On Saturday night, A.J. Emms would make his Late Model debut at Sunset Speedway in the No. 99 Mike Westwood Fabrications Late Model, having a pair of solid features on the night.
Emms would post a 15.260 second lap in time trials to start off the night, setting him up to start 25th in the first 35-lap feature on the night. Emms would quickly move into the 23rd position, though, following a first-lap incident. The progress would continue with Emms cracking the top-20 just before the second caution flew at lap nine.
Unfortunately, the progress would slow a bit, though, as he’d fall back to 23rd by the time the fourth caution flew at lap 27. He would gain a spot back at lap 28, though, when he avoided a mechanical trouble that happened to one of the front contending cars.
Emms used the final seven laps to his advantage, picking off a couple more spots to cross the finish line in the 18th spot.
The top-20 finish would set him up to start 18th for the second 35-lap feature later that evening. He would fall back to 19th in the first 10 laps, but was able to steadily maintain a top-20 running position. He was able to move back up to 18th by the time the first caution flew at lap 11. Though once again, that steady progress got hung up a bit and Emms would fall back to 24th by the time the third caution flew at lap 23. He would avoid a wreck among some front runners to move up to the 22nd spot with six laps to go.
The final six laps would go solidly for Emms, resulting in a 24th place finish.
“Last night with the No. 99 Stryker Chassis Late Model – it was a lot of fun,” Emms commented on Sunday. “I learned a lot. We kept all our four corners on it, which was our goal going into the night. The competition here at Sunset is pretty wild. Another tenth quicker and we would’ve advanced 10 positions in qualifying – it’s just that close here. We were happy to get into the show, we were happy to complete all the laps and finish on the lead lap, and learned a lot racing these talented drivers.”
Be sure to head over to the ADAMS Motorsports website at http://www.adammotorsports99.com to see photos from the night.
Emms will look to improve on the night next weekend at Sunset Speedway in the second night of the season. Be sure to join the team at Sunset Speedway on May 9th for the second round of the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Sauble Falls Tent and Trailer Park Late Models. Front gate at the track opens at 3 p.m. EST, with time trials at 3:30 p.m. Opening ceremonies will kick off the night at 5 p.m. EST.
Thanks to Adams Home Comfort, Dwinnels Family Movers, TSS Top Shops, Duckworths Fish and Chips Orillia, Klotz Canada, Wix Filters, Kitchen Tire 2013, Hastings Home Hardware, Wolsely Canada, Whitechurch Towing, Accurate Industrial Waste Ltd., Heritage Heating Contractors Inc., and Morton Metals for their support this season.
