CHARLOTTE, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--It’s an old saying: When life gives you lemons, make lemonade! David Garbo Jr. made some pretty sweet lemonade at the K&N East Bristol Motor Speedway race on March 15 and turned it into a Coca-Cola $1,500 prize for the Move of the Race.
Garbo made his debut run in impressive fashion at the historic ½-mile oval, touted by track-owner Bruton Smith as the “Last Great Colosseum” with its banked turns as tall as two-story buildings. The high-speed track places G-forces at a premium testing physical and mental fitness of rookies and veterans alike for 150 laps. Garbo showed he was up to the challenge as he hit the track in strong force displaying a lot of speed in the first practice session. Unfortunately a mechanical failure sent him hard into the turn 2 wall, forcing the team to rush to prepare his back-up car for qualifying. Unfortunately they didn’t get the setup right for the 17-year-old rookie, resulting in a 29th starting spot out of the 35 drivers.
But Garbo kept a positive outlook. “I knew we just needed to stay upbeat as a team. We have a lot of talent here, and good equipment. I knew that if we kept calm and believed we could do it, that would give us our best chance to go for a win, or at least a top 5 or 10 from that far back.”
Passing is definitely not easy at Bristol, but Garbo made it happen. On the telecast of the race he is seen passing five cars in just two laps, bringing him into the top ten with 30 laps to go – just as a crash brought out the caution flag setting up the field for another restart.
Then a little bad luck struck again when the car restarting in front of him had a miscue and didn’t go when the green flag waved. As a result Garbo slammed into the back of the slowing car and dropped five spots back to 14th. Once again, he stayed calm and positive and passed his way back to seventh when time ran out, bringing him his first top-ten in the first three races of the season.
“Well, it’s always hard to say it was a good day when we didn’t win, but considering where we had to start, and then losing five spots on the late restart, I guess I’ll try to concede that it was a good day. The Big Machine Records car was really strong thanks to my Hattori Racing Enterprises crew. We’ve been fast every race, so we just need luck to go our way a little and we’ll get that win.”
In addition to his on-track pursuits, the dyslexic-challenged Garbo maintains top grades as an honors student at The Foreman School for learning-challenged students in Connecticut. Recognizing the outstanding support he has received from the school, Garbo has given back to the school with his Garbo Foundation, which provides full scholarships to students who are pursuing careers in arts and athletics.
The next event to watch for with the K&N East Series will be at Richmond International Speedway on April 25th.
Big Machine Records, whose triumphs in motorsports are eclipsed only by their success in music is primary sponsor for David Garbo Jr. in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East for 2014.
Garbo’s K&N race team is owned and operated by Hattori Racing Enterprises who fielded the series’ runner-up in 2013.
NASCAR’s K&N Pro Series East features 16 races at some of racing’s most popular tracks including Daytona, Bristol and the historic Watkins Glen road course. Races are televised via tape-delay. Check local listings for broadcast schedule.
