Tomkins Struggles to Find Consistency in Super DIRTcar Serie

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Tomkins Struggles to Find Consistency in Super DIRTcar Series; Friend’s of Mike Night at New Egypt Ends Early
Craig Revelle – Finish Line Web Design
August 4, 2011



Gary Tomkins entered the weekend with three events scheduled, and once again with three different race teams. First up was Brewerton Speedway on Friday night in the Duane “Deek” Decker Deuce car, and then it was on to New Egypt Speedway on Saturday for the Friends of Mike night at the track driving the Atlas Paving #66. From there it was off to Merrittville Speedway in Thorold, Ontario for the next round in the Super DIRTcar Series driving the familiar Ray and Debbie Tuit owned 673.



First up was Brewerton Speedway as Tomkins was hoping to get the “Deuce” car dialed in as the first few weeks have not been all that kind as they try to get the bugs worked out of the new ride. Mother Nature intervened though, and track official were forced to cancel the show mid-afternoon.



On Saturday, Tomkins made the trip to New Egypt Speedway in New Jersey and met up with the Atlas Paving #66 team for the Friends of Mike night at the track. Despite fuel system problems the entire day, Tomkins was able to qualify into the show. The persistent problems continued into the feature, and Tomkins pulled into the pits just a few laps into the race.



“Basically every time I stepped on the gas in the corner, the motor would stumble terribly”, explains Tomkins. “We made a few more changes for the feature, but it didn't fix the problem so I ran a couple of laps and pulled in”.



On Monday, Tomkins and his familiar Ray and Debbie Tuit owned 673 team traveled to Merrittville Speedway in Thorold, Ontario. The day began with time trials, and Tomkins was easily the fastest car in his group, and came within 1/1000th of a second of setting fast time of the 50 cars in attendance. Tomkins started his qualifying heat from the front row, and finished the race in second place, making the redraw for one of the top 12 starting spots for the 100 lap main event. Tomkins drew the second position, and would fire from outside the front row to start the feature.



While Tomkins was satisfied with his redraw position, the team struggled to find the right combination for the feature. At the drop of the green flag, Tomkins was fast, but as the race wore on, the handling began to go away, and Tomkins fell to a disappointing 16th place finish.



“That's the deal with running these Series races, if you are not right setup wise you are going to struggle, but that's the way it goes”, says Tomkins, referring to the competitiveness of the Super DIRTcar Series.



This coming weekend, Tomkins will be back in the “Deuce” car on Friday night at Brewerton. On Saturday he will return to Orange County Speedway with the Ray and Debbie Tuit owned 673. The next race on the Super DIRTcar Series is set for August 25th at Lebanon Valley Speedway in West Lebanon, New York. Tomkins currently sits seventh in the overall series point standings.



Gary Tomkins is currently seeking sponsorship for the 2011 racing season and beyond. He has won at all levels of the sport, including the 2004 Mr. DIRTcar Modified Champion. He has 17 Super DIRTcar Series victories, and has won 45 Big Block Modified feature events at Canandaigua Speedway, 12 wins at Cayuga County Speedway, 7 wins at Rolling Wheels Raceway, plus multiple wins in the Sportsman division at each track. To contact Gary Tomkins, send him an email at [email protected].



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