AUSTIN, Tx. – The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) dialed up a mid-week classic with the 4th annual Aspen Dental Dirt Derby 150 at Eldora Speedway.
Featuring the sole dirt track race on NASCAR’s schedule, Wednesday night’s event in Rossburg, Ohio, was met with a tremendous amount of fanfare as spectators packed the grandstands early for the highly anticipated dirt track event.
For Austin Wayne Self, making his first NCWTS career dirt track start, expectations were realistic as he hoped to simply gain experience and finish the race unscathed. However, with strong backing from his team, the 20-year old, Self, impressed in his first ever appearance at Eldora Speedway scoring a career best – ninth-place finish in his dirt derby debut. Dirt track ace and NASCAR Sprint Cup driver, Kyle Larson, won the 150-lap event.
“Tonight was a great night for this all new AM Racing team,” said Self. “Total team effort! I can’t thank my guys enough, Terry, Brian, Greg and especially my car chief, Bill Henderson, who stepped into the role of crew chief this week and devised a plan and strategy that worked out perfectly. Coming into this week I didn’t have a whole lot of expectations. There’s a lot of guys out here with a ton of dirt racing experience – and there’s drivers like me with very little. I was just hoping to survive – but earning my first top-10 finish at a track like this is really cool.”
Starting from the main event from the 28th position in his No.22 AM Technical Solutions Toyota, Self, would begin his ascent through the field from the moment the green flag dropped. Committed to running the low to middle groove around the tight half-mile dirt oval, Self was able to make his truck stick on the slick track while navigating his way through traffic passing many experienced top rated dirt track drivers.
“I’m really proud of this entire team for all their hard work. We found a groove we really liked and were able to have a lot of fun out there tonight. The lower groove really worked out for us. Bill (Henderson) was on the radio all night reminding me to run down low and protect the bottom. That was our strategy from the beginning. Our truck responded – and we had great results. I just can’t say enough how proud I am of everyone on this team,” added Self.
With his top-10 finish, Self gained two spots moving into the 16th position in the overall NCWTS point standings.
Up next for the Austin Wayne Self and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will be the Pocono Mountains 150 at Pocono Raceway on Saturday, July 30.
Follow Austin Wayne Self on Social Media:
Be sure to visit Austin on all social media platforms. You can find him on facebook at facebook.com/AustinWSelf, on twitter at @AustinWSelf and Instagram @AustinWayneSelf. You can also visit AWSracing.com.
Story and photo courtesy of AM Racing
