Zachary Tinkle went to DuQuoin State Fairgrounds to fill in for injured driver Tim Richmond in the #27 Toyota for car owner David Richmond with Wayne Peterson crew chiefing in the Southern Illinois 100.
Heavy rains doused the track the night before causing delays in track preparation. When it came time for practice all teams were hesitant to start out. Zachary went out around midway through practice to get a feel for the track and running on dirt. Several cars had damage due to the roughness of the track. Tinkle paced himself to learn and take care of the car in the shortened practice.
When it came time for qualifying, Tinkle went out and laid down a lap that put him in 10th place in the lineup.
Tinkle progressively learned and got faster throughout the night after adjustments for temperature and track changes during the cautions. After the second caution break, Tinkle went back out for the restart and made his fastest lap of the race during the stint. Unfortunately, the engine temperature rose rapidly so he brought the car into the pits and retired the car with a head gasket blowing. By the end of the race, the #27 was one of less than a handful of cars that did not have significant body damage.
On a social media post, Tinkle remarked, “Thank you David Richmond and team so much for the opportunity to race at DuQuoin State Fairgrounds in the ARCA Menards Series in the #27 car. The crew worked so hard to prepare and set up the car. We kept the car together on a really rough track and finished 8th. I learned so much and had fun. I can’t thank them enough for the experience!”