Jordon Mallett produced his 10 th podium result of the season last Saturday during the World Short Track Challenge finale.
Mallett, who was driving for A.G. Rains, improved throughout the ASCS National Tour and USCS Series doubleheader at Riverside International Speedway. The action began on Friday with Mallett qualifying sixth quickest in his group. A fifth-place finish in a heat race relegated him to a B Main, in which a run from sixth to fourth place earned a transfer into the back of the main event.
“We timed in quickest in our group until about 10 cars left and then the race track came in and we ended up sixth quick,” he said. “From then on it seemed like we had a decent night. We had speed in the car, but to us everything was off. We couldn’t seem to get the balance where we wanted it to be. The car wasn’t responding to the track to what we expected it to. We couldn’t keep our nose clean and ended up getting into the fence in the feature. That knocked the front end out and ended our night early. It was one of those nights where everything was off. For as bad as we felt, we still raced it into the show out of 60 cars.”
Mallett was credited with an 18th-place result.
Saturday’s program started on a strong note as Mallett won a heat race after starting on the outside of the front row. That earned a spot into the dash, which was lined up by a revenge draw format.
“The way the format was we knew the heat race was a must-win deal,” he said. “A.G. and the team never quit. He changed the car completely from what we had the night before and we had speed right off. We were able to win the heat race and felt we still had a lot we could gain. We got to start on the front row of the dash and made some changes to the car again. We finally had it where we both felt we should be and we were able to win the dash. That gave us a lot of confidence going into the feature.”
Mallett’s dash victory gave him the pole position for the 40-lap, $10,000-to-win main event.
“We felt really good in the feature early on,” he said. “Any time someone would show me their nose I’d adapt. As the race progressed I felt we were in a good situation running around the bottom lane. We led the majority of the race, but we were a sitting duck late based on the lane Derek (Hagar) was able to figure out. I didn’t feel like I could search around to find anything else because I’d seen some noses on the bottom. I was trying to race smart and defensive. Derek got around me with six or seven laps to go. I ran him back down at the end, but it was too late.”
The second-place showing marked the second straight Saturday with a runner-up result for Mallett.
“I want to thank A.G. and his team for the opportunity the last two weeks as well as all of the hard work,” he said. “Second place was bitter sweet because it was a great rebound from Friday, but to be that close to winning a big race and to finish second stings.”
QUICK RESULTS –
Oct. 18 – Riverside International Speedway in West Memphis, Ark. – Qualifying: 6; Heat race: 5 (3); B Main: 4 (6); Feature: 18 (18).
Oct. 19 – Riverside International Speedway in West Memphis, Ark. – Heat race: 1 (2); Dash: 1 (1); Feature: 2 (1).
SEASON STATS –
24 races, 4 wins, 14 top fives, 20 top 10s, 21 top 15s, 23 top 20s
ILP PR