The Flowdynamics sprint car duo of Matt McCarthy and Logan Williams opened the 2022 USAC/CRA Sprint Car season last Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at Arizona’s Cocopah Speedway. It was the first-ever appearance for each of the drivers at the track known as the “Diamond In The Desert.”
Beautiful Arizona daytime weather and chilly nights greeted the teams and the fans at the track that is in Somerton. In addition to the fans in the grandstands, the race was available live around the world on Speed Sport TV. Those watching in the spacious grandstands and those watching the live feed at home were pleasantly greeted by 27 sprint cars for the opening night.
To open the three nights of racing, teammates Williams and McCarthy qualified 9th and 10th respectively with laps of 16.704 and 16.813. After McCarthy placed seventh in his first 10-lap heat of the year, Williams took part in what was a unique race, to say the least. Eight cars made up heat race #3 and it matched Williams against his older brothers Austin and Cody. When the fracas ended, the brothers who made up nearly half of the field finished first, second, and third. Austin took the win over oldest sibling Cody and the youngest of the trio, Logan.
For the first main event of 2022, Yorba Linda, California’s Williams, in the #5W, started on the inside of row five. McCarthy, who resides in Riverside, California, was starting alongside in his #28M. When the green lights turned on to start the action, Williams held his position. McCarthy uncharacteristically began to slip backwards. By lap five he had dropped back to 16th. However, things changed after a lap 13 red flag.
After the red flag period, McCarthy looked like he had been shot out of a cannon when the green lights came back on. Within two laps, he dazzled the crowd by passing five cars and moving up to 11th. He was clearly one of the fastest cars on the track at that time and was poised to move up farther. Unfortunately, on lap 16, his race came to a premature end. He turned the #28M car over in turn three. Frustrated, he quickly climbed out uninjured, but the car suffered enough damage that it could not continue.
With half of the race to go, Flowdynamics fans pinned their hopes on Williams once the race restarted. He had been ninth most of the way up to that point. Over the final 15-laps, he managed to advance three more positions and placed sixth.
Night number two on the track that is located a mere 15 miles from the US/Mexico border, saw Williams’ time in ninth fastest at 17.015. McCarthy stopped the clocks in a time of 17.421 and ended up 14th.
McCarthy brought home the first checkered flag for the Flowdynamics team in 2022 when he led every inch of the way in the second heat. A few moments later, Williams started fourth and finished third in the final heat of the night.
Friday’s main on the well-prepared 3/8-mile clay oval saw Williams start the race in the ninth spot. McCarthy began the 30-lapper in 14th. Williams ran as high as fifth in the latter half of the race that went green to checkers with no interruption. He eventually placed seventh. McCarthy was in a race long, hard-fought battle in the middle of the pack and he wheeled the #28M to a 15th place finish.
The third and final night of action on Saturday brought out the largest crowd of the week. Williams had his fastest qualifying effort by recording a 16.589 lap. That was good enough for ninth. For the second night in a row McCarthy was 14th with a time of 17.050.
Saturday’s heat races did not start nearly as well as they did 24 hours earlier. Williams was in a solid second spot in his heat when mechanical ills sent him to the sidelines on lap six. McCarthy closed out the heats for the team by leading lap one of heat race two before coming home fourth.
For the last main of the opening week at Cocopah, Williams was coming off the outside of the fourth row and McCarthy was inside row seven. Williams moved as far forward as fourth early in the race before ending up seventh at the finish. McCarthy at one point raced his way into 11th but was 15th at the end.
After the first three races, Williams is sixth in the USAC/CRA championship standings and is only one-point behind his brother Austin. McCarthy is 16th. The flip on Thursday deprived him of several extra points and a loftier place in the standings.
The Flowdynamics team will get a month off before the USAC/CRA Series ventures to California’s Central Valley for races March 5th and 6th at the Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare and Keller Auto Speedway in Hanford.
McCarthy and Williams would like to thank the following sponsors for making the 2021 season possible. Flowdynamics Inc., JFK Design Build, Cal Therm Mechanical Insulators, CRC Component Repair Co., Encore Gas and Supply, Drink-Pac, Benic Enterprises. If you or your company would like to climb on board and join up with one of the fastest rising sprint car teams west of the Mississippi, please contact John McCarthy at 909 930-5522 or mailto:[email protected].
Flowdynamics PR
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