C Sims Race Report DIRT Series Stop 7
Pala, CA- August 13, 2017- Pala Raceway is one of my favorite places to race. It’s close to home, and I love the track! We headed out to Pala on Saturday morning for practice. Everything went perfect during my first practice run. The car was running great and I was able to figure out my lines. I was hitting the double jumps too which I knew would help me during the race. When it was time to start the second practice session, I went back out just to fine tune everything and make sure I had the track down. 
On my last lap, I decided I would try to clear another double jump that didn’t have a smooth landing on the other side. After I hit the jump, my car stayed flat in the air and didn’t nose in like it usually does. When I came down, I cased it pretty hard and it knocked the wind out of me. Luckily, my car was fine and nothing broke! I was glad I tried the jump in practice and not during the race! Going into the race on Sunday, I felt really confident in the course and my car.
We had a quick practice session on Sunday morning before racing started. I went out and ran the course again and was feeling great! My class was race number one in the lineup for the day, so after the driver’s meeting, I headed back to my pit quickly to get ready. I lined up with the other 8 cars in my class. Pala has a narrow start, and with 9 of us charging it, I knew I had to get out in front fast. The green flag dropped and we took off! I was running neck in neck with one of my competitors to the first turn. We were both determined and neither one of us let off the gas as we headed up the hill and around the first turn. I had the inside line and as we made the turn, my competitor and I hit. I turned sharply to the left, but she flipped on her side. I stayed on it and settled in. I remembered my lines from the day before and was able to keep my lead through the entire race. I finished the first moto in 1st place!
When it was time, we lined up again for moto two. I picked a different spot on the line, but I felt confident I could get to the turn first. As we took off, one of my competitors and I were neck in neck again. Neither one of us let off going up the hill and into the first turn. This time, I had the outside line and I stayed on it. As we headed out of the turn, I was able to get out ahead with the rest of the pack behind me. My competitor stayed with me until we hit the first set of double jumps. I hit the gas and cleared the first set, then I cleared the next set that immediately followed. Clearing those jumps gave me a huge advantage and I gained three car lengths of space between us. I stayed on it throughout the race, and each time hitting those jumps helped me keep a cushion between myself and the others. I finished the second moto in 1st place and took home the 1st place spot overall for the day!
Our team has one weekend off, and then we will head to 333 MX Park in Victorville, CA on August 26th for round 3 of the Quad X & UTV Racing Series. 333 is a track we’ve never raced at, so we are looking forward to it!
Thanks so much to all of these amazing companies that support my program: Got Sand Performance, Addict Racing Engines, Red Rock, Method Race Wheels, Crow Enterprizes, Factory UTV, GBC Motorsports, RT Pro, Yoshimura, Demon Powersports, Baja Designs, Gates G-Force, Elka Suspension, Rugged Radios, Maxima Racing Oils, Crown Performance Products, Surface Sun Systems, Butter Supply Co, Pavement Recycling Systems, Perrault Motorsports, and my parents who make this possible for me! Thanks to Steve at the DIRT Series for another great day of racing, and thanks to Mad Moose Media for the awesome pictures! You can check out the Sims188 Racing team on Instagram @csims188 or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/csims188/.
