Chase Purdy Impresses with Top Ten Run in his First Snowball Derby
PENSACOLA, FL (December 4, 2017) – Anthony Campi Racing and Chase Purdy ran their first Snowball Derby together on Sunday at Five Flags Speedway, finishing eighth. It was not only their first attempt at the event together, but their pairing’s first race of any kind together heading into their 2018 season.
Purdy was fast all week in practice, consistently laying down laps in the top ten of practice times during each session. Friday’s qualifying session, often referred to as the most intense and stressful in all of short track racing, proved Purdy’s times were no fluke. The Mississippi native piloted the No. 81 Toyota to the sixth starting spot, making his task for Sunday much easier.
Once the green flag flew on the 300-lap feature, Purdy settled into a comfortable spot within the top ten. As the laps clicked off, his Toyota slowly came to life as other cars began to lose balance and wear their tires. Throughout various pit stop cycles, Chase and the ACR crew were fighting their own handling quirks and working to improve their car.
In the cockpit, Chase was working his brake bias adjuster trying to fine-tune the car to his liking for the final run of the race.Ultimately, the teenager finished his first Snowball Derby in eighth position. Of all the first-timers in the field, Chase led the way for Derby rookies.
“We were fighting loose into the corner for the first half of the race or so,” Purdy said after the event. “After that, we went a little too far with the adjustment and it became tight in the center and we didn’t have enough time to get the push out of the car. The track conditions changed, which made it a little bit harder to get it perfect, because it was getting tighter as the track got cooler. I did what I could with the brake bias and tried to manage all the tire I could until about 30 to go.”
Purdy’s next event with Anthony Campi Racing is scheduled to be Speedfest at Crisp Motorsports Park in Cordele, Georgia. The event rolls off on Sunday, January 28, just a few days before Chase’s ARCA Daytona debut.
For more information on Chase Purdy, visit his website at ChasePurdyRacing.com and follow him on Facebook (@ChasePurdyRacing), Twitter (@ChasePurdy12) and Instagram (@chase_purdy).
Anthony Campi Racing is a professional, championship race team based outside of Sarasota, Fla., who fields cars for various drivers across the country including NASCAR Next driver Chase Purdy. ACR invites fans and followers to connect with them on Facebook (@AnthonyCampi81), Twitter (@AnthonyCampi) and Instagram (@AnthonyCampiRacing).
Sources: Performance Marketing Group