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“It seems like when we have an extra guy helping that it puts less pressure on us to get things done, and we can watch the race track and do other things,” said Sides, after the fourth-place run at 34 Raceway.“That really seems to help out. We qualified decent and had a good heat race and made it to the dash. We went forward some in the feature, so it was a good night.”
The Knoxville Nationals followed and the veteran driver finished a very strong sixth on the first preliminary night. This helped him secure a spot in the A-Feature for sprint car racing’s biggest event, where he finished a very respectable 17th with a field of over 100 cars in attendance. He had made the A-Feature event in the Knoxville Nationals in three of the last four seasons.
Sides continued his summer surge with a strong run at Red River Valley Speedway in North Dakota, coming home ninth in an event which was postponed by weather earlier in the season. He also picked up Top-10 finishes at Billings Motorsports Park in Montana and Castrol Raceway in Edmonton during the annual Gold Rush Tour. He continued his strong western swing with another Top-10 run at Grays Harbor Raceway Park in Washington.
The native of Bartlett, Tennessee wrapped up the Gold Rush Tour with a strong showing on the opening night of the Gold Cup Race of Champions at Silver Dollar Speedway in California, coming all the way from the 24th starting spot to finish eighth to earn the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger Award, an honor he received twice during the 2008 season.
As the 2008 campaign wound down, Sides continued to have consistent runs, with Top-10 finishes at Lebanon Valley Speedway in New York, Hollywood Hills Speedway in New Mexico and Heartland Park in Topeka in Kansas, helping him secure the 13th spot in the championship standings.
Sides wrapped the 2008 season up on a very high note finishing fifth in the finale of the VAULT World Finals at The Dirt Track at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.
The 2009 World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series seasons kicks off February 6-8 at Volusia Speedway Park in Florida with the 38th Annual Alltel DIRTcar Nationals by UNOH.
