Jake “The Snake” Crum Strikes a Runner Up Finish in the UARA-Stars Season Opener

 

Statesville, N.C. – After a forgettable 2007 season-ending race, Jake “The Snake” Crum started off the new season with an exciting second place finish in the Whitley Truck Equipment 150 UARA-Stars season opener Saturday night at Concord Motorsports Park in Concord, NC.

 

The weekend started on a positive note for Team Crum Racing.  Jake and the Team Crum Racing clan joined the open practice session held on Friday afternoon and ran some of the top three lap times of the day.  With a bit of concern for the drastic weather change predicted for Saturday’s race, the team decided to keep the car set up on the loose side.

 

“The weather will definitely affect things,” mentioned Crew Chief Nick Hutchins at the practice session.  “So we’ll keep it a little on the free side so we’re not too tight on Saturday.”

 

The weather certainly played a role in the track activities on Saturday.  Rain delayed practice until nearly 3pm, but once again, Team Crum showed some of the quickest lap times of the field, setting them up for a great shot at the pole in qualifying.

 

“The car is really good,” commented Hutchins.  “We’re a little worried about the tires, but I think we got the man to get the job done.”

 

Jake went out and laid down the sixth quickest qualifying lap, but the team was very happy about the starting position.  Racing finally began around 8:30pm and despite the frigid temperatures, the racing was blazing hot.

 

Jake started at a smart and patient pace and it was smooth sailing for the first portion of the race until the first caution flag came out around lap 41.  With the help of his new spotter for the night, Tam Topham, Jake was able to avoid the caution-filled second half of the race and come home with a clean finish.

 

“Alright Jake, we’re only a quarter of the way into this race,” coached Tam during a caution flag.  “We’ve got a great car and we don’t want to use it up here at the beginning.”

 

The only complaint that Jake seemed to have throughout the first half of the race was that the car was a little loose, but despite the loose condition, he seemed to be picking up speed as the night went on.  Jake tried a couple of different lines on the track and found he was closing in on the leader close to the end of the event.

 

“I think we got this, guys,” commented Jake during one of the last caution flags.  “I know where I can catch him.”

 

Jake found his line and nearly stole the win from the 2007 UARA Champion, Ross Furr, when he was passing for the lead with ten laps to go and the caution came out.  Jake had to restart behind Furr with four laps to go and with a car better on the longer runs, simply ran out of laps.

 

“I had him coming out of turn three when that last caution came out,” commented the 16 year-old racing Phenom.  “I’m happy with second though.  That was a great finish for us for the start of the season.”

 

“We’re extremely proud of Jake,” commented Jake’s father, Billy Crum.  “He showed a tremendous amount of maturity and we really have high hopes for a great season.”

 

This is the first time the team has worked together as a whole.  They were ecstatic about the weekend and feel this is a great start to a great year.

 

“We have a new team and a new approach this year.  We are going out there to win the championship,” the young driver explained.  “Last year we went out to win every race and I think that hurt us a little bit.  This year we’re going out there to finish races and hopefully that will bring us some wins along with a championship.”

 

Jake’s next race will be at Motor Mile Speedway in Radford, VA on April 12th for the second race of the UARA-Stars series.  Be sure to check out www.JakeCrumRacing.com for the full 2008 race schedule and upcoming appearances.

 

Team Crum racing is currently looking for sponsorship in the 2008 season.  If you are interested in sponsoring Jake and Team Crum Racing, please contact Erica Kron at 913.481.2619 or via email at erica_kron@yahoo.com or Media Fit Marketing at 888.75.MEDIA or via email at info@mediafit.net.