After an engine blowing at Michigan International Speedway just two days before, the Wayne Peterson Motorsports team had decided that they would not make the Springfield Mile race. But, Wayne and mechanic Nathan barreled down the highway to Tennessee to get a backup car. They spent most of the 24 hours on the road then going from Tennessee to Illinois.
The car was unloaded right as practice was about to start. Some changes were made to the car and Zachary Tinkle was able to make it on the track for three laps and qualify 15th out of 16 cars and make the race in a car that was not set up for the dirt track. Tinkle came in a couple times for adjustments and retired the car around lap 40, giving the team a 12th place finish.
Tinkle commented on a social media post, “This was my first race on dirt. It was a good learning experience and a lot of fun! It was a blessing given what happened the previous event at Michigan with our primary motor and car that we were even able to be here today. Thank you to Wayne Peterson and crew for working their rears off for me today to get me on the racetrack. Driving 1,200 miles in just 18 hours was no easy task… If it weren’t for Wayne, I literally wouldn’t be racing at all… I’m never gonna give up and I’ll always fight as long as I can.”
At this point, there are no further racing plans mapped out for Zachary. He noted that he hopes to get at least one more race in the rest of the 2021 season.