Sherwood, WI (9/8/2017)
- Zac Zakowski returned to his home track
at Crandon International Off-Road Raceway
and persevered through difficulties to turn
in two solid runs in the Pro Modified UTV
classes. He finished sixth in Sunday’s Crandon
World Cup and came back from being punted
during Saturday’s TORC race to finish ninth
in his Countryside Auto Transport Yamaha YXZ
1000R.
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Kenda's
Zac
Zakowski kicked the weekend off at Crandon
Big House Weekend by participating in
the parade through downtown Crandon
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Saturday’s TORC race was held after the track
was inundated with heavy rain all morning.
Sporting a new set of Kenda Mastodon tires,
Zakowski was nearly caught in a crash early
in the race and then was hit from behind on
the mid-race restart. Despite flipping due
to the contact, he recovered to finish ninth
and now sits fourth in TORC points.
“We haven’t been involved with many altercations
on the track this year, but Saturday was tough,”
said Zakowski. “On the first lap, a car went
flipping into the gravel pit turn. It was
right to my inside, it started flipping, it
caught the ground and I actually drove underneath
it. We got out cleanly, but the restart came,
everyone was stacking up and we got slammed
in the back. It just launched my car. We got
back going, but we were just so far back.”
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Amsoil's Zac Zakowski was flipped over
in the restart, which sent him to the
back of the pack |
Prior to the crash, Zakowski was running
a solid pace. He made a last-minute call before
the race to run a set of uncut Kenda Mastodons.
They made a huge difference.
“The Kenda Tires worked really well in the
muddy conditions,” said Zakowski. “We needed
that much traction because it was so wet.
That choice was spot on. They worked great.”
In Sunday’s special non-points Crandon World
Cup, Zakowski’s bad luck continued. He had
issues with his ECU prior to the start and
had to run a stock unit during the race. Despite
being significantly down on power from the
stock tune, he finished sixth.
“We had to run the ECU from my backup car
and it is not programmed for the racing engine,”
said Zakowski. “So we were drastically down
on power and drivability in that race. I struggled
to find the proper gear the whole time because
the tune was so far off. I was pleased with
the finish, considering.”
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TB Performance's Zac Zakowski rebounded
to finish 6th on Sunday in the Crandon
World Cup |
That race defined just how crucial tuning
and engine work are to stay competitive in
the Pro Modified class. Zakowski credited
Straightline Performance and TB Performance
for his engine and tuning.
“They are our engine and tuning sponsors
and they’ve been phenomenal this year,” said
Zakowski. “They are at the race every weekend,
keeping the car running right. They are a
big reason why I’m sitting fourth in points
right now.”
Zakowski will be ready as the TORC Series
finishes up the 2017 season in Minnesota.
The season finale will feature three races
in one weekend.
“Our goal is try to get that third spot in
points,” said Zakowski. “It’s going to be
tough, but people may have issues. We’ve had
a bad run of luck in the last couple of rounds.
There’s still a lot of racing left.”
Zakowski will be ready to bounce back during
the tripleheader weekend at ERX Motor Park
in Elk River, MN. The race is scheduled for
September 23-24.
Zac Zakowski Sponsors:
Countryside Auto Transport, Zakowski Motorsports,
Johnny Greaves Motorsports, Amsoil, Kenda
Tires, Straightline Performance, Spider Graphix,
Top The Podium, Powersports 1, Evans Coolant,
K&N, STM Powersports, DP Brakes, TB Performance
