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 IRVINE,
CALIFORNIA (February 1, 2011) – 24 year-old Derek Thorn brought home a pole position and a
seventh place finish in the TOYOTA All-Star Showdown at TOYOTA
Speedway last weekend in a career-defining moment. The Lakeport,
California driver was making his first start for the new Byron
Campbell Racing in the #44 Four Star Fruit / Superior Crankshaft
Chevrolet.
With a live
television audience viewing on SPEED, Thorn grabbed the pole
position over an international roster of 46 talented short-track
racers. Then on Saturday night in the 225 lap feature, Thorn led
the first 102 laps of the race and finished in an impressive seventh
place.
“To be leading 40
of the best short track racers and teams from around the world to
the start of the Showdown was an amazing accomplishment for myself
and my team,” Thorn said. “I am very proud of leading the most laps
of the race as it is an accomplishment any veteran team would be
proud of. To have our newly formed Byron Campbell Racing atop the
leaderboard for 102 laps just shows the effort and determination of
our program.”
The weekend kicked
off with practice sessions early on Friday morning, and the set-up
that Junior Joiner brought to the track helped Thorn land second and
fourth in the two practice sessions.
It was in
qualifying where Thorn made the biggest impression, turning a huge
18.334 second lap. The pole lap prompted many in the media to ask
“Who is Derek Thorn?” and they were quickly educated about the
quality of the driver with his run on Saturday night.
Thorn backed up the
hype from the pole position by dominating the first 100 lap segment
of the 225 lap race. After the lap 100 break, Thorn fell back to
the fourth position as he waited out his chance to fight for the
victory.
The final 25 laps
of the race were when Thorn seized his opportunity to challenge for
the $30,000 victory. Using the low line, Thorn advanced to second
place and made a bid for the lead. His challenge for the lead fell
short and resulted in some contact with the leader. NASCAR
officials penalized Thorn to the tail of the field for his
involvement in the racing incident.
“We proved that we
had a dominating car for the entire race,” Thorn said.
“Unfortunately, being put to the back after a controversial call
left us fighting our way back through the pack in the final 15
laps.”
Undeterred, Thorn
made a torrid charge through the field including a memorable
three-wide battle with action sports star Travis Pastrana that
allowed him to pick up a seventh place finish at the stripe.
Despite the setback
near the end of the race, Thorn’s seventh place finish was still a
strong accomplishment for the driver with limited NASCAR K&N Pro
Series experience.
“Everyone at
Superior Crankshaft is very proud of Derek and the extraordinary
results he posted this weekend,” said Superior Crankshaft CEO Cheryl
Archer. “Derek is an exceptional talent and I believe great things
will happen for him this year.”
Derek Thorn is
slated to continue his development in the stockcar racing world as
he will be racing the full 2011 SRL SPEARS Southwest Tour
representing Superior Crankshaft. Thorn is also planning to compete
in select K&N Pro Series events possibly including the upcoming
event in Phoenix on February 26.
Thorn’s progress is
being supported by many fine sponsors including Four Star Fruit,
Superior Crankshaft, Joiner Motorsports, Pepperjack Kennels,
Sumseeds, and JRI Shocks. Potential sponsors can contact SP Racing
for more information on sponsoring the talented Northern California
racer.
SP Racing is online
at
www.superiorcrankshaftracing.com
An all-new Derek Thorn website is online at
www.derekthorn.com
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