Special from Speed51.com – An up-and-down season ended with one of the highest ups Jack Dossey III has ever experienced in racing. It ended with Dossey claiming the JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour championship. Now, the Indianapolis native is headed to CRA SpeedFest where he’s hoping to stay up with a win at Crisp Motorsports Park in Cordele, Georgia.
The recent high school graduate will be running double-duty again for the second year in a row in a Pro Late Model and a Super Late Model at SpeedFest. Dossey said he is confident in his team, comparing this year’s upcoming race to his previous efforts at SpeedFest, in 2017.
“We are taking the same car we took last year for the Pro Late race, and we’re taking the car we ran at Winchester for the Super race,” Dossey told Speed51.com. “I think me and Gary (St. Amant) and the crew make a pretty good team so I feel like we’re going to have a really good race car down there and be some of the top contenders. I’m feeling pretty confident after our results from last year.”
The crew for the No. 20 JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour Pro Late Model worked their way to the top last season and are hoping to stay at the top at SpeedFest on January 28th. Prior to the 2018 season beginning, Dossey has already started to improve himself off of the track as well.
“Obviously, going into this season we’re looking to actually get some wins and go for a championship as well,” said Dossey, who won the championship despite not winning a race. “I don’t think we need to change anything as a team. I expect a little bit better of a performance from myself going in. I’ve been working out every day and preparing myself and getting ready because the races are back to back. Everyone else on the team is doing their part so I need to do mine.”
Having a winless season in 2017 and managing to come out on top of the JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour Pro Late Model is quiet the fairy tale for Dossey. But he still said that winning the championship was an incredible feat for he and his team.
“We really didn’t have very many downs. I think we had a very well put together season. I’m pretty confident in myself when it comes to points racing. I just try my best to keep the nose clean and that’s what I did all year long. Played by the rules and played the championship strategy. I think we had a really great season and there wasn’t any downfall to a single night we raced.”
Heading down to Cordele, Georgia to run SpeedFest right after coming off of a season championship may be nerve-wracking for some drivers, but Dossey said he doesn’t feel any added pressure to perform now as a champion.
“Normally I don’t really think too much about the whole pressure situations, or I don’t try to, so to speak. I try to stay positive and think about the positive outcome and think about the best outcome that happens. If we go down there and do worse than we did last year, which would be anything behind fifth-place, that would be kind of a letdown, but I don’t see us doing any worse than fifth. As you know, anything is possible, I’m just hoping for the best results and hoping there’s a little bit of luck on our side.”
Of course, every driver has stand out moments in their season, but for Dossey it wasn’t a win. Instead, was a true testament to dedication, teamwork and refusing to give up. This was an act of a true championship winning team.
“Kil-Kare (Raceway) we practiced and we were horrible. Both days of practice we were horrible. Qualified horrible, and started 16th or 17th. We ended up finishing fourth and we were running down third but just kind of ran out of laps. That shows that we are a team that doesn’t give up and we’re going to do whatever it takes to get to the front. We’re going to keep striving and making gains.”
Dossey is hoping that those gains will lead him to victory lane in at least one of the two races at CRA SpeedFest on January 28th at Crisp Motorsports Park.
Speed51.com will be at Crisp Motorsports Park once again with comprehensive coverage of CRA SpeedFest.
-By Kendra Adams, Speed51.com Southeast Correspondent – Twitter: @2KendaAdams
-Photo Credit: Speed51.com
