Van Dam rockets to fourth place finish at Skagit

ALK Promotions

Henry Van Dam has made a habit of racing his way into the top five from deep in the field this season, and Saturday night was no exception when he scored another top-five finish in the 360 sprint car feature at Skagit Speedway.

Driving the Van Dam Racing No. 33v Shark-powered Rocket sponsored by Van Dam Dairy, Shareway Industries, Rich Van Dam Dairy, Corliss Resources and GMS Metal Works among many more, Henry struggled in qualifying and ended up settling for an eighth-place finish in the first heat race of the evening, setting him up to start the 25-lap feature in the 17^th position.

The Enumclaw, Wash. driver ended up finding the track conditions for the feature race on the 3/10-mile, high-banked clay oval to his liking. Like he has been able to do before, Van Dam made another big run forward, eventually finishing fourth behind winner Brock Lemley. This backed up his victory a week earlier at Grays Harbor Raceway. It was also Van Dam’s best finish at Skagit since a victory at the Alger, Wash. clay oval in April 2007, a month before the neck injury that ended his season.

Van Dam was originally scheduled to race in Oregon on Friday and Saturday with the ASCS Northwest Region, in which he is currently second in points, only four tallies behind Seth Bergman. However, excessive rainfall all week in western Oregon forced the cancellation of Friday’s event at Willamette Speedway in Lebanon and Saturday’s race at Cottage Grove Speedway near Eugene. Had the ASCS Northwest tour been able to get their races in, Friday would’ve been Van Dam’s first race at Willamette since his season ending crash there in May of last year.

Henry is looking to secure a 410ci motor for this month’s Jim Raper Memorial Dirt Cup at Skagit Speedway. Should Van Dam get a 410ci motor, he’ll return to Skagit Speedway this weekend for the Dirt Cup tune-up race. If he doesn’t, he would expect then to race with his 360ci motor in weekly competition at Grays Harbor Raceway in Elma, Wash.

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Henry Van Dam’s sponsors

Van Dam Dairy

Shark Racing Engines

Corliss Resources

Shareway Industries

Rich Van Dam Dairy

GMS Metal Works

Speedmart

Jack Dilley Logging

D & L Equipment Repair

Enumclaw Suzuki

Chars Barber Shop

Enumclaw Express Lube

Foothills Auto supply

Stanely Patrick Striping

Pete Voss

Bob & Joann Schumway

Enumclaw Auto rebuild

Fire Down Graphics

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Skagit Speedway - Alger, WA: http://www.skagitspeedway.com

Grays Harbor Raceway - Elma, WA: http://www.graysharborraceway.net

ASCS Northwest Region: http://www.ascsnorthwest.com

American Sprint Car Series: http://www.ascsracing.com