Summerland’s Sarah Cornett-Ching continues to make progress in her racing career.
Tony Blanchard, president of RACE 101, announced on Tueday his team will expand its platform to the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East division beginning with Saturday night’s event at Columbus Motor Speedway.
Cornett-Ching, who is enjoying an astounding rookie season, will be behind the wheel in select races.
The 24-year old enters this weekend on the heels of three straight top-10 finishes in the Automobile Racing Club of America Racing Series, including a ninth-place finish Sunday at Winchester (Ind.) Speedway in the Herr’s Chase The Taste 200. With her fifth top-10 performance, Cornett-Ching continues to march closer to the top-five in the championship standings, as well as inching towards the lead in the Rookie of the Year standings.
“For us, the extra seat time will help Sarah as she continues her goal of competing full-time in NASCAR,” aid Blanchard, who serves as Cornett-Ching’s driver coach, mentor and crew chief during ARCA race weekend.
Cornett-Ching will make her second NASCAR K&N Pro Series East start. In April, she competed at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway and scored a competitive top-20 finish.
“I can’t thank Tony (Blanchard) and everyone at RACE 101 enough for this opportunity,” said Cornett-Ching in a team statement. “This is a great chance for me to learn more about the K&N cars, the different tire, while also racing at a new track and earning a good finish.”
While, Cornett-Ching has never seen the 0.333-mile oval of Columbus before, she takes the challenge in stride.
“All the tracks I’ve competed on in ARCA series this year have been new and we’ve had some great success there,” she said. “The K&N Series has stiff competition with a lot of great teams and drivers. We haven’t set any expectations other than to complete the laps and see the checkered flag. ”
Blanchard echoed her sentiments.
“It’s not fair to put any expectations on the line this weekend,” Blanchard added. “The entire RACE 101 team is still learning about the K&N Series and the drivers she’ll race with. She earned respect at Bristol a couple months ago and we will continue to focus on improving our program as we go Saturday night.”