8/8/2017
Inside Line Promotions
Helms Returns From Brief Break With Strong Performances
(Photo by DB3 Imaging)
Inside Line Promotions – CHILLICOTHE, Ohio (Aug. 8, 2017) – Caleb Helms came back strong following a brief break from sprint car competition.
“We had been so busy with work and we had some rough spells racing so I needed to take a break to spend some time with my family and to rejuvenate,” he said.
Helms returned to action on July 28 at Outlaw Speedway in Dundee, N.Y., during the opening night of an Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions tripleheader in New York.
“I felt pretty rusty in hot laps,” he said. “We went decently early for qualifying and ended up holding on to the quickest time of the night. That was good and it set us up to make the dash.”
Not only did Helms set quick time during qualifying, but he established a new track record. He then advanced from fourth to second place in a heat race before maneuvering from sixth to fourth place in the dash.
“We thought the track was going to come back a little more for the main event than it did,” he said. “We were running third about halfway through and then I faded a bit toward the end. It was a decent run for our first race back.”
Helms ended with a sixth-place result.
He returned to action the following night at Orange County Fair Speedway in Middletown, where he qualified fourth quickest overall and second in his group. Helms then finished where he started – third – in a heat race to miss the dash by only one spot. That lined him up seventh for the A Main.
“My crew chief Andy Potter made a lot of good calls,” he said. “We got into fourth right away. We saved our tires and rode behind the top three. After halfway the second-place car blew a tire and then we were behind Sammy (Swindell) and Chad (Kemenah). I was getting better than Chad and made a move to pass him. They threw the yellow and the next restart I made the same move to take over second. I think he had a softer tire on. Then we caught up to Sammy and passed him going into turn one. I was down to turn three and the yellow came out because Chad blew his tire. I was put behind Sammy for the restart and he knew he had to go harder and he ended up winning.”
Helms recorded a runner-up result, which marked his best All Star finish of the season.
The weekend wrapped up on July 29 at Lebanon Valley Speedway in West Lebanon, where Helms timed in third quickest overall and third in his group. He then placed third in a heat race and fifth in the dash to start the main event on the inside of the third row.
“There wasn’t a lot of passing,” he said. “We struggled a little in the feature. We used a harder tire and thought the longer the race was the better we’d be, but it didn’t stay green for long periods of time. However, it was a good weekend to come back to.”
Helms battled inside the top five throughout the main event before ending sixth, which marked his eighth top 10 of the season with the All Stars.
Helms competed once last weekend, when he qualified third quickest and placed second in a heat race on Saturday at Atomic Speedway. That earned a spot in the feature redraw, where he pulled the No. 4 to start the main event on the outside of the second row.
“We were a little looser than we needed to be and I didn’t get my wing back quick enough,” he said. “We fell back to eighth or so. I got the wing back and then we started passing some cars back.”
Helms rallied to finish fifth.
He is slated to compete this Friday and Saturday at Mansfield Motor Speedway in Mansfield, Ohio, for the Great Lakes Dirt Nationals.
QUICK RESULTS –
July 28 – Outlaw Speedway in Dundee, N.Y. – Qualifying: 1; Heat race: 2 (4); Dash: 4 (6); Feature: 6 (4).
July 29 – Orange County Fair Speedway in Middletown, N.Y. – Qualifying: 4; Heat race: 3 (3); Feature: 2 (7).
July 30 – Lebanon Valley Speedway in West Lebanon, N.Y. – Qualifying: 3; Heat race: 3 (2); Dash: 5 (5); Feature: 6 (5).
Aug. 5 – Atomic Speedway in Chillicothe, Ohio – Qualifying: 3; Heat race: 2 (2); Feature: 5 (4).
UP NEXT –
Friday and Saturday at Mansfield Motor Speedway in Mansfield, Ohio, for the Great Lakes Dirt Nationals
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://HelmsRacing40.wix.com/HelmsRacing
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Caleb_Helms40
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Helms.Motorsports
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“We’re excited to have Big Jerk jerky as part of our team this year,” Helms said. “Their jerky is second to none.”
Helms would also like to thank Helms Construction Inc., Ferguson, Tommy Tire and Helms and Sons Excavating for their continued support.
INSIDE LINE PROMOTIONS –
Inside Line Promotions specializes in affordable public relations and media management for motor sports drivers, teams, sponsors, tracks, series, events, organizations and manufacturers. ILP Founder Shawn Miller leverages professional journalism with new media technologies and social networking to improve your exposure and the return on investment for your sponsors.
To meet the media relations needs of your program by joining Team ILP, contact Shawn at 541-510-3663 or Shawn@InsideLinePromotions.com. For more information on Inside Line Promotions, visit http://www.InsideLinePromotions.com.
Article Credit: Inside Line Promotions
Submitted By: Shawn Miller
