Fast Start For Hinds Ends In Crash With CARS Tour West

DACONO, Colo. – Cassidy Hinds started her most recent weekend at Colorado National Speedway with plenty of speed, but her end result was met with disappointment against the stars of the Spears CARS Tour West.

Taking part in the touring series special at the three-eighths-mile oval with her familiar No. 3c Friends of Jaclyn Foundation Ford super late model, Hinds posted strong practice efforts on both Friday and Saturday leading into the 125-lap feature.

She qualified sixth and contended strongly inside the top five for the first third of the race, working her was up as high as third just before disaster struck on lap 44.

A spin sent Hinds into another competitor, ripping the front end off her race car and pushing the radiator back into a brake fan. The radiator water led to a subsequent electrical fire that ended Hinds’ evening and left her 20th in the final results.

Despite the disappointing finish on paper, Hinds was pleased with the fact that before the crash, she was contending with the likes of NASCAR Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick and West Coast super late model ace Buddy Shepherd, who went on to win the race.

“It’s such a bummer that our race ended the way it did, because the events leading up the incident are really a bit of a mystery,” Hinds explained. “From what we can understand, I picked up or ran over debris from another incident on track which poked a hole in our radiator. The radiator then started spraying water back onto the left rear, causing me to get uncontrollably loose before we finally did spin.

“The damage from the contact after that was obviously enough to sideline us the rest of the way,” she added. “It’s very unfortunate, because I feel like we had a great car and we kept up with the leaders the whole race. I really wish we could’ve finished it out to see what we had.”

Considering Hinds’ CARS Tour DNF came just one race after her breakthrough podium finish at CNS on July 12, it was encouraging that she came back with the early pace she did, making the difficult circumstances surrounding her finish that much more frustrating.

She’s still strongly motivated, however, for continued improvement the rest of the year.

“I’m glad we had a good day leading up to the events that ended our night early, but I’m extremely sad for my team, because we had an amazing car that could’ve put us in the top five at the end of the night,” Hinds noted. “It’s super frustrating when you feel like you can’t catch a break after we’ve been struggling all season.

“The good part about everything is that, when you put together what we’ve done in July and take out the crash from the past weekend, we’re showing as much speed as we have at CNS in a long time – and maybe as much as we’ve ever had there since I moved into super late models,” she added. “This isn’t where our story is going to end and we’re still very optimistic that we can keep building going into the back part of the season.”

Hinds remains fifth in the super late model point standings at CNS, just 36 points behind leader Brett Yackey and still well in contention for a track championship with two months of racing to come.

Hinds would like to thank marketing partners Frontier Restoration, Leary’s Shock Shop, Fort Worth Screen Printing, Commit 2 Fitness, Pineapple Pump Project, MATCO Tools, Puzzle Effects, Buckeye Welding, 5280 Pit Lighting, and the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation for their support of her racing efforts.

The next super late model race at Colorado National Speedway is Saturday, Aug. 9 as part of Advance Auto Parts Night at the Races.

About Cassidy Hinds Racing

Cassidy Hinds is a 21-year-old racing driver from Arvada, Colo., who competes in the Super Late Model and Pro Truck divisions at the three-eighths-mile Colorado National Speedway as part of the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series.

She’s a past participant in the Toyota Racing Development Young Driver Combine, and honed her racing skills in quarter midgets, junior late models, and the Spears SRL Pro Late Model Tour prior to advancing into Pro Trucks and super late models.

Hinds also competes in various regional and national super late model events as her schedule permits.

Off the racetrack, Hinds recently graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in nutrition and dietetics from Metropolitan State University of Denver.

For more information, visit her website at www.cassidyhindsracing.com.