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Van Dam Captures First Victory of Season, Pushes Winning Streak to 11 Years at Grays Harbor

(Photo by Fletcher Motorsports)

Inside Line Promotions – COTTAGE GROVE, Ore. (May 25, 2015) – Henry Van Dam garnered his first victory of the season last Saturday at Grays Harbor Raceway, where he has reached Victory Lane during each of the past 11 years.

“That’s always a goal to win there at least once a year,” he said. “Night in and night out you put just as much pressure on yourself to win, but for the sponsors and the people who support you it’s that first big moment of the season. It’s definitely easier to get something rolling. I try not to get too caught up in that and make each night its own night though.”

Van Dam opened the event by setting quick time during qualifying on the 3/8-mile oval in Elma, Wash. He then finished fourth in a heat race and lined up on the pole position for the 25-lap feature following a zero inversion.

“The bottom lane was really dry so I tried a slide job (on the driver starting outside the front row) in turns one and two,” he said. “He turned back under me and I rode around in second for a while. We had a restart on Lap 6 or 7 and I was able to get underneath him. I slid him going into turns three and four. I was leading at the start/finish line and he slid me entering turns one and two. We slid each other for a couple of laps before I pulled away.”

Van Dam led the final two thirds of the race to capture the win.

The team headed south to Cottage Grove Speedway for Sunday’s Western Sprint Tour event at the high-banked, quarter-mile oval, where Van Dam kicked off the race by timing in quickest during qualifying.

“Knowing you can put that good of a lap down with the quality of cars that were there was a big boost,” he said. “We had to make good decisions the rest of the night.”

Van Dam advanced from sixth to fourth place in a heat race and he finished second in the dash to line up on the outside of the front row for the 30-lap feature.

“I took the lead on the start and then we caught lapped traffic around Lap 9,” he said. “I dove to the bottom to see if it would work and the bottom just wasn’t there. Roger (Crockett) went right around me in turns three and four.”

Van Dam lost second place a couple of laps later and he spent the second half of the race in third place, which is where he finished.

“I knew it was going to be tough because they reworked the track before the main event,” he said. “I figured we’d have a good car early or a good car late. It turned out we had a good car early and it kept going away.”

Van Dam will return to Cottage Grove Speedway for the 2nd annual Marvin Smith Memorial this Friday and Saturday. He claimed the inaugural event last year.

“I was excited for last year and it turned out to be a huge event,” he said. “Just to be a part of it is huge let alone to bring a trophy home from it. It’s a pretty cool trophy. It’s been in my living room all year. I like our chances this weekend. We just have to keep working hard.”

QUICK RESULTS –

May 23 – Grays Harbor Raceway in Elma, Wash. – Qualifying: 1; Heat race: 4 (4); Feature: 1 (1).

May 24 – Cottage Grove Speedway in Cottage Grove, Ore. – Qualifying: 1; Heat race: 4 (6); Dash: 2 (1); Feature: 3 (2).

SEASON STATS –

13 races, 1 win, 4 top fives, 8 top 10s, 9 top 15s, 11 top 20s

UP NEXT –

Friday and Saturday at Cottage Grove Speedway in Cottage Grove, Ore., for the Marvin Smith Memorial

MEDIA LINKS –

Website: http://www.HenryVanDam.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/VanDamRacing

APPAREL –

Van Dam has t-shirts available for sale at his race trailer and at Enumclaw Xpress Lube.

SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Enumclaw Xpress Lube

Located in Enumclaw, Wash., Enumclaw Xpress Lube offers a full range of vehicle oil and fluid services. It can also service air filter and wiper blades.

“Enumclaw Xpress Lube was my very first sponsor and have been with us ever since,” Van Dam said. “They’ve been there for the good years and the bad years and have provided ample support.”

Van Dam would also like to thank Kovash Logging, Johansen Excavating, Les Schwab Tire of Enumclaw, Factory Kahne, Clems Enumclaw Powersports, A.R.T. Speed Equipment, Van Dam Dairy, Village Green Resort, D&L Equipment Repair, Zender Equipment, Big Bob’s Flooring Outlet, Bob and Joan Shumway, Kellan and Kelsey Hall, Foothills Auto Supply, American Powder Coating, Pete Vos, Char’s Barber Shop, Wesmar Race Engines, SpeedMart, Van Dam Farms and Rich Van Dam Dairy for their continued support.

INSIDE LINE PROMOTIONS –

Inside Line Promotions specializes in affordable public relations and media management for motor sports drivers, teams, sponsors, tracks, series, events, organizations and manufacturers. ILP Founder Shawn Miller leverages professional journalism with new media technologies and social networking to improve your exposure and the return on investment for your sponsors.

To meet the media relations needs of your program by joining Team ILP, contact Shawn at 541-510-3663 or Shawn@InsideLinePromotions.com. For more information on Inside Line Promotions, visit http://www.InsideLinePromotions.com.

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