Sarah Cornett-Ching at 9 pm ET on Thursday, October 15, 2015 Photo – Courtesy Sarah Cornett-Ching
Sarah Cornett-Ching is our guest on NASCAR Weekend Preview on Thursday, October 15, 2015 at 9 pm ET. Call 929-477-1790 or tweet @Fan4RacingSite, @Knighter01 with any questions or comments during our LIVE broadcast.
When opportunity knocks, those with a dream jump at the chance to open the door and that’s what happened earlier this year for ARCA Racing Series driver, Sarah Cornett-Ching. Opportunity, however, rarely arrives without dedication toward a goal and for Canadian welder Cornett-Ching, her life-long desire of becoming a professional racer, is what inspired her to set about working hard, and saving her money, with her sights on racing just one race at Daytona International Speedway.
Earlier this year, Cornett-Ching’s dream became reality as she made her way to Daytona for pre-season testing, where she ran in the top-15 with the legacy SB2 engine package, although a newer ARCA Ilmor 396 engine package was advancing within the series. Despite the engine disadvantage during the season opener, Cornett-Ching turned heads and along with her media and charity work, she secured enough sponsorship to race the entire season – allowing her to later upgrade to the newer engine package.
“It was a bit overwhelming the first few races we ran this season,” said Cornett-Ching. “We had crazy things happen and a bunch of bad luck, but I believe that helped me to gel that much quicker with the team and to get comfortable faster than maybe I would have otherwise.”
The 2015 rookie contender, Cornett-Ching, and her No. 2 team continued to overcome bad luck and challenges throughout the season and earned their place just outside the top-five in the point standings for a good part of the year.
At New Jersey in May, Cornett-Ching made ARCA Racing history by finishing third – the highest female road course finish in the series – despite that race being her first on a road course track. Throughout the season, she racked up a bunch of top-ten finishes at some of the series’ toughest tracks, including an eighth-place finish at Chicagoland Speedway after starting last for missing the driver’s meeting.
“When we really started hitting our stride, things went very well mid-season,” explained the native of Summerland, B.C., Canada. “I had never been on a road course in my life and set an ARCA record. Then, to knock off top-tens at Winchester and Chicago was something special, and I really began to feel at home in these big, heavy cars.”
Now, with the season finale coming up this weekend at Kansas Speedway, Cornett-Ching is once again on the edge of ARCA Racing Series history. Now sitting just 60 points outside sixth-place in the point standings – equal to just 12 on-track positions – she is in position to tie Shawna Robinson’s 2000 record. If Cornett-Ching can advance her points position to sixth, she will join her role-model as the highest overall finishing female ever in ARCA Racing history.
“I got to meet Shawna a few months ago and it’s truly amazing the things she did and the hurdles she had to overcome,” Sarah said. “Sure, we’ve had some bad luck this year, but it pales in comparison to some of the obstacles Shawna had to overcome as one of the trailblazers for other women in the sport at this level, including me. She’s a fantastic role model, a great mentor, and someone I’m honored to have in my corner as I pursue my career in the sport. But I still hope we can match her record.”
Whatever happens at Kansas Speedway this weekend, Cornett-Ching is proud of her journey to realize her dream. Just a year ago, there was only a vision in her mind, knowing there were many challenges ahead. From a woman dedicated to her dream of racing at Daytona, with hard work and emotions up and down the scale, Cornett-Ching is now a seasoned competitor with plans to continue exceeding her expectations and setting new goals for her promising racing career.
The season finale of the 2015 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards will air live on Fox Sports 1 on Saturday, October 16 at 8:30 pm ET.