Willie Croft Captures a King of the West Top 10 during the Peter Murphy Classic

PETERSEN MEDIA- Traveling to central California over the weekend to take part in the fabled Peter Murphy Classic, Willie Croft would finish 12^th during the opening night on Friday in Tulare, CA before an eighth-place result in Hanford, CA during Saturday’s finale.

“It was a fun weekend, and we ran pretty well,” Willie Croft said. “Thanks to my guys for all of their hard work, and hopefully we can be a few spots better this weekend in Petaluma, CA.”

Croft’s weekend got off to an interesting start on Friday, as he timed the Holey Smokes BBQ/Rudeen/Amerikote backed No. 29 in 13^th fastest. With Friday also being ‘Friday the 13^th’ Croft was awarded a bonus for the qualifying effort.

Lining up on the front row of his heat race, the Colfax, CA driver would have a nice battle with Dominic Scelzi for the top spot before he ultimately settled for a second-place finish.

With his second-place finish, Croft was securely in the 30-lap feature event as he took the green flag from the 14h starting position.

In a feature event that was mired with cautions and red flags, Croft would show speed when there was green flag action as he would run seventh in the race’s early stages.

Double-file restarts would hinder Croft as he would lose a couple of positions and find himself back in ninth. Slipping back to 10^th, Croft would ultimately finish 12^th when the opening night marathon feature drew to a close.

Saturday night the scene shifted to Keller Auto Speedway in Hanford, CA where Croft would get timed in 15^th fastest amongst the 31 drivers who made the trip for the Peter Murphy Classic finale.

Putting the Willie Croft Racing entry on the front row of his heat race, ‘Double Down’ finished third and again transferred directly into the 30-lap feature event where he took the green flag from 16^th.

On another extremely slick racing surface, Croft would come to life when race went green. Working his way into 15^th when the race came to life, Croft would use a restart to surge his way into 12^th on the 11^th lap.

Cracking the Top-10 on lap 13, Croft would continue to showcase a very fast car even with the track taking rubber.

Running well inside the Top-10, Croft would pick up two more positions as the leaders tangled and he capped his weekend off with an eighth-place finish.

“Qualifying really hurt us both nights, and with this format if you don’t get max qualifying points, you’re buried all night,” Croft said. “Starting that far back, I needed to be a bit more aggressive, but still picked up a couple of decent finishes and I am happy with how I felt.”

Willie Croft Racing would like to thank Holey Smokes BBQ, Rudeen, Amerikote, SCI, Brown and Miller, FK Rod Ends, Factory Kahne, Schoenfeld, Team Simpson, Stilo, Smith Precision Products, Kaeding Performance, AL Drivelines, XYZ, Vortex Wings, DoTerra and GUTS for their support.

BY THE NUMBERS: Races-8, Wins-0, Top 5’s-2, Top 10’s-4.

ON TAP: Willie Croft returns to action this Saturday night in Petaluma, CA.

STAY CONNECTED: Stay connected with Willie Croft Racing by visiting www.williecroftracing.com. You can also follow him on Twitter @WillieCroft29.

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