BATESVILLE, Ark. — Some drivers claim they don’t think about points. Whit Gastineau isn’t lying.
And he’s using that mindset to have one of the best runs of his career with the American Sprint Car Series.
Going week to week, seeing if one weekend still brings him to the next, Gastineau isn’t racing for points; he’s racing for results. In doing so, the Moore, Okla., native has found himself fourth in the standings with two top fives and eight top 10s in 13 races.
“I don’t pay too much attention to it,” Gastineau said. “That’s paying off to have good finishes and everything. My boy Charlie actually told me we were in fourth, but it’s good to know that because we’ve worked hard, we’ve been fast, and we did really good at Volusia. They just did show-up points, so I’d have more points if it wasn’t for that.
“But it’s nice that we’re up there close and hopefully just keep on getting good, solid finishes and podiums. That’s what it’s all about. You’re not going to win every night, but if you’re right there, eventually the wins will start coming through.”
Keeping the full season calendar within reach, he’ll follow the National Tour to Arkansas for stops at Batesville Motor Speedway on Friday, July 10, and Texarkana 67 Speedway for the Ralph Henson Memorial on Saturday, July 11.
While the two tracks will be a first for the Statewide Service Center No. 2 Maxim Chassis, Gastineau will look to notes from similar tracks to try and find a setup he’s comfortable with.
“I’ve raced for 25 years, and it’s tough,” Gastineau said. “A lot of these tracks, especially the ones coming up that I’ve never been to, you can kind of compare them to different tracks, especially on the gearing. Like, Benton has a pretty good banking that I can look towards with Batesville, and I’ve never raced at Texarkana either. So, there’s quite a few new ones, but that’s part of it. So, if you can unload close on setup on gearing, you can try to figure it out fast.”
He’ll enter the weekend with momentum on his side, having collected three straight top-10 finishes in the last three events, including two podiums – third at 81 Speedway and second at Belleville High Banks. The two-day weekend at Belleville produced his best showing of the year, with a charge from 12th to seventh on Friday and then a heat race win that led to his podium run on Saturday.
With 81 being a three-eighths-mile track and Belleville being a half-mile, his success on larger tracks is starting to become a pattern, going back to his first two series wins coming at the half-mile Salt City Speedway. It’s a stat he should be excited about with the series heading to the three-eighths-mile Dodge City Raceway Park on July 25, the half-mile Viking Speedway on Aug. 1, and the famous half-mile Knoxville Raceway for the Xtream powered by Mediacom 360 Knoxville Nationals pres. by Great Southern Bank, Aug. 6-8.
“We were really good at Belleville,” Gastineau said. “Really, the only thing that hurt us Friday and Saturday was that every now and then, the car wouldn’t take off like it should, and that really hurts on that type of track. It’s the difference in getting three positions and losing three positions.
“Luckily, we fixed it a little bit on Saturday, and it took off better in the heat and dash. Then in the Feature, it didn’t take off again. But we’re good at those big tracks, and it was good to have a good weekend because we had some tough ones with the engine problems before. We got that figured out, and we have a few Shark Racing Engines that are fresh. They always run good.”
While Gastineau and his team have had good results and have the potential for more up ahead, running a full schedule isn’t easy. When he says he’s not thinking about points, he’s not lying. There are other factors on his mind, but strong runs can continue to help those too.
“We’re still taking it week by week,” Gastineau said. “It’s getting a lot hotter, and we’ve got to find a little bit more help to get the truck and trailer up and down the road. That’s what we got to figure out right now. Other than that, we can do it. It’s tough on us because we all work full-time, so if we can figure that out, we’ll do it.”
