2017 shirts available now on the website at www.mattcovingtonracing.com or at the races in the trailer. 2018 apparel coming soon!
STAY CONNECTED: For all the latest news of Matt Covington during the 2018 season, visit his website, www.mattcovingtonracing.com, like him on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/mattcovingtonracing, or follow him on twitter, @mattcovington95.
Submitted By: Eric Covington