TULARE, Calif. – Anthony Macri and the Tiner-Hirst Enterprise crew were all smiles following last night’s Trophy Cup preliminary race.
Macri far surpassed the hype surrounding his inaugural Trophy Cup appearance last night with a thrilling late-race performance.
Coincidentally, the event also surpassed Macri’s own expectations after a single night.
“This place is pretty badass,” Macri said. “It’s everything everyone said and more.”
Macri has earned a reputation for being one of Pennsylvania’s most fearless and talented drivers, primarily for his abilities to run the Port Royal Speedway fence better than anyone.
Macri’s talents translated well to Thunderbowl Raceway Thursday night, making for a wild final few laps in the feature that had the California fans on their feet cheering on one of the PA Posse’s best.
Macri’s night started out stellar. Driving the Tiner-Hirst Enterprise No. 94, Macri qualified third in his group of 41 competitors after taking his first Tulare circuits moments before in hot laps.
Then, in his heat race, Macri moved forward from sixth to fourth, earning enough points to guarantee himself a feature spot.
Macri credited part-owner of the No. 94, Steven Tiner, with helping him get settled in early on.
“I told him (Tiner) how I kind of like my car, and it was kind of similar to how he likes his car set up,” Macri explained. “So, I kind of knew from the beginning we’d probably click. Hot laps weren’t the best because it was my first laps here, and I got stuck behind a car. He kind of built my confidence up for time trials to just go out there and run it wide open.”
In the feature, Macri floated around the back half of the top-10 for much of the race due to some errors that not only helped him learn, but that he also believes will help him with the remainder of the weekend as he goes for the Trophy title.
“I felt like I made some mistakes during the feature there,” Macri admitted. “But it’s stuff I can fix for tomorrow.”
Following a late yellow, Macri shook off the mistakes and began an inspired charge to the front.
As most of the cars in front of him hugged the inside wall, Macri rose to where he’s most comfortable, inches from the fence on an unforgiving cushion.
Macri first roared around the co-owner of his car, Kyle Hirst, for fifth. Then he made quick work of fourth and third to climb onto the podium.
The Thunderbowl stands rumbled with cheers as Macri pounded the top around D.J. Netto to take over second before setting his sights on leader Buddy Kofoid.
Unfortunately, an issue out of his control ended his chances to make a pass for the lead to complete the spirited drive.
“There at the end I kind of found the top and kept running harder and harder,” Macri said. “We were able to get into second there and then with about three laps to go I started to run out of fuel. I just wish we would’ve had a little bit more fuel because I think we would’ve had something for him.”
While his sputtering ride didn’t allow Macri to contend for the victory, he did at least manage to hang on to second. The result earned him high-point honors for the night in his first Trophy Cup prelim.
With Macri’s preferred driving style, he quickly became a fan of the Trophy Cup’s format.
“I’ve never really ran anything like this,” Macri noted. “It’s definitely pretty neat. It makes you work for your points. It kind of makes it more fun. You’ve got to get up on the wheel and race hard. It’s just really fun.”
One individual especially pleased with Macri’s performance was Hirst.
“That’s why Steven and I hired him to come out here and drive the car,” Hirst said. “He drives the race car as hard as he possibly can and he pounds the fence and that’s what you got to do here at Tulare. He showed that tonight.”
The second and final prelim night kicks off Friday, but Macri can afford to take his foot off the gas and focus on Saturday’s finale thanks to his memorable Thursday showing.
Macri doesn’t want his first Trophy Cup visit to be remembered only for a prelim race. He wants to finish the job and be standing atop the podium Saturday night and take the Trophy Cup back to Pennsylvania with him.
“I think we’re tied for the highest points,” Macri said. “So hopefully we get through tomorrow and can bang the boards down more on Saturday.”