Hinds Wins A Thriller As Part Of Tucson Twinbill

TUCSON, Ariz. – Cassidy Hinds broke through for her first Tucson Speedway victory in a thrilling finish Saturday night with the Russett Southwest Super Late Models.

After qualifying fastest, an inversion of eight put Hinds on the fourth row for the first of twin 40-lap features at the three-eighths-mile oval. She didn’t stay there long.

Hinds advanced to fourth on the opening lap and found herself in the runner-up spot by lap eight, but spent the entire race chasing leader Ron Norman.

A 2.2-second gap inside of five laps left was too much to overcome, but a caution with four to go changed her fortune and allowed the Arvada, Colo., native to pounce.

Hinds couldn’t get past Norman on the restart, but stayed within striking distance until the final lap, when she got to Norman’s inside cleanly through turns three and four as he ran the middle groove.

Racing side by side to the finish line, Hinds nipped Norman by the narrowest of margins – one one-thousandth (.001) of a second – for the win in a finish that was initially too close to call.

After climbing from her car in jubilation, Hinds quickly had to get back to work for the second leg of the twinbill. Again, due to inversion, she started on the fourth row but ran out of time and tires to make another late charge as she did in the first race.

Hinds ultimately finished third in race two, one second back of winner David Levitt.

All in all, the 20-year-old was thrilled with her overall performance, particularly in finally breaking through to victory lane at a track she’s frequented in the past.

“Overall, it was a great race weekend and I’m really happy with the results, especially knowing that we finally won at a track I really enjoy racing at,” said Hinds. “You can’t get much more exciting than the finish of that first race, and I can’t thank my crew enough for all of their hard work this weekend.

“In the second race, I just didn’t have enough tire to be able to challenge the top two,” she continued. “Even though I was able to catch them and gain on them, I didn’t have enough to get around them before the checkered flag. Third wasn’t a bad result, though, and we’re happy with the speed we showed.”

Hinds’ racing efforts are made possible by 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 Friends of Jaclyn Foundation.

The next race on Hinds’ schedule is slated for May 18 at her home track, Colorado National Speedway.

 

About Cassidy Hinds Racing

Cassidy Hinds is a 20-year-old racing driver from Arvada, Colorado, 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 Racing 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 Series 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 is in her third year of college at Metropolitan State University of Denver.

For more information on Cassidy Hinds, visit www.cassidyhindsracing.com.