(11/18/2018)
Though it may have been a rough season overall, San Francisco’s Justin Yaeger showed flashes of potential numerous times throughout. 2018 was Yaeger’s first full season racing, following in the footsteps of his father, successful driver Tim Yaeger Jr.
While starting his career in the high powered IMCA Modifieds, Yaeger has began to adjust quickly. Multiple times throughout the season, Yaeger ran in or near the Top 5, just for a mechanical failure to beset a quality run, so Yaeger’s finishes aren’t completely indicative of his performance in 2018. In the final points race of the season at Petaluma, Yaeger battled throttle issues that limited him to ¼ throttle power, but finished the race to gain as many points as possible. Even with those issues, Yaeger was still able to take home 3rd in the Petaluma Speedway points standings.
Part of the learning curve in racing is testing yourself against top competition. Yaeger did this multiple times during the year, including the prestigious Pat Pettit Shootout at Watsonville’s Ocean Speedway, as well as a 2 day All Star Modified Tour event at the illustrious Calistoga Half Mile. The trip to Calistoga was Yaeger’s first time racing on high speed half mile track, and though he ran well for his first time there, he missed the main event both nights against some of the state’s top talent. Yaeger’s performance at the Pettit looked to be going much better on the first night, before a broken differential ended his night. The 2nd night, Yaeger’s hopes of making the biggest modified race came down to a 12 lap B Main. Yaeger was running well and close to a transfer position, but unfortunately he would pull off late, ending his weekend.
If Yaeger is able to build off the flashes we saw in 2018, there’s no doubt that he could be contending for wins next season. When asked about his first full season, Yaeger said “I was happy to be successful even fighting through the amount of bad luck that came my way, and learned enough to go into next season with complete confidence.”
Justin would like to thank all of his sponsors and supporters, including:
Yaeger Dental Supply
Jim Weiler Racing
Beaverstate Dental Systems
Superior Body Shop
Hair Techniques
Jim Breen – State Farm
Allen Ortiz Photography
DeCarlo Racing Products
Yaeger Season Stats:
Starts: 17
Top 10’s: 9
Best Finish: 7th (6 times)
Worst Finish: 16th (Antioch April 14th)
Petaluma:
April 21st: 7th
May 12th: 7th
May 19th: 7th
June 2nd: 14th
June 16th: 10th
July 28th: 7th
August 11th: 7th
September 3rd: 8th
Antioch:
April 14th: 16th
May 5th: 12th
June 30th: 7th
August 25th: 9th
October 13th: 15th
Calistoga:
September 13th: Missed main
September 14th: Missed main
Ocean:
September 28th: Broke differential
September 29th: Running well in B Main before pulling off late
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 