Inside Line Promotions - COTTAGE GROVE, Ore. (May 29, 2014) - Patrick Dills had a breakout weekend at Cottage Grove Speedway.
Dills recorded a pair of top 10s, which was highlighted by his first career top-five finish in only his fourth sprint car race.
"It boosted my confidence," he said. "I get down on myself too easy when I don't do well. I want to pick it up so fast. I feel like I'm trying to live up to everybody's expectations and those are really high. I was happy with a top five finally. It felt good to get that off my back."
Dills kicked off the doubleheader at Cottage Grove Speedway last Saturday by qualifying fifth quickest, which was one spot out of making the dash. Dills then rallied from fifth to second place in his heat race.
"I pretty much just went for it," he said. "So many people have given me so much advice. I took pieces from all of it and I took Brian Crockett's advice and held the throttle down the whole time and used the brakes. The car was working really, really well."
That lined Dills up on the outside of the front row for the 25-lap main event.
"Pretty much we had the wrong setup on there," he said. "I went into turn one and the car was so tight. It pushed way off the track and off the cushion. A bunch of cars got by me and I had to fight my way back up there."
Dills dropped a handful of positions before rallying for the fifth-place result.
The team returned to the quarter-mile track on Sunday, when Dills qualified ninth quickest and finished where he started - fifth - in his heat race. Following the feature inversion, Dills started the main event on the inside of the second row.
"Throughout the race I fell back to eighth," he said. "I was trying to work my way up to where the fast line was. I started playing around with my corner entries and doing different lines. I was testing different stuff."
Dills picked up a position following a green-white-checkered finish to end with a seventh-place result, which marked his fourth top 10 in five races this season.
He is scheduled to return to action this Saturday at Cottage Grove Speedway for the Marvin Smith Memorial.
QUICK RESULTS -
May 24 - Cottage Grove Speedway in Cottage Grove, Ore. - Qualifying: 5; Heat race: 2 (5); Feature: 5 (2).
May 25 - Cottage Grove Speedway in Cottage Grove, Ore. - Qualifying: 9; Heat race: 5 (5); Feature: 7 (3).
SEASON STATS -
5 races, 0 wins, 1 top five, 4 top 10s, 4 top 15s, 5 top 20s
UP NEXT -
Saturday at Cottage Grove Speedway in Cottage Grove, Ore., for the Marvin Smith Memorial
MEDIA LINKS -
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Patrick-Dills-Racing/236840896439816?ref=br_tf
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PatrickDills90
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT - Jerry Dills Trucking
Jerry Dills, who is Patrick's father, has been an independent log truck driver throughout Oregon for the past 44 years.
"I wouldn't be able to do any of this racing without my dad and I can't thank him enough for all of his support throughout the years and for how hard he works," Patrick Dills said.
Dills would also like to thank BC Motorsports, Weeman's Small Engine Repair, All Seasons Equipment, Keith Whitaker Trucking, Steel House, Bonnichsen Repair, Rocket Designs and Inside Line Promotions for their continued support.
Dills recorded a pair of top 10s, which was highlighted by his first career top-five finish in only his fourth sprint car race.
"It boosted my confidence," he said. "I get down on myself too easy when I don't do well. I want to pick it up so fast. I feel like I'm trying to live up to everybody's expectations and those are really high. I was happy with a top five finally. It felt good to get that off my back."
Dills kicked off the doubleheader at Cottage Grove Speedway last Saturday by qualifying fifth quickest, which was one spot out of making the dash. Dills then rallied from fifth to second place in his heat race.
"I pretty much just went for it," he said. "So many people have given me so much advice. I took pieces from all of it and I took Brian Crockett's advice and held the throttle down the whole time and used the brakes. The car was working really, really well."
That lined Dills up on the outside of the front row for the 25-lap main event.
"Pretty much we had the wrong setup on there," he said. "I went into turn one and the car was so tight. It pushed way off the track and off the cushion. A bunch of cars got by me and I had to fight my way back up there."
Dills dropped a handful of positions before rallying for the fifth-place result.
The team returned to the quarter-mile track on Sunday, when Dills qualified ninth quickest and finished where he started - fifth - in his heat race. Following the feature inversion, Dills started the main event on the inside of the second row.
"Throughout the race I fell back to eighth," he said. "I was trying to work my way up to where the fast line was. I started playing around with my corner entries and doing different lines. I was testing different stuff."
Dills picked up a position following a green-white-checkered finish to end with a seventh-place result, which marked his fourth top 10 in five races this season.
He is scheduled to return to action this Saturday at Cottage Grove Speedway for the Marvin Smith Memorial.
QUICK RESULTS -
May 24 - Cottage Grove Speedway in Cottage Grove, Ore. - Qualifying: 5; Heat race: 2 (5); Feature: 5 (2).
May 25 - Cottage Grove Speedway in Cottage Grove, Ore. - Qualifying: 9; Heat race: 5 (5); Feature: 7 (3).
SEASON STATS -
5 races, 0 wins, 1 top five, 4 top 10s, 4 top 15s, 5 top 20s
UP NEXT -
Saturday at Cottage Grove Speedway in Cottage Grove, Ore., for the Marvin Smith Memorial
MEDIA LINKS -
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Patrick-Dills-Racing/236840896439816?ref=br_tf
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PatrickDills90
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT - Jerry Dills Trucking
Jerry Dills, who is Patrick's father, has been an independent log truck driver throughout Oregon for the past 44 years.
"I wouldn't be able to do any of this racing without my dad and I can't thank him enough for all of his support throughout the years and for how hard he works," Patrick Dills said.
Dills would also like to thank BC Motorsports, Weeman's Small Engine Repair, All Seasons Equipment, Keith Whitaker Trucking, Steel House, Bonnichsen Repair, Rocket Designs and Inside Line Promotions for their continued support.
