Trevor Sise in his Vic Hill powered Warrior.
Trevor Sise had a full day of racing on Saturday as the young Knoxville driver began in the morning testing a go kart at the new 411 Motor Speedway Bull Ring in Seymour then ended his evening by winning the Limited Late Model portion of the Walter Ball Memorial at the Volunteer Speedway in Bulls Gap.
Sise just missed out on being the fastest in qualifying for the race at Volunteer but once the green flag dropped the No. 73 Vic Hill Racing Engines powered Warrior Race Car set off on a blistering pace that allowed him to pull away from the pack on his way to a $2,000 victory.
“We started in fourth but the times were really close between me and the pole and I jumped out to the lead about lap 4 or so,” Sise explained. “I had them by about half a track by lap 28, then we had a caution. After that, I just held on for the rest of the 40 laps.”
The track itself provided a challenge for the drivers.
“Down the straightaways it was kind of rough where I don’t think they got it wet enough up at the top,” Sise said. “If you hit those rough spots it was pretty tough.”
After moving around pole sitter Drew Kennedy, Sise built a commanding lead until a late race caution bunched the field once again. However, the 19-year-old competitor was not to be denied as he once again drove away from his pursuers.
“I was able to pull out ahead. Nobody really ever got under me,” Sise stated.
The 2013 graduate of Knoxville’s South Doyle High School believes that one of the keys to success on the third-mile oval is starting near the front.
“We’ve really got a good qualifying program for up there,” he said. “If you can qualify well, you can usually run up front during the race. That night the car, which is a new car we got this year, was just awesome. It really has been great for us all year.”
Aside from having his car prepared to go fast in time-trials, Sise believes that the driver’s state of mind is also a key to ending up on the top of the speed charts.
“You’ve really got to attack that track in qualifying,” he explained. “I like to go out first. I like to get down there in front of everybody and go out to lay my lap down first. That way I don’t have to sit there and watch all the other people go.”
But there’s more to winning than just having a good car. Having the right help is also crucial. And Sise knows that he can trust those who assist him most in his racing career.
“Our whole family shows up to the race track every week,” the driver declared. “My uncle and my dad are at the garage just about every single night. It’s all hands on deck financially and physically.”
