BAKERSFIELD, CA- 16-Year Old Open Wheel Modified standout Blaine Perkins will make his first appearance of the 2016 season this Saturday, as Kern County Raceway Park plays host to the second annual Winter Showdown weekend.
The event, highlighted by a $30,000-to-win Super Late Model show on Sunday afternoon, includes an undercard that will pit Perkins against some of the top talent from across the West Coast in an 80-lap Lucas Oil Modified feature event.
For Perkins, February 27th’s event provides the teenager with an ideal opportunity to start a very busy 2016 season off on a big stage.
“We’ve been preparing for this event for over two months,” explains Perkins. “This weekend is going to bring a lot of eyes to California, and every single person on this team wants to perform accordingly. This is an amazing opportunity to show a lot of people just how good we can be – and it’s our job to take advantage of it. We want this one badly”
The first-generation racer appeared in four Lucas Oil Modified Series events throughout the 2015 season – scoring a season-high 9th place finish at Irwindale Speedway in late-June.
“The objective is most definitely going to be watching these other cars battle it out in my rearview mirror,” laughed Perkins when asked his strategy for Saturday’s race. “But, with this field, I’m not sure how easy that’s going to be”
“There’s no other way to put it – these are the best guys on the west coast,” added the well-spoken teenager. “We’re coming to Bakersfield with our barrels loaded – because we know what’s there waiting for us”
Perkins’ team has already worked through a stumbling block in the week leading up to the Winter Showdown – losing their primary engine to mechanical failure just seven days prior to their season debut.
“It would take an atomic bomb to keep us from this event,” said Perkins matter-of-factly. “The engine problems are just a little speedbump for us. We’ve got another bullet ready to go for this weekend. If we had to lose one, I’m happy it was in practice and not on race day”
“Hopefully we have all of our bad luck out of the way and can concentrate on making this piece faster for Saturday”
Although it would be easy for Perkins to find himself caught up in the anticipation of his first ever fulltime foray into NASCAR K&N Pro Series West competition, the Bakersfield, CA native insisted he is approaching each of his starts this season as though it were the most important of his career.
“We’ve got a really busy schedule this season, but it’s important to keep sight of what’s in front of us,” offered Perkins.
“Right now, I’m not thinking K&N [West Series] or Lucas Oil [Modified] races, all I’m thinking about is how to get to the front on Saturday at KCRP,” continued the rising star. “It would be the best possible way to start our season, and that’s all I can think of. I want to give my team that momentum right off the bat. If we can beat the guys that we’re up against this weekend – we’re ready for just about anything.”
Blaine Perkins’ 2016 Winter Showdown weekend would not be possible without the support of Four Star Fruit, Double Eagle Produce & Transportation, Reeves Auto Care and M&S Produce.
Fans can keep up with Blaine’s progress all weekend long by visiting the official Blaine Perkins Racing page on Facebook.
By Spencer Lewis (@itsspencerlewis)
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