John Schulz at 34 Raceway (Dana Royer/34 Raceway Photo)
(Bill W) April 4, 2016 – It was a solid first outing of the 2016 season for the Jimmy Davies Racing #99 team and driver John Schulz. “Mr. Smooth” raced to a tenth place finish with the National NSL 360 Series Saturday at Randolph County Raceway near Moberly, Missouri. On Sunday, he charged from sixth to second in the Sprint Invaders opener at 34 Raceway in his hometown of West Burlington, Iowa.
The Moberly event saw a heat/Qualifier format. John finished third in his heat and fifth in the Qualifier. “We went at it with Jeremy Campbell in the heat for a while,” he says. “In the Qualifier, it was Derek Hagar. He slid me, and then I kind of turned back and got underneath him. That was a lot of fun.”
Earning enough points to start the main event in row five, he would checker tenth. “It was a good way to start the year off for sure,” says John. “The cars they had in Moberly were the cream of the crop. To come out of there with a top ten was a really good start.”
It was on to 34 Raceway and some warmer temps on Sunday. John raced from fifth to second in his heat, and then won the Dash. Unfortunately, he drew the six to start the feature, but he had some bigger issues. “We were fast enough at both places,” says car owner, Jimmy Davies. “We had some first weekend quirks. No one realized that when John pushed off for the feature at 34 Raceway that the rear brake pads were spit out. He ran that whole feature without brakes. That made his run pretty impressive.”
He would run a steady race, and battled the car to a second place finish. “It was a long 25 laps,” says John. “Once we got to lapped traffic, it was a handful. We were lucky to hang on to second. We had a few yellow flags there that really came at the perfect time for us.”
Both driver and car owner are excited for this weekend. On Friday, the Sprint Invaders and the NSL Show-Me State Region will tangle at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson. On Saturday, the NSL 410 series opens at 34 Raceway. “We’re excited to go to Donnellson Friday,” says Jimmy. “That has always been a favorite track for both of us. We were fast there last year and didn’t quite get it done. There will be some stiff competition from the NSL, but that didn’t bother us in Moberly.”
John is equally excited. “We’ve always had pretty good results at Donnellson. I’m excited to get back in a 410 on Saturday too. It’s been about nine years since I’ve done that. We were happy with the way last weekend went. It was a good way to start the season.”
Jimmy Davies Racing Releases
If you’d like to be added to the Jimmy Davies Racing e-mail list, e-mail sprntcar@hotmail.com with “Davies” in the Subject Line.
Jimmy Davies Racing would like to thank Global Industries, Automotive Machine and Midland Performance.
Photo: John in action at 34 Raceway (Dana Royer/34 Raceway Photo)
Bill W Media
sprntcar@hotmail.com
Twitter: @BillWMedia
Monroe, IA USA