“Sparky” Lights It Up At Wake County Speedway
By Jason Buckley
When a driver decides to race at a track they have never been to before, they usually focus on learning the track before looking for a win. For William “Sparky” West, the young driver’s first trip to Wake County Speedway (NC) was going to be just that - a learning experience in his Legends car. But West got more than he bargained for as circumstance placed him in the top spot at the halfway mark of his first race there. With the adrenaline flowing, West was able to hold onto the lead until the checkered flag flew, taking the overall race win - his first career Legends victory.
“It is unbelievable,” said West. “It hasn’t sunk in yet. I am just ecstatic. I still cannot believe it, it is like a dream.”
West, a Semi Pro division driver, started the race from the second position alongside Masters driver Billy Gomez. At the start, Pro driver Brad Arthur got around West, putting him back to the third position. Gomez and Arthur pulled out to a healthy lead over West and the rest of the pack, but contact between the two sent both leaders around in turn one, giving the lead to West.
“My car was set up for the long run,” said Arthur. “He (Gomez) started fading. We were sitting there riding and trying to make a run at him. I looked low on him a couple of laps. I saw a little opening so I tried to take it but the door shut on us before we got through it.
“Gomez is one of the best in the business and it is a privilege to race with him. I thought I heard something about he owes me one now, so we will see how that goes.”
The victor gets the spoils. William "Sparky" West enjoyed taking photos with Miss WCS. (LN Photo)
Gomez wasn’t too pleased with the move that sent both drivers to the back of the field.
“I made one bad corner, and that is all that was,” said Gomez. “They said he got a run at me but in Legends car racing it has always been that if a man isn’t at your door, it is your territory. The only way that guy (Arthur) is going to pass me is if he dumps me. That is not racing, and that isn’t Legends car racing. These cars cost too much to be tearing them up.
“We are going to Coastal Plains tomorrow, and I could be behind him (on the track), and if I have to go to the back, I have to go to the back. We have never had bad blood and we race against each other all over, but it only takes one time.”
Brad Arthur. (LN Photo)
With Gomez and Arthur at the back trying to race to the front, West had his hands full trying to hold off the advances of Brandon Temple and Kurt Crosbie. With an ‘experimental’ motor, Crosbie lacked the power he needed to advance beyond the third position.
“I was struggling to find the setup of the car,” said Crosbie. “Then I found that I needed to point the car down low to get it to run loose coming off the corner. I can’t drive anything but a loose race car, so I just started doing that. I was getting a run on the #82 (Brandon Temple) in the corner, but they kept on pulling away from me on the straights.”
The fight to the finish was between Temple and West. Temple tried everything he could, but just didn’t have enough to catch West, settling for second.
“My car was pushing terrible in the middle,” said Temple. “But it was a
good race. I am glad Sparky got his first win. I wish I could have made it more of a race but we will see what we can do next time.”
West credits his win to the restart after the two leaders took each other out, as well as the handling balance of the car.
“I have never restarted from the number one position,” said West. “I wasn’t sure how the restart would go, so I just kind of winged it. I had an excellent restart and came up through the gears well and everything turned out good. The car handled good for the rest of the race.
“It was just an awesome run. I still cannot believe it. I have several championships and wins in karts, but this is my first Legends win, and this is my first time here. I am going to have to come back a lot more.”
Results
1) #99 William “Sparky” West (overall and Semi Pro winner)
2) #82 Brandon Temple (Pro winner)
3) #07 Kurt Crosbie
4) #66 Billy Gomez (Masters winner)
5) #22 Brad Arthur
6) #7 Norman Perry
7) #6nc Henry Long
8) #16 Vee Harvey
9) #22 Paul Prince
10) #95 Frankie Morgan
11) #00 Casey Traxler
