Sides Takes Three Top10s In Texas To Keep Streak Rolling
Story By: SHAWN MILLER / SIDES MOTORSPORTS – MESQUITE, TX – Jason Sides is racing as well as he has in several years.
Sides recorded a trio of top 10s last weekend in Texas to give him eight consecutive top-10 finishes, which is his best stretch since earning nine straight top 10s in August and September of 2010.
“It’s definitely picked up,” he said. “It’s been getting better and I’m not sure what to change. A key part is having the confidence to keep doing what you’re doing and not change anything when everything is right.”
Last weekend’s action began on Thursday at Gator Motorplex in Willis, Texas, for the Gator Bash.
“I’d never been to Willis,” he said. “The track was kind of small and they had it kind of wet. It had a top and a bottom so to qualify you could run in anywhere and have grip. I did spin the tires a little down the back straightaway because it had a little red sand in it.”
Sides qualified fourth quickest overall, which started him on the outside of the front row for a heat race. He finished second in the heat race to lock into the dash, where he advanced from third to win.
“The inside took off and I got by Paul McMahan for second,” he said. “There was some good stuff off the bottom and I got by Kasey (Kahne) to win the dash.
“We started out pretty decent and led a few laps in the feature. We got into traffic and I started moving around. I went a little wide and started running the top in turns three and four. McMahan got by. Me and Kasey were back and forth for second. (David) Gravel got around the both of us at the same time. The track was really slick off turn four. We made a few changes on a late red flag and got it better. We got back by McMahan on the restart, but he got back underneath us.”
Sides led the first 13 laps of the 40-lap race before he ended third, which marked his first podium finish of the season and his third consecutive top-five result.
The team then ventured to Devil’s Bowl Speedway for the Texas Outlaw Nationals, which began on Friday. Sides qualified second quickest, won a heat race and placed second in the dash to start the main event on the outside of the front row.
“I was hoping we’d get to traffic because Jason (Johnson) was really good in clean air,” he said. “I was really wanting to get to traffic. About the time we did that we’d have a caution and then it’d get strung out again. (Brad) Sweet was really good on the bottom. We had gear in it to run the top. When we’d try to run the bottom we’d slide across the bottom and Sweet went underneath us once when that happened.
“Later in the race Logan (Schuchart) got underneath us off turn four and we were going to run fourth. I saw the flags and ran into turn one and let out of the gas thinking the race was over. I guess it was the white flag and not the checkered flag. I purely messed up. That was the one and only time it’s happened and it will never happen again.”
Sides crossed the finish line in eighth after letting up on the finale lap thinking the race was over.
The weekend concluded on Saturday at the half-mile oval, where Sides set quick time before he ended third in a heat race. That started him on the inside of the fourth row in the main event.
“We were still a little tight,” he said. “We had a lot more gear to run the bottom. We raced with (Brent) Marks and Johnson late in the race and ended up finishing around where we started. It was one of those races where if you had track position you could be good up front.”
Sides placed eighth for the second straight night.
He is slated to return to action this Friday at Riverside International Speedway in West Memphis, Ark., for the Bull Ring Outlaw Blitz and Saturday at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 in Pevely, Mo., for the Spring Classic with the World of Outlaws.
