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Van Dam Starts Strong Before Wild Wreck at Cottage Grove Opener

(Photo by Malcolm White Photography)

Inside Line Promotions – COTTAGE GROVE, Ore. (April 10, 2016) – Henry Van Dam had a wild ride on Saturday during the season-opening event at Cottage Grove Speedway.

“I hit a hole coming out of turn four,” he said. “As soon as it hit the right rear tire I was flipping and the car launched. It was pretty acrobatic. The car is junked.”

The night began on a much stronger note as Van Dam set quick time during qualifying. He then charged from fourth to win a heat race at the quarter-mile oval.

“We had a good balance on the car and we were fast,” he said. “We threw some slide jobs in the heat and they stuck. I got to second within two laps. Then about Lap 6 I got to the lead. I was able to slide people. One time I threw a slide job in turns three and four and the next in turns one and two.”

Van Dam lined up on the outside of the third row for the main event following a six-car inversion.

“I felt pretty comfortable with what we had going into the feature,” he said. “Early in the race I made some bad decisions about where to go and then didn’t make up any spots. Logan (Forler) was on my heels and we slid back and forth a few times. I just didn’t get going and then we ended up wrecking.

“About Lap 12 Cam (Smith) caught the hole in front of me and was spinning. I slowed down. I tried to turn under the hole and I slid the right rear tire into the hole. As soon as I hit I knew I was going for a pretty big ride. I closed my eyes.”

Van Dam was competing for a top five when the incident occurred just before the midpoint of the feature. He was unable to restart the race and was credited with a 19th-place result.

Van Dam will take this weekend off before returning to Cottage Grove Speedway on April 23.

QUICK RESULTS –

April 9 – Cottage Grove Speedway in Cottage Grove, Ore. – Qualifying: 1; Heat race: 1 (4); Feature: 19 (6).

SEASON STATS –

9 races, 0 wins, 0 top fives, 2 top 10s, 2 top 15s, 3 top 20s

UP NEXT –

April 23 at Cottage Grove Speedway in Cottage Grove, Ore.

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 – Northwest Welding & Fabrication

Northwest Welding & Fabrication is located in Lacey, Wash.

“Chuck from Northwest Welding & Fabrication has been a good friend over the years,” Van Dam said. “He’s been a comrade not only in the business world, but also in racing.”

Van Dam would also like to thank Kovash Logging, Johansen Excavating, Highmark Concrete Contractors, Enumclaw Xpress Lube, Les Schwab Tire of Enumclaw, Clems Enumclaw Powersports, A.R.T. Speed Equipment, Van Dam Dairy, Village Green Resort, Factory Kahne, 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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