Sarah Cornett-Ching of Summerland made her ASA racing debut this past weekend at Motoplex Speedway, in Vernon last week. Not only was she the only female racer in the field, she was also the youngest of the 20 racers on hand at the pristine half-mile oval.
“The car is really fast, but it is only strong for the first three of four laps, then it gets real tight. The car just pushes up the track,” said Cornett-Ching. “We are going to make some changes and head back out for the next practice session, and hopefully we can be a little faster, and maintain it over a long run.”
She posted her best ever lap time at Motoplex with an 18.9 second lap, posting the ninth fastest speed out of all competitors on hand. The fast practice speeds, and a solid qualifying effort drew the attention of several competitors, taking notice of the talents of the 20-year-old racer.
In her qualifying heat race, Sarah started and finished in sixth place.
A racer at heart, Cornett-Ching is also seeking the opportunity to get behind the wheel of a race car, and without a ride secured, she headed to the Penticton Speedway on Sunday, with racing gear in hand, just in case an opportunity came about.
With warm ups at the track now over, Cornett-Ching was approached by someone from the Hornet class, asking if she wanted to race.
Cornett-Ching drove her way through the field, avoiding disaster on one occasion. At the end of the 40-lap event, she was in sixth place.
The next race on the schedule for Cornett-Ching is June 18 at Prince George Auto Racing Association Speedway in the ARCA West OK Tire Series .
Last season she claimed fifth place in points in both the Okanagan Street Stock Series and the West Coast Sportsman Series. She was also named Most Improved Driver and Most Dedicated Driver of the West Coast Sportsman Series. She plans to run the full ARCA West Regional traveling Series this season, and hopes to secure funding to run the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series events in Saskatoon and Vernon.