The 2011 racing season has been exciting for Sarah Cornett-Ching and her Summerland racing team.
Starting with the Race 101 program in North Carolina early this year, Cornett-Ching has learned about all aspects of the sport and applied that knowledge through several exciting events this season, including her NASCAR Canadian Tire Series debut at Motoplex Speedway in Vernon on July 23 where she had a 14th place finish.
She was back at Motoplex Speedway earlier this month for the final ARCA West Series event of the season.
Cornett-Ching entered Saturday night’s ARCA West finale in 11th place in the point standings and was hoping to have a solid finish to vault her into the top ten and end the season on a high note.
She began the day with a practice session, and she was third fastest. She started at the back of her qualifying heat, and again proved that she had a fast car as she moved through the field up to fifth place at the checkered flag.
“We have a fast car, and we are confident that we have the car to beat going into the feature,” Cornett-Ching said. “We want to end the 2011 ARCA West season on a good note.”
As the race unfolded, Cornett-Ching ran the majority of the event in second place, but lost some ground on a restart and fell to third.
After a spirited battle in the closing laps she lost one more spot as she crossed the finish line and finished in fourth place in a photo finish for the final podium spot, and moved up to eighth place in the series point standings.
Just one more race remains on the schedule for the 2011 season for Cornett-Ching, and that is Saturday, Sept. 24 at Motoplex Speedway for the West Coast Fall Classic.
Cornett-Ching has had a dominating car in her last two West Coast Sportsman Series visits to Motoplex, Speedway including a win back on Aug. 13.
“We are pretty excited about coming back here with the West Coast Sportsman Series, considering how we raced the last two times out. We had a dominating car here just two weeks ago, and had a mechanical problem put us out of contention, and we won the race before that,” she said.
Once the season is over, Cornett-Ching will begin to focus on the 2012 racing season.
The team is currently looking for marketing partners for her race team, and hopes to secure funding for a full time ride in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series next year.