7/26/2014
Marcham Nearly Snags Third Midget Triumph of the Year on the West Coast; Maintains USAC-WS Midget Dirt Points Lead
Continuing to impress, rising racing star Trey Marcham of Oklahoma, the 2013 USAC-Western States Midget Rookie-of-the-Year continues showing poise and skill beyond his years, nearly claiming his third 2014 Midget win, scoring an intensely contested second-place in the Honda USAC-Western States Midget series event on Saturday, July 26 at the 1/5-mile LeMoore Raceway in LeMoore, CA.
Chauffeuring the Josh Ford Motorsports King Racing Products/A&A Precision Machine TCR/Esslinger, the 23-year-old started the evening by setting the track record (13.231) in qualifications, nearly two tenths faster than the closest competitor. Starting sixth in Heat 1, Marcham masterfully propelled his way to third place the 10-lap Heat race, one of few drivers making any passes on the very tight, dry, track.
After lining up for the 30-lap feature on the outside of the third row in sixth, Marcham held a Top 5 position through several early race cautions. Marcham moved into fourth by a Lap 4 caution, fell to fifth, remaining in the Top five as the lead pack began battling tire attrition, moved into second by the midway point, then he began methodically reeling in race leader Ronnie Gardner, who had built a sizable lead on the mostly single-groove track surface.
Marcham whittled into Gardner’s lead for several laps, with smoke coming from both competitors’ right tires as they raced hard and intense in close confines. Marcham overtook Gardner for the lead on Lap 19, leading five laps. Gardner inched by – with thin tires and an even drier track, Marcham clung to Gardner’s bumper, but couldn’t get by at the checkers, settling for a strong, yet disappointing runner-up finish in second, just thousandths of a second behind Gardner at the finish line. Marcham and Gardner had the nearly standing-room-only crowd on their feet for the final ten laps, with their cars seemingly under a blanket.
“I feel like I let one slip away,” said Marcham. “We had an amazing car and I thought we could win. Ronnie battled hard and it was a really fun race, I just wish I hadn’t given up the lead when I did. I cannot thank my sponsors and the guys at JFM enough for providing me with such a great car.”
Gardner, the reigning series champion who sits second in the USAC-WS Dirt point behind Marcham, gave a shout out to Trey following the race. "We finally parked the 68 in victory lane tonight at Lemoore! Awesome race with Trey Marcham! Feels good to be back in the winner circle,” said Gardner.
Marcham continues leading the USAC-WS Dirt series points, holding a 17-point margin over Gardner. In addition, Marcham now sits second in the overall USAC-WS series standings, 33 points behind Jared Blondel, despite not competing in any pavement events.
Thus far on the 2014 campaign, Marcham has two Midget wins (back-to-back at Bakersfield on May 3 and Tulare on May 31), two Midget fast times, one 600 non-wing win, five Midget Top 5 runs and six Top 10s in the Midget.
Marcham will look to continue his success in Midget competition on August 9 in the John Soares Classic at the 3/8-mile Petaluma Speedway in California, where he claimed his first Midget win in 2013. Marcham will also be competing in several illustrious events, including the Louie Vermeil Classic at the ½-mile Calistoga Speedway on Labor Day weekend and the Gold Cup Race of Champions at Silver Dollar Speedway. In addition, he will take to the USAC-National Midget series behind-the-wheel of a Bryan Clauson Racing entry in the 4-Crown Nationals at Eldora Speedway on September 20 and the Gold Crown Midget Nationals October 2 through 4 at Tri-City Speedway as well as the Kokomo Clash at Kokomo Speedway on October 17.
Marcham claimed the 2013 USAC-Western States Midget Rookie-of-the-Year honor, compiling Top 10 finishes in the USAC-WS Dirt and overall standings. In his maiden Midget season, Marcham claimed five Top 10s, three Top fives, one main event win and one heat race win while claiming ninth in the USAC-WS overall Midget standings and tenth in the USAC-WS Dirt standings.
In addition to his success on dirt bullrings in open-wheel action in the Midget, Marcham showed versatility, performing a clean sweep on pavement, sweeping a pair of Late Model features at Myrtle Beach Speedway last July where he scored his first and second career Late Model Stock Car wins.
Marcham, a senior Engineering student at Oklahoma University, with over 11 years of experience in Micro Sprints, Ford Focus Midgets, 360 Non-Wing Sprint Cars and asphalt Late Models, has shown amazing talent and has been seen passing drivers with thousands more laps and experience than he in a Midget. Marcham has amassed six Championships at I-44 Riverside Speedway in Newcastle, Oklahoma, as well as having claimed both the A-Class and Non-wing A-Mains at the Inaugural Donnie Ray Crawford Memorial/Race4Life in Tulsa in 2012. Marcham compiled several wins and podium finishes in 2013 and two USAC-Western States Midget wins in 2014.
Select Coatings, RD Marcham Energy, Inc., Simpson Racing Products, Pinnacle Energy Services, Best Western Tulsa Airport, Metals Supermarket Oklahoma City, J & B Digital Graphics and Mud-X support Marcham.
Article Credit: Robert Haugh
Submitted By: Cheri Marcham
