Jacksonville, OR driver Tanner Holmes continues to prove he is a force to be reckoned with in the Open Class. On Saturday night Tanner secured his second career Open win with the Red Bluff Outlaws behind the wheel of the Factory QRC, Burris Racing #18T.
The night began with Time Trials for the field of 28 karts. Tanner would time in sixth fastest overall with a Lap Time of 8.503 seconds. That was good enough to not only put him into the Dash, but it would secure him the Pole Position for the Dash.
For the Heat Race, Tanner rolled off in the third starting position. Only the Top Two transfer out of the Open Heat Races so he had some work to do to get himself into a transfer position. At the drop of the Green Flag Tanner slotted himself into the third position. He would run there until being passed by the #60L of Brian Hubert. The very next lap Tanner was able to get back by not only Hubert but by Lucas Ashe as well. That put him into the transfer spot where he would stay for the remainder of the race. He would finish second behind Tyler Seavey and lock himself into the Main Event.
Up next was the six lap Trophy Dash in which Tanner started on the Pole. He would have a thrilling battle with the #1C of Chase Hill. The race was over in less than one full minute and Chase Hill would beat Tanner to the line by less than a second. Tanner and Chase have already had a couple of great battles on the track early in the season. That would carry over to the upcoming Main Event.
When the field rolled onto the racetrack for the 25 Lap Main Event Tanner took his starting position at the front of the field. When the Green Flag flew, Tanner got a rough start as third place starter Carson Sousa ran over the left rear of Tanner’s kart. That caused both of them to lose a few positions on the opening lap of the race. Tanner would cross the line to complete the opening lap in the fourth position. By Lap 3 he was able to move past the #57 of Daniel Whitley to take over the third position. On Lap 11 Tanner moved into the second position as he passed Points Race #1 winner Jake Park. He now had his sights set on race leader Chase Hill. As mentioned above the two have been battling each other each time they hit the racetrack so far this season. That continued in a big way in the closing laps of the Main Event. On Lap 16 the Yellow Flag would fly. That bunched the field up and gave Tanner a good shot to make a move on the restart. When the green went back in the air Tanner got a stellar restart and dove to the inside of the #1C. He would complete the slider and take control of the race down the back straightaway. Tanner was then able to put some distance between himself and the rest of the field as he went on to pick up the big victory in the Tyler Wolf Memorial!
After two Points Races, Tanner finds himself sitting third in the Championship Points Standings. He is just 11 points behind leader Jake Park. One of Tanner’s goals this season is to compete for the Championship in the Open Class and right now he is doing just that.
With part one of a wild week in the books, Tanner will now load up and head east to compete in the Keith Kunz Giveback Classic at the Millbridge Speedway in North Carolina on Tuesday and Wednesday night. Tanner will be competing with nearly 100 other drivers for a chance to compete in the 2019 Chili Bowl Midget Nationals in a Keith Kunz Midget. After they are done in North Carolina the team will load back up and head straight home to get ready for Points Race #3 at the Red Bluff Outlaws on Saturday. There won’t be much rest for the wicked this week and hopefully it pays off for Tanner and the Factory QRC team. None of this would be possible without the support of great sponsors including: Factory QRC, Burris Racing, Durst Inc., JET Fitness, and Kevin Sharrah Designs
Red Bluff Outlaws Season at a Glance
Starts: 2
Fast Times: 0
Heat Wins: 0
Dashes Made: 2
Dash Wins: 0
Mains Made: 2
Main Event Wins: 1
Top 5: 1
Top 10: 1