5/27/2015
Pifer Flies to First Sprint Car Top-Fives
(Photo by Jeane Pifer Photography)
MERCER, Pa. – After the first few races this season, Darren Pifer was left searching for a strong finish. Starting off with two DNFs and then taking a 12th-place finish, he was hungry for more. A two-race weekend put the doubts aside for the blossoming driver, taking not only his first career top-five on Friday at Thunder Mountain Speedway’s reopening, but duplicating that effort on Saturday at Mercer Raceway Park.
With only ten 305 sprints in attendance on Friday, Pifer was able to do a bit of testing. The Knox Dale, Penn. facility was back to racing under new ownership, and Pifer fell back a bit in one of two heat races; starting second, he dropped to fourth.
The finish didn’t affect him any, though, as the redraw for the feature lineup slated him in the third spot. Gunning from that inside row two position, Pifer looked to move forward, but over the course of the race, lost one position to bring it home fourth. While he didn’t move forward, Pifer still collected the first top-five of his sprint car racing career. “Missed the gear a little bit, but we will get it cleaned up and try again tomorrow at Mercer.”
And “try again” he did at the three-eighth-mile Mercer oval; with a few more cars in the pit area, 17 teams were signed in for the weekly “Saturday Night Live.” Pifer was on the outside pole for his heat race grid. When the dust settled, it was Pifer crossing the line first to score his first heat victory since he began racing sprint cars last season.
While the congratulations were aplenty, there was still much to do. The 20-lap feature race for the outlaw sprint warriors was on deck, and the Punxsutawney, Pa. driver would start third for the second night in a row. In the first half of the race, it looked as if Pifer was gradually falling back. He had dropped to sixth by lap ten, but then found new life. Moving back into the top five the following lap, he kept steady and drove back to fourth with five laps to go. Looking for any way around the third-place competitor, Pifer couldn’t quite get it done, but made for an exciting show at the end. The duo were separated by just .09 seconds at the line to take the checkered, with Pifer capturing his second fourth-place showing in a row.
Pifer would like to thank Niagara Cutter, Seco Tools, Jeane Pifer Photography, Good’s Auto Body, and Betram Motorsports, as well as his family and fans for their continued support.
Pifer is next scheduled to compete on May 29 at Thunder Mountain Raceway in Knox Dale, Pa. and on May 30 at Mercer Raceway Park in Mercer, Pa. in the No. 23 305ci Sprint entry.
Quick Results
May 22 – Knox Dale, PA – 305ci Winged Sprint – Heat: 4th (2); Feature: 4th (3)
May 23 – Mercer, PA – 305ci Winged Sprint – Heat: 1st (2); Feature: 4th (3)
2015 Stats
5 races, 0 wins, 2 top fives, 2 top tens, 2 DNFs
Social Media
Twitter: www.twitter.com/pifer23
Facebook: www.facebook.com/darrenpifermotorsports
Instagram: www.instagram.com/dpifer23
Article Credit: Redbeard Promotions
