(11/24/2018)
Following in the footsteps of his father, the Maverick Jerry Garner, 3rd generation driver Mark Garner took home his first track championship at his home track, Antioch Speedway. The Antioch native has been outspoken in recent years about his goal to win the track title in memory of his father.
Garner went all in on 2018, even selling his Sport Mod to put all the team’s focus on winning the Limited Late Model championship. For the 2nd consecutive season, Garner kicked off the year by winning the 2nd annual Larry Damitz Memorial. Garner’s win ensured that he is still the only winner in the history of the race. Though it would be 2 months before Garner picked up his 2nd win of the season, he stayed consistent, only finishing outside of the Top 5 once before his 2nd win in late June.
After Garner followed his 2nd win of the season with another 6th place finish, Garner went on a tear of consistency over the last 11 races, finishing no worse than 5th. Despite Garner’s stretch of great runs, the title picture was still up in the air. Garner, Kimo Oreta and Mike Walko were all still in the hunt as the season shifted into August.
As the season wound down, Walko fell out of contention, leaving Oreta and Garner to battle for the division crown. It wasn’t looking good for Garner going into the final 3 races, but Garner pulled off a miracle, taking 2 wins and 1 2nd place finish over the last 3 events to claim the championship. The title was made even more special by the fact that many of Garner’s family members were in attendance to witness the emotional victory. When asked about 2018, Garner said: “How my season went was like this: We won the Larry Damitz for the 2nd time we won both of them last year and this year. We were always in the hunt just had some bad nights like everyone has. We overcame it and keep pushing through the season.
Mark would like to thank all of his sponsors and supporters, including:
Central Exterminators
Rebello Racing
Motor by Chris Heihn
Studio 71 Tattoos
Delta Transmission
Yoes Racing Heads
Jay’s Mobile Welding and Fabrication
Sabrina’s Pizza
Aerial Control
Unique Breedz
Judge Me Clothing
Mac Tools
Pro Motorsports
Crew Chief badass Billy Garner
Garner Season Stats:
Starts: 18
Wins: 5
Top 5’s: 16
Top 10’s: 18
Best Finish: 1st (5 Times)
Worst Finish: 6th (Twice)
1st in Antioch Speedway Limited Late Model Points
Antioch:
April 14th: 1st
April 21st: 2nd
May 5th: 6th
May 12th: 3rd
June 2nd: 4th
June 23rd: 1st
June 30th: 6th
July 7th: 5th
July 21st: 5th
August 4th: 1st
August 11th: 3rd
August 18th: 2nd
September 8th: 4th
September 15th: 2nd
September 22nd: 3rd
October 6th: 1st
October 13th: 2nd
October 20th: 1st
Vegas:
5th in heat races first 2 nights
15th to 7th in B Main final night
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 