2017 Dixie Shootout #3 & #4 - HQMA

5/27 (HQMA): This was day 1 of our Dixie Shootout regional double header at HQMA in Huntsville, AL. We started out the morning realizing we had forgotten all of our safety gear (except our suit and helmet) at home. Thankfully our racing family stepped in and we were able to borrow enough equipment to get us through the weekend. A big THANK YOU to everyone who helped us out! In Jr Animal, Dillon ran just a few laps in qualifying before hitting the wall, ending his qualifying run. He started 7th in the feature and ended up finishing 4th. In Jr Honda, Dillon qualified and started 3rd. He took the lead just a few laps in and held it for most the race. With just 10 laps to go, a car that Dillon was lapping turned down into Dillon and wrecked him. Since we started racing, USAC has had a rule in place that if you were wrecked by a car you were lapping, you would get your spot back. For whatever reason, they took out that rule this year, so Dillon had to go from the lead to the tail, which was incredibly disappointing. He didn't give up and raced his way back up through the field. He had made it up to 4th when the 2nd place car spun out the leader coming to the checkered flag, which put him finishing 2nd. It was one of the craziest races I have seen in a long time.

5/28 (HQMA): On Sunday 5/28, we started all over again for race #4 of Dixie Shootout regional series (day 2 of our double header at HQMA). In Jr Animal, Dillon qualified 4th. They inverted the top 5, so that put him starting 2nd in the race. He got together with another car just a few laps in and had to go to the back. After that, he slowly made his way towards the front in a caution filled race, finishing 4th. In Jr Honda, Dillon qualified 2nd and started 4th with the invert. At the beginning of the race, he had to come off the track because the switch in his car went out, which meant he had to restart at the tail of an 11 car field with dirty tires. At that point, it seemed like there was no way he'd be able to pull off a good finish, but I am so proud that he didn't give up. Between passing and other cars wrecking and going to the back, he worked his way through the field until he was in the lead. It was an awesome moment to see Ron hand him that checkered flag and to watch him take his victory lap. This was Dillon's first Jr Honda win. After being just 10 laps away from winning a rocket trophy Saturday and getting wrecked, the win in this race on Sunday really felt like it turned our weekend around. We could not be more proud of our driver! These are the moments that make all the hard work and time spent worthwhile.