Packard Ends Busy Weekend with Great Run at Riverside
Capturing her First ACT Pole, Leading the Most Laps and her 2nd Three Star Award
EAST MONTPELIER, Vt – Starting last in the final heat race at Riverside Saturday night, Packard went out and showed them that wasn’t going to be a problem for her. Starting in 7th with her 9x Northstar Fireworks/Packard Fuels car, she followed the 27nh to the front. Packard finished comfortably in 3rd place +4, which was enough to secure her the pole for the Central Paving 150 ACT race. “We struggled early in practice, but our times were similar with everyone else,” said Packard, “We got the bottom lane in the heat race and were able to follow the 27 to the front and earn the pole with our +4.”
Starting on the pole was only the beginning of how Packard’s night would unfold. With the drop of the green flag, Packard, fell back to 2nd place, as the 27nh took the lead. However, it didn’t take long for Packard to get in the groove and move her way back around the 27nh for the lead on lap 20, and she just checked out. In one of the fastest run races that ran caution free, Packard found her rhythm early and maintained it for a majority of the race. By lap 50 Packard had almost an entire straightaway advantage over the 4ny, and was putting cars down a lap every lap. “After losing the lead for a few laps, I was able to get it back and lead 115 laps of the race,” Packard said.
At halfway, Packard still found herself in the lead, with the 9nh closing in, but she was able to remain in the lead, and continue to put cars down a lap. On lap 133 the 9nh made his way under Packard and took the lead from her, and two laps later, Packard was passed by the 17ma, moving her back to 3rd. “I tried to keep a few lap cars between me and the second place car for as long as I could,” said Packard. With just two laps left in the race, Packard’s car was so loose that she spun on the backstretch coming out of 2, but kept her foot in it to get back out on the track, and eventually finishing in 5th place. “The car just got too free and I was struggling with it, and I had no drive off the corners,” Packard said, “Towards the end, I pushed the car to its limits and unfortunately spun it out.”
“We did what we could do and I was on cruise control for a majority of the race,” said Packard, “and when the time was right I picked up the pace. I am really proud of my guys, we had a great run and they gave me a great car. It definitely boosts the teams and my confidence and it shows my competitors that I am here to race.” Emily is currently 4th in the ACT points as she heads into the Spring Green 114 this Sunday June 15th.
Packard was also awarded her second “Three Stars” of the race award this season for her performance at Riverside Speedway this weekend. “I am really happy to have received this award for the second time this season,” said Packard “I owe a lot to my team for giving me a good car, and a big thank you to ACT for this award.”
Her racing weekend started on Thursday night at Thunder Road for the first weekly event of the season. She started 3rd in her heat, and was able to make her way to finish 2nd. In a caution plagued feature, Packard started 6th and found herself avoiding wrecks and moved up to 5th place, until contact from a car took her out, resulting in her going to the back of the pack. She took her time, and was able to make her way back up to the 11th position by the end of the race. “The track was a little bit free all day,” said Packard “we had to fight to get the car back up to 11th position.” Packard currently sits 11th in the weekly points standings at Thunder Road.
On Friday Packard and the 9x Northstar Fireworks/Packard Fuels team took to the track at Devil’s Bowl, where she was leading the points starting the night. In the heat race, Packard started 5th, and drove to the front in 10 laps to win her second heat race at the track this season. With the redraw, Packard would be starting 6th in the feature. With the cars racing side by side for the whole feature, Packard was able to get her car to 5th place, but there was no way to pass any other cars in front of her. “25 laps weren’t quite enough, we had a great car and the guys did an excellent job setting it up,” Packard said, “it was just double file with nowhere to go, I am definitely happy and the team did a great job.” Packard presently sits second in the points at Devil’s Bowl, and she and the team head there this weekend for the rescheduled ACT Spring Green 114 race.
“A big thank you to my team, Neal, Frankie, Randy, Sammy, and my mom and dad, for all the hard work this past weekend,” said Packard. “I also want to thank all my sponsors, Northstar Fireworks, Packard Fuels, Be the Match, R.G. Paving, Rutland Regional Medical Center, Fecteau Homes, Yipes! of Barre, Berlin Optical Expressions, and GossCars.com.”