INNISFIL, ON- After a two-week rest period, Billy Zardo returned to the Sunset Speedway Ltd. Late Model division intent on putting his Holmes on Homes/Hassell Automotive No. 46 at the front of the field. When the dust had cleared, Zardo had earned a top-5 finish and generated some much-needed momentum for a late-season push.
“This is exactly the kind of performance that this team needed coming back”, smiled Zardo post-race. “We went home with a wrecked racecar three weeks ago – this is the perfect bounce back”
Zardo was referring to an incident in August 9th competition, when he tangled with another competitor as he was passing for the lead. The contact resulted in Zardo having to replace the entire front end of his racecar and left the third-generation star eager for redemption.
“We were fast right off the trailer tonight”, explained Zardo. “Two straight weeks in the shop was a blessing at this time of the season. The car needed a thorough check-up, and we caught a few little things that seemed to wake it right up”
‘Z3’ charged from outside of the top-10 in the 50-lap contest, running outside of the top-5 for much of the event, until a run within the final 10 circuits propelled him into the 4th spot at the checkered flag.
“The re-draw didn’t do us any favours tonight”, smiled Zardo “but we recovered from it. I was in traffic almost the entire first half of the race, and just wanted to take my time and run my own race. Around halfway we finally found some room to work with, and the car really came to life. We were able to get past Tom Walters and Dwayne Baker – two guys that I’ve looked up to for as long as I’ve been racing – in the last 10-laps”
“If this was a 60-lap race, I really feel as though we would have had a car that could stand on the podium”, continued Zardo. “But we’ll definitely take 4th tonight. Especially with all the work that had to go into just putting this car back together after our last race”
Billy and the rest of the Z Team will be back in action at Sunset Speedway for a 100-lap Ltd. Late Model ‘Super Series’ Championship Event on Saturday, September 13th. Details, including gate times and ticket prices, can be found at www.SunsetSpeedway.ca.
Zardo’s 2014 campaign is made possible thanks to Holmes On Homes, National Exhaust, Better Contracting and Hassell Automotive.
Follow Billy on Twitter @Z3Zardo4846.
By Spencer Lewis (@itsspencerlewis)
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