Story By: RYAN DELPH / RAY COOK RACING – BRASSTOWN, NC – Ray Cook Racing lifted the lid on their 2017 racing season on Saturday, January 28 at Boyd’s Speedway in Ringgold, Georgia. The Schaeffer’s Oil Iron-Man Championship Series presided over the annual running of the ‘Cabin Fever 40’ and a $3,500 top prize was on the line for the 36 Super Late Model competitors in attendance.
Ray Cook laid down the fourth quickest time in Group B during the qualifying session, which automatically locked him into the outside of the fourth row for the start of the 40-lap main event. With passing at a premium throughout the daytime affair, Ray hung around the back part of the top ten during the entire distance and eventually wound up ninth in the final finishing order. Full results from the Chattanooga-area facility can be located online at www.boydsspeedway.net.
“We just didn’t get timed in quite good enough to start up in the first few rows of the feature,” commented Cook this week. “They (track workers) did everything they could for the racing surface, but starting that early in the day makes it almost impossible to make it racy come feature time. I got shuffled back a spot or two at the start of the race, but was able to pass a guy there at the end to come home with a ninth place finish. We will just get back to work at the shop now and get ready for the Winter Freeze coming up next at Screven in a few weeks.”
The #53 team will sit idle for the next couple of weekends before unloading their Capital racecar on February 17-18 at Screven Motor Speedway in Sylvania, Georgia. The World of Outlaws Craftsman Late Model Series will once again sanction the ‘Winter Freeze’ spectacular at the Peach State oval. An $8,000 winner’s check will be up for grabs on that Friday night at Screven, while a $10,000 payday will await the victor of Saturday evening’s finale. Additional information on ‘Winter Freeze VII’ can be accessed online by clicking on www.screvenmotorsports.com and www.woolms.com.