BRAMPTON, ON- Following a series of top-5 performances in Sunset Speedway’s perennially stacked Ltd. Late Model division, Billy Zardo broke through for a season-high runner-up effort on August 15th. This weekend, ‘Z3’ will look to earn his first feature win of the 2015 season when the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series returns to competition at Sunset on August 29th.
“We just knew if we kept working hard we would be rewarded,” says Zardo when asked about his second-place result. “A runner-up finish here is just as good as a win at a lot of other tracks. These guys that were up against every week are straight up monsters, man. Beating them means something. There aren’t a lot of slouches or tin cans up here. You have to put in a lot of work to keep them behind you”
And, although the 2015 season is rapidly coming to a close, Zardo remains confident his team’s turn in the limelight is just around the corner.
“It’s almost poetic that we’ve had to wait this long for our first win this year,” offers the third-generation racer. “It feels right to have to work for it. We’ve never had anything just handed to us – and we’ll keep grinding until we get this car to victory lane. There’s no replacement for the pages of notes you bring to the track and the hours of work that you put in at the shop. And, we’ve got plenty of both, so we’re about due for a win”
The Brampton, ON native has spotted holes in his game, and admits he’s worked to rectify the issues to stay on pace with some of the division’s heavy-hitters.
“I need to be better in qualifying,” affirms Zardo. “Our time trial efforts have been decent, but there’s a ton of room for improvement. Look at how many races [Nick] Goetz and [Taylor] Holdaway have won the front row after qualifying well. They’ve got something figured out that we don’t. And we need to get there”
“I’ve felt like we’ve been headed for a win for the last month and a half,” continues the personable hotshoe. “And one of these weeks I’m going to be right”
“The last few features have been kind of rough, so if we’re at the front late in the race anything can happen. We just have to keep our head up and our eyes open and do everything we can to keep all four corners straight.”
Log on to www.SunsetSpeedway.ca to purchase advance tickets for August 29th’s event at Sunset Speedway.
Zardo’s 2015 season is powered by Holmes On Homes, National Exhaust, Better Contracting and Hassell Automotive.
Be sure to follow Billy on Twitter @Z3Zardo4846.
By Spencer Lewis (@itsspencerlewis)
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