Henry Vam Dam at Grays Harbor Raceway. Fletch photoHenry Van Dam makes late charge for 5th at ElmaEnumclaw, Washington sprint car racer Henry Van Dam had a challenging evening at Grays Harbor Raceway, but in the end he made a charge to score a solid fifth place finish in Saturday’s 360 sprint car main event.
Driving the Van Dam Racing No. 33v Shark-powered Maxim sponsored by Van Dam Dairy, Omlid & Swinney Fire Protection & Security, Shareway Industries and GMS Metal Works, Henry now has four straight Top 10 finishes, including two Top 5’s in weekly action at Grays Harbor Raceway.
Van Dam started his evening by qualifying 12th with a time of 12.992 seconds around the big 3/8-mile, high-banked clay oval, which put him in the evening’s third heat race. Van Dam finished fourth in that eight-lap heat to put himself in the 11th starting position for the 25-lap main event.
Henry moved up to ninth on the first lap and passed two more cars on Lap 2 to get up to seventh place. The track was a fast one that went narrow and saw many cars head to the very bottom of the track in the turns. Van Dam tried to go high to pass cars but that move did not work out and he slid back to 12th by Lap 7.
After going back to the bottom of the track and gaining the 11th position on Lap 10, Van Dam jumped past three cars on the next lap to move back up to eight place. Henry ran in that position for a number of laps before starting his late race charge with a pass around Steve Vague on Lap 19 for seventh place. Lap 22 saw Henry move around youngster T.J. Hartman for sixth place. On the final lap, Shawn Rice fell victim as Henry got him for fifth at the finish.
Henry was certainly on the move at the end as his final lap was his fastest of the race, a run of 14.003 seconds around the track, and that was with passing Rice in the process. Only the winner and second place finisher turned in faster laps at any time during the event.
Henry will be racing at Grays Harbor Raceway again on Saturday and Sunday, competing with the ASCS Northwest Region. Fifth and eighth place finishes at the opening events on May 8th and 9th at Southern Oregon Speedway has Henry currently sitting in fifth place in the ASCS Northwest Region point standings and only 14 points out of the lead.
Henry Van Dam, 27, is one of the top sprint car racers in the Pacific Northwest as well as one of the most popular with fans. He has main event victories at Skagit Speedway and Grays Harbor Raceway to his credit. More information on Henry and the Van Dam Racing team including schedules, sponsors, photos and Van Dam Racing apparel can be found online at http://www.vandamracing.com.
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Henry Van Dam’s sponsors
Van Dam Dairy
Omlid & Swinney Fire Protection & Security
Shark Racing Engines
Shareway Industries
GMS Metal Works
Speedmart Inc.
Jack Dilley Logging
D & L Equipment Repair
Enumclaw Suzuki
Char’s Barber Shop
Enumclaw Express Lube
Foothills Auto supply
Pete Vos
Bob & Joan Shumway
Enumclaw Auto Rebuild
Fire Down Graphics
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Van Dam Racing online
http://www.vandamracing.com
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