POTTSTOWN, PA – Just five races into his Capitol Renegade United Racing Club career, Austin Bishop parked his No. 11A 360 sprint car in Victory Lane for the first time at Big Diamond Speedway.
“When I got to the track I pulled a 59 and started sixth in the heat and knew I had to do some work to get into the redraw spot,” Bishop said of Friday evening’s event. “I ended up finishing third, which was all I really cared about.”
That was when Bishop’s “luck” turned around.
“We went up for the redraw and we pulled number 1,” he said. “I knew that the car was working pretty well after the heat race and we really didn’t change much going into the feature.”
And after starting on the pole, Bishop wound up in Victory Lane. The Rookie of the Year contender has had a very consistent season thus far, garnering four top-10s, two top–fives and one win in just five races.
And it’s no surprise claiming a win so early in his rookie season gives Bishop a little boost of confidence as he looks ahead to the rest of the season.
“To get a win so early on really gives me some confidence,” he said. “There’s a lot of veterans in this series from 410s and 360s and to know my crew and I can win and be competitive is a great feeling.”
Bishop has been maintaining a top-five position in the season points standings for the past few weeks now and said a top-five finish for the season is his ultimate goal.
“As far as points goes I’ve never really been a points race,” he said. “I always chased wins in the 270, 600, and 305 sprint car ranks, but at the beginning of the season we set a goal to run points. I’ve just been trying to be consistent and finish races and that’s what we will continue to do.”
Bishop said the family of URC drivers has been a huge help to him as he navigates the competition of a new class of sprint cars.
“We’ve had a lot of help from the other race teams,” said Bishop. “The guys have been very welcoming from the series. I often ask about gear, and areas on the racing surface that normally get good at tracks I haven’t been to before and the guys usually give me some good insight on where to run.”
Bishop looks forward to continuing to compete in club action this season, beginning with tonight’s race at Selinsgrove Speedway.
“I would like to thank Kozie Clothes, Stainless Steel Services, Parkes Auto Repair, Boyd Heating and Cooling, Frank’s Shocks, Senn Trucking, Sloan Ford, my crew, Frank Styer and Tyler Rissler.”
A-MAIN (25 LAPS) – 1: Austin Bishop; 2: Chad Layton; 3: Tyler Ross; 4: Ryan Stillwaggon; 5: Josh Weller; 6: Adam Carberry; 7: Ed Aikin; 8: Troy Betts; 9: Jordan Thomas; 10: Jason Clauss; 11: Jimmy Stitzel; 12: Jake Hummel; 13: Joe Kata; 14: Jason Shultz; 15: Curt Michael; 16: Robbie Stillwaggon; 17: Jason Cherry; 18: Jake Elliott; 19: Jonathan Swanson; 20: Ryan Quackenbush; 21: Lance Moss. DNS – Austin Moss.
Heat races were won by Shultz, Robbie Stillwaggon and Ryan Stillwaggon.
- Catherine Hogue on May 26, 2019
- Article Date: 5/26/2019 by Catherine Hogue