(Photo by Al Steinberg)
Inside Line Promotions – IMPERIAL, Pa. (Aug. 4, 2015) – Caleb Helms is gearing up for his return to the 25th annual Arnold Motor Supply 360 Knoxville Nationals this weekend.
Helms will tackle the premier 360ci sprint car event at Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa, with preliminary action on Friday before Saturday’s finale. It will mark his first time at the event since 2013 and his first 360ci race since February.
“We want to go there with the mindset of winning, but the biggest thing we’re focusing on is getting laps,” he said. “We want laps and to get comfortable so that we can be competitive the following week during the 410 Nationals.
“It can be easier (dropping from the 410 to 360 ranks) because sometimes when things go so fast you don’t pick everything up. It can really slow things down and help you learn more. But the competition is still really stiff and a lot of those guys run 360s all the time.”
Helms is coming off an up-and-down weekend that began with truck problems last Friday. The team was unable to make the first race of the UNOH All Star Circuit of Champions tripleheader because of a problem with the starter, which they replaced Saturday morning.
The team then headed to Atomic Speedway in Chillicothe, Ohio, for Saturday’s Open Wheel Championships, which Helms kicked off by qualifying 15th quickest overall and second in his group. He was in a torrid battle for one of the two dash lock-in positions during a heat race when he hit an infield tire trying to avoid a crash.
“Someone in front of me got together with another car,” he said. “I was trying to go low enough to avoid it and just got into the tire.”
Helms was unable to finish the heat race. He also pulled off the track early in the B Main because of a mechanical problem.
The weekend concluded on Sunday at Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway. Helms timed in second quickest during qualifying to open the event.
“We qualified really well,” he said. “We ended up second quickest to Dale Blaney.”
Helms then finished third in a heat race and seventh in the dash to garner the seventh starting position for the main event.
“We changed the car throughout the night and for the feature we changed everything back to how it was in qualifying,” he said. “It was really good. I moved my wing forward early and that cost me a lot of time. Once we got going we were good. At the end we made some good laps.”
Helms ended with a 12th-place result.
QUICK RESULTS –
Aug. 1 – Atomic Speedway in Chillicothe, Ohio – Qualifying: 15; Heat race: DNF (3); B Main: DNF (5).
Aug. 2 – Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway in Imperial, Pa. – Qualifying: 2; Heat race: 3 (3); Dash: 7 (8); Feature: 12 (7).
SEASON STATS –
38 races, 0 wins, 2 top fives, 6 top 10s, 13 top 15s, 19 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Friday and Saturday at Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa, for the 25th annual Arnold Motor Supply 360 Knoxville Nationals
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://HelmsRacing40.wix.com/HelmsRacing
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Caleb_Helms40
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Helms.Motorsports
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Shelves.com
Shelves.com has a stylish selection of storage and organization solutions for your entire home. Find bins, totes and shelving for your kitchen, closet and office. For more information, visit http://www.Shelves.com.
“Shelves.com has been a big part of the team for about a year and a half and we look forward to taking them to Victory Lane this season,” Helms said.
Helms would also like to thank Helms Construction, Inc., Helms and Sons Excavating, Schoenfeld Headers, Kistler Racing Products, Kistler Engines and Larson Trucking & Heavy Equipment Repair 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.
- Shawn Miller on Aug 04, 2015
- Article Date: 8/4/2015 by Inside Line Promotions