Part Failure Derails Hinds’ Solid Chilly Willy Weekend

Cassidy Hinds competed in the Chilly Willy 150 for super late models last weekend at Tucson Speedway.

TUCSON, Ariz. – A top-five qualifier finish and solid speed in the Saturday finale highlighted Cassidy Hinds’ abbreviated Chilly Willy 150 weekend at Tucson Speedway.

Wheeling her familiar No. 3c Ford super late model, Hinds maintained solid speed during both days of the 11th annual event, which began with a 50-lap qualifying feature on Friday night.

Hinds lined up fourth for the qualifier, where she’d use a strong launch off the outside lane of the three-eighths-mile Tucson oval to move into a podium position by the end of the first lap.

The 20-year-old from Arvada, Colo., maintained her run inside the top three until just past the halfway point, when she was passed for position by Kyle Reid and slid back one spot into fourth.

Hinds would hold that position to the finish, however, posting lap times similar to eventual Chilly Willy 150 winner Kole Raz, Michael Scott, and Reid throughout the second half of the qualifier.

“We were really excited with how we raced on Friday,” noted Hinds. “Being able to battle with the top three for most of the race was definitely a confidence builder for us; we just didn’t quite have enough to get there at the end of 50 laps.”

A seventh-place time trial effort put Hinds on the inside of row four for Saturday’s $15,000-to-win Chilly Willy 150 feature, but the bottom lane wasn’t to her liking on an early restart and Hinds had to battle back after fading to 13th place in the early laps.

She made steady progress on the multi-groove racing surface, regaining a top-10 running position by lap 15, and Hinds found herself eighth on lap 57 when a pair of red flags for incident led to an earlier-than-anticipated mid-race intermission for adjustments.

Unfortunately for Hinds, she was unable to advance further after the water pump belt on her racecar broke just before the ensuing restart. The part failure left Hinds with no power steering and overheating problems, forcing her to retire from the race after 58 of a scheduled 150 laps Saturday.

Despite being left with a DNF and a 22nd-place result, Hinds was upbeat and focused on the positives from her weekend after being able to contend against several top super late model drivers from the West Coast.

“It was actually a lucky break for us that the water pump belt failed when it did, because we were still under caution and the car didn’t suffer extra damage before I could get off the track and back to the pits. We don’t think the overheating was bad enough to cause any major issues, so it’s just disappointing that we couldn’t see what the car would have been capable of during the rest of the race,” said Hinds.

“Even though we didn’t finish the race Saturday, I still had a great time at Tucson. It’s a fun place to race and we did have a good run Friday,” she added. “I believe everything happens for a reason, so whatever the reason was that we weren’t meant to get to the checkered flag on Saturday, we’ll take the lessons we learned from the two races and move on stronger to the next one.

“I can’t thank my parents and crew enough for all of their hard work throughout the weekend. They really did a lot to get my car as strong as it was to be a contender.”

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 still being determined. Announcements will be made in due course.

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

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.