(Bill W) June 1, 2009 – Skip Jackson and the J&S Auto Sports #2 team are happy with the way things are headed racing at the Knoxville Raceway lately.  The car and motor have been running well, and the Aussie finished in the top five last Saturday night.  They will look to climb the ladder a little higher this weekend, as Knoxville will play host to Pella Corporation Night.

With single lap qualifying starting things, Skip timed in seventh out of the thirty cars entered.  “As far as qualifying goes, we have a very good car with a good motor,” says Skip.  “Our J&J car always runs well, and I’d like to congratulate Jack Elam, who went into the Hall of Fame this weekend.”
 
Skip finished fifth in his heat race and transferred to the main event.  An invert of six put him on the pole.  A good start by Johnny Herrera, who started outside him, along with Terry McCarl and Sammy Swindell saw Skip shuffled to fourth.  Soon Dusty Zomer got by as well, and Skip was in fifth by lap seven.  He moved back into fourth briefly in the middle stages before maintaining his top five run.  “I drove back by (Dusty) Zomer, but he found the rubber before I did and beat me to it,” says Skip.  “We’d like to show a bit better in the feature, because our car is very good.  I have a lot of good people helping me, and we are getting better.  Stevie (Fitzpatrick) is doing a great job as well as the rest of the team getting us going.”

Things are looking up for the Turwerks/Metalise It #2 team.  “I feel like we were a little better than last week (when he finished 7th),” says Skip.  “We’re not going to go out and dominate this Saturday, but I feel better about where we are.  We just weren’t good a couple of weeks ago, and we’ve taken a step in the right direction the past two weeks.”

While some drivers worry about running against the other budgets, Skip knows the reason Herrera, McCarl and Swindell are up front, is their talents.  “The reason they are running up front isn’t their equipment so much as they are good drivers,” he says.  Herrera and (crew chief) Troy (Renfro) have been together before years ago, and they are clicking now.  You saw what Sammy can do when he jumps in a strange car and finishes second.  Terry is a great driver too.”

With Fitzpatrick new to the team this year, Skip is confident in the direction things are going with so few races run together.  Finishes like Saturday’s are something to build on.  “It definitely wasn’t something to get overexcited about, but then again, I’m enthusiastic about how we’re getting better each time out,” he says.  “I’m excited to get back out there Saturday.  It’s just a matter of time for us.  Most of these guys have a few races under their belt already, and we’re just getting there.”