 Ricky entered the USAR Aaron's 250 event at Peach State Speedway with high hopes. He has been gaining experience in the Hooters Pro Cup Series on unfamiliar tracks, but this weekend he had experience on his side. Ricky has been logging laps at Peach State Speedway for years in various Late Model races.
Race day got off to a bleak start with rain moving in just before the 11:00 am practice was to get underway. A persistent rain kept the track wet for several hours and had the Turner Motorsports team worried that qualifying would get rained out. This would force the team to load up early and head home since the team doesn't have any points provisionals. The rain finally came to an end and the cars were able to get onto the track for a one hour practice session at 3:30pm.
With an uneventful practice session behind him, Ricky turned his attention to getting the #27 Williams Bros. Lumber Company Chevrolet solidly in the field. Due to the earlier rain, qualifying was delayed until
6:15 pm and each driver was only going to get one lap. This put added pressure on drivers to post a good lap since there would only be one shot at getting the most out of their cars. Ricky went out second and laid down an impressive lap of 18.968. This time held up for the pole until Bobby Gill took the top spot with an 18.852. When qualifying was complete, Ricky had put the Williams Bros. Chevrolet close to the front with a 4th place starting spot. Ricky was one of only 4 drivers to break the 19 second mark in qualifying.
The race got under way at 7:30 pm in front of more than 3,500 fans. When the green flag flew, Ricky began to slip back with a loose race car. He radioed his crew that he needed a track bar adjustment to try to tighten up the race car. When the 3rd caution of the evening came out on lap 90, Ricky brought the Williams Bros. Chevrolet down pit road for four tires, an air pressure adjustment, and a track bar adjustment. This proved to be what Ricky needed as he was happy with the car and began moving back to the front. Ricky had worked his way back to the 3rd position before making his final pit stop on lap 205. He was restarting deep in the field behind Clay Rogers who pitted during the same caution, but the pair had much fresher tires than most of the field. Ricky was following Rogers back to the front when he got caught up in some heavy traffic which slowed his progression down. Ricky had moved back up to 10th when a late race caution setup a green-white-checkered finish. Ricky was able to get one more position as he crossed under the checkers side-by-side with Jay Fogleman. The late race charge resulted in a 9th place finish. A career best finish and first top ten in the Hooters Pro Cup Series in only Ricky's third start.
Ricky Turner and the Turner Motorsports team will be looking to build on their momentum from Peach State Speedway when the
team heads to the famed Bristol Motor Speedway on August 23rd. Race time is set for 7:00pm with the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series to follow. Come out to see the Williams Bros. Lumber Company Chevrolet in action.
The Aaron's 250 presented by Greased Lightning can been seen on Speed Channel Wednesday August 16th at 4 pm ET. Check the Hooters Pro Cup website for more broadcast times.
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