Track Schedules

Chad Humston – Passing the Draw Back to 410’s!

(Bill W) June 15, 2011 – Chad Humston is ready to pass the draw back to the 410 fast qualifier at Knoxville Raceway.  With the World of Outlaws in town running their format, the baton was passed to him.  The good news was that he had the honors based on quick time in the Mark Burch Motorsports #1m.  That bad news was that he drew a ten for the feature invert.  Still, a solid run from tenth to fourth in a good racecar had the team in good spirits and ready for more this weekend.  The racing was secondary last weekend, however, as over $36,000 was raised in Knoxville for fellow sprint car driver, Skip Jackson, in his recovery.  Skip has piloted the #1m in the past.

The Giltner, Nebraska driver was able to secure quick time over the 25-car field for the second week in a row.  “That was great,” says Chad.  “We just need to keep doing that, and keep the car good.  You always want to go for the #1 position, no matter what we’re doing.”

Many drivers questioned what the famous half-mile would do after over five inches of rain in the past 48 hours.  “I just really wasn’t sure to start the night with all the rain,” says Chad.  “I figured it would be a typical Knoxville track with a good top and bottom, and slick in the middle.  That’s more or less what it turned out to be.  I thought it was a pretty good track.”

By virtue of quick time, Chad would start outside row three in the first heat race.  “My heat race would have been a little better, but we started to make a run on the start and got held up a little bit,” he says.  “We made the feature, which is always the goal.  You just have to make it in.”

He would come home fourth and earn a transfer to the main event.  “It wasn’t too bad,” he says.  “It did what we thought it would.  The cushion was getting close to the wall, which is good.  There’s a lot of track to race on that way.”

Chad’s draw after time trials saw him line up outside row five for the feature.  It was time to talk strategy with owner, Mark Burch, and crew chief, Marvin Brees.  “Mark and I talked about strategy going in,” says Chad.  “You had to be able to run the top and bottom to get to the front from where we were starting.  We got the car balanced and we could run the top really well, and we could run the bottom too.  That was our game plan.  It helped us move forward and that was the key.”

In what has become a typical outing, Chad grew stronger in the #1m as the race went on.  The first 14 laps went green, and he had worked his way up to fourth, where he would finish.  “We were right there knocking on the door,” he says.  “You only get 15 laps at Knoxville, so you have to do what you’re going to do quickly.  Saturday, we only had the cautions towards the end.  I wish the last would have been a green, white, checker…we may have had something for them.”

All in all, Chad was happy with the run, but yearning for a win.  “The car felt really good the whole race,” he says.  “We just needed a few more laps.”

The team has their thoughts on Skip Jackson as he goes through the recovery process.  Owner Mark Burch spoke about the benefit for Jackson held last Saturday.  “The racing community is made up of some of the most resourceful and caring people in the world.  In a matter of nine short days a complete event was organized and held that produced results that were almost unfathomable!  I just want to say that I am so proud of everyone who helped with this event in every way.  It makes me happy and proud to be associated with such a wonderful group.”