Cory Eliason Smokes ‘Em in the Goodguys Sprint Car
In just his fourth start driving the Antaya Motorsports/Goodguys Rod & Custom No. 20 machine, hotshot and needle-mover Cory Eliason visited victory lane during the recent King of the West sprint car season opener at Kern County Raceway Park in Bakersfield, Calif. giving the Antaya Motorsports team their first-ever feature event victory.
Goodguys has been an associate sponsor of Antaya Motorsports for two years now. Antaya Motorsports – based in the San Francisco Bay Area – has burst on the sprint and midget car scene in the past 24-months. In addition to their recent win in Bako, the team’s midget car, driven by Colby Copeland won a heat race in the Chili Bowl in January and qualified for the big Saturday night feature.
Eliason, 26, has been competing in and winning western states Sprint and Midget events since he began his career in 2007. He was jubilant in the Kern County Raceway park winner’s circle. “I can’t thank Larry and TW enough for giving me this opportunity this year,” Cory Eliason said. “It has only been four races but we have gelled quickly and these guys continue to give me a good car, and it is just awesome to win the KWS opener.”
24 cars made the trip down I5 to check out the new facility to kick off 2017, and Eliason would get his quest for the King of the West crown kicked off by timing the Good Guys Rod and Custom Association/Fire Protection Management, Inc./TW Performance sprinter in ninth fastest during qualifying time trials.
Lining up on the front row of his heat race, the Kingsburg, Calif. pilot would take advantage of the prime starting position and capture the win and lock himself into the Dash. He ran 7th in the next heat, placing him in the 4th row of the 30-lap feature. Making some hair-raising moves during the course of the night, Eliason seemed to get stronger as the laps clicked off. Working his way up into the fourth spot, Cory Eliason made a huge move in turns one and two on the 24th lap to get into the second. A red flag on the 28th lap set up a two-lap dash to the finish. Nailing the final restart, Eliason would turn in two perfect laps and claim the big win.
“We had a great car that put us in a great position, and we were there to capitalize. Again, I just have to thank everyone who helps out on this thing so much for all they do. It means a lot to be a part of this team’s first win!”
Goodguys President Marc Meadors, himself a drag racer knows what it takes to win. “We are proud of Larry, Cory and the entire team on their great win in Bakersfield,” Meadors said. “To beat the best takes preparation, skill, some luck and major dedication. It’s obvious the Antaya Motorsports team has the winning formula. We are proud to be associate sponsors of their team and look forward to a lot more fun this summer!”
And…The team collected $3k for their win. Some extra cabbage for the ride back North always helps!
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