4/27/2016
Matt Covington
Covington Races With The Outlaws At Devils Bowl, Ready To Go This Friday At Salina
Glenpool, Ok (April 27, 2016) – Matt Covington swapped out the 360 for a 410 and ran with World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series last weekend during the Texas Outlaw Nationals to record his best career Outlaw qualifying and feature finish.
"It was a big learning experience," he said. "For running with the Outlaws, I feel like we had a good weekend and gained a lot of knowledge moving forward. I haven’t run a 410 car but a handful of times."
Covington qualified 13th on Friday to kick off the doubleheader at Devil's Bowl Speedway. He then finished 5th in the heat race to lock into the night’s A-main.
In the feature, the track was still really tacky and the car became very tight and tough to handle.
"We struggled a little bit with racing in dirty air and fighting the car," he said. "I got in the corner a couple times and the car tried to bike up on two wheels. At that point, I started trying to enter the corner a little lower so we didn’t turn the thing over. When I moved down it cost us some corner speed, but at the time, I didn’t feel we were free enough to not flip it on the top. We lost a few positions, but eventually the track leveled out and we were able to hang on until the finish without going a lap down.
Covington ended with an 15th-place result aboard his Triple X Chassis/A-Rock Materials mount.
He returned to the half-mile oval on Saturday, were he timed in 4th quickest before coming home with a 3rd place finish in the heat. That lined him up on the inside of the fourth row for the $20,000-to-win main event.
"In the heat, we had a fast enough car to make the dash. I made one small bobble getting into one and it let Saldana get by me. These outlaw guys are tough and capitalize on every mistake," Covington said. "We fought a tight race car all weekend. In the feature, we were able to free it up some and got better. We ran 8th most of the race and should of came home with our first Outlaw top-10. But, Wayne (Johnson) got by me and I lost the nose and struggled in dirty air, which caused me and Sammy to get together. By the time I got it back together and kept going, we had fell back to 14th where I rode until the checkers.”
Covington’s 14th-place finish, was his career best result with the series.
"I feel like the weekend was a great effort for our team when it comes to racing with the World of Outlaws, considering the limited 410 experience we have," he said. "Knowing that we have that speed and can be competitive at that level is encouraging. We learned a lot and should improve the more we run the 410. And I am also hoping it will help when we return to the 360 racing."
Covington will try his hand again with the 410 when he takes on the World of Outlaws at the Salina Highbanks in Salina, Oklahoma.
Matt and his Covington Motorsports team would like to thank all partners who have helped make the current 2016 season possible and look forward to the continued relationship throughout the year: T&L Foundry, Triple X Chassis, A-Rock Materials, Winters, Brodix, C.G. Martin Company, Factor 1 Racing, All-Star Performance, Outlaw Wings, Pro Shocks, DMI Components, Keizer Wheels, ButlerBuilt, Best Graphics, Simpson Race Products, Wesmar Racing Engines, Bob Hurley RV, Eaton Industrial, Maxwell Oil, Schoenfeld Headers, and Schure Built Suspension
2016 STATS: Starts-12, Wins-0, Top 5’s-4, Top 10’s-9
ON TAP:
4/29/16 Salina Highbanks Speedway - Salina, OK
MERCHANDISE: Leftover 2015 Shirts still available now on the website at www.mattcovingtonracing.com or at the races in the trailer! 2016 Shirts coming SOON!.
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Submitted By: Matt Covington