(11/13/2018)
As a whole, 2018 was a season that Grass Valley’s Andrew Peckham will never forget. The SportMod driver had an incredible number of wins and Top 5’s, along the way to a runner up spot in the IMCA SportMod State Standings.
Peckham’s accomplishments are all the more impressive when you take into consideration that 2018 was Peckham’s first full season behind the wheel. 5 wins, and 20 Top 5’s are stellar numbers when you also take into account the amount of travelling Peckham did this season.
Peckham made multiple trips as far North as Chico, and as far South as Merced. Finding success at every track he travelled to in California, he claimed at least 1 Top 5 at every track he travelled to in the state. Peckham and crew found the majority of his success up North, claiming 2 wins apiece at both Chico’s Silver Dollar Speedway and Marysville Raceway. Despite missing a race at Chico, Peckham still took home 3rd in the standings. Had he made every race, he would have been in the hunt for the track championship.
Along with all the travelling he did in state, Peckham also made two trips out of state this season to compete in the 2 biggest SportMod races on the West Coast. On Labor Day weekend, the team headed up to Oregon for Southern Oregon Speedway’s 2nd annual R Charles Snyder Salute. The trip didn’t go nearly as well as they hoped, missing the qualifier main Saturday night, the missing the final transfer into the big show by 1 spot Sunday.
Then in early November, Peckham headed down to Las Vegas for the most prestigious Modified race in the west, the Duel in the Desert. This trip went much better. After starting 10th in his heat on the opening night, he scratched and clawed his way all the way up to 2nd to make the first qualifier. The 2nd night didn’t go nearly as well, as he missed the qualifier. That left Peckham one last chance to make the big show. In his last chance qualifier, he was able to finish in the Top 3 to make it to the Main Event. Peckham then rolled off 22nd in the feature. Over the course of the race, Peckham was able to make a few passes and stay out of trouble to claim 15th out of almost 100 SportMods at the event.
Peckham had this to say on his 2018 performance: “For being back in it full time for this first year if I can repeat what I’ve done I think you’ve done pretty good.” With this strong of a first season in a SportMod, it’s safe to say that Peckham is primed for another successful year in 2019.
Andrew would like to thank all of his sponsors and supporters, including:
Largest Metal Fabrication
Andrew’s Paving & Excavating
Les Schwab Tire
HRT shocks
Darrell Hughes Racing Technology
Art Sotomayor
Sunny
Justin
Amy
Beaver
Ricky
Reg
Steve
Mark
Susan
Nancy
Season Stats:
Starts: 31
Wins: 5
Top 5’s: 20
Top 10’s: 25
Best Finish: 1st (5 times)
Worst Finish: 17th (Chico August 24th)
2nd in California IMCA SportMod State Points
Ocean Speedway
April 13th: 14th
June 1st: 7th
July 20th: 5th
July 21st: 1st
September 21st: 3rd
(Pettit) September 29th: 4th
Silver Dollar Speedway
March 30th: 1st
April 20th: 2nd
May 4th: 8th
May 5th: 4th
May 11th: 1st
June 8th: 2nd
June 15th: 3rd
June 29th: 2nd
July 4th: 12th
August 3rd: 6th
August 24th: 17th
Marysville Raceway
March 24th: 3rd
May 12th: 1st
May 26th: 4th
June 9th: 1st
June 16th: 9th
Merced Speedway
April 14th: 9th
June 30th: 5th
August 18th: 11th
September 22nd: 5th
October 5th: 5th
October 6th: 2nd
Las Vegas Speedway
Duel in the Desert Main Event: 15th
Placerville Speedway
May 19th: 11th
August 25th: 3rd
Interested in having writeups like these done for your race team throughout the season? Contact Daren Ricks of DRC Motorsports Media here on Facebook, at darenricks999@gmail.com or at (916) 229-7474 to discuss a plan that fits your team’s needs.
Daren Ricks
DRC Motorsports Media
DRC Motorsports Media 