UPDATE: Zach Wigal has good showing in 2022 Tulsa Shootout

BELPRE, Ohio (WTAP) -

Zach Wigal returned from his week in Tulsa, Okla. as he made his first appearance in the Lucas Oil Tulsa Shootout Dirt Track racing event.

Zach finished in the top five in all four of his heat races, which gave him good positioning as the week went on.

Zach was one of 1,600 drivers to compete in the event, and got to compete against many of the world’s greatest drivers, including former NASCAR racer Kyle Busch.

Zach says he did his hometown proud, and hopes to inspire other dirt track racers his age to go and pursue their dreams.

ORIGINAL STORY: 12/22/2022

Zach Wigal, out of Belpre, Ohio, comes from a family of dirt track racers, and he was given the opportunity to learn the craft at a young age.

Now at age 15, Zach is on his way to Tulsa, Okla. to compete in the Lucas Oil Tulsa Shootout event, where he will take part in four classes over the span of December 26, through the 31st.

Zach will be competing in the non-winged outlaws, winged outlaws, winged A-Class and the stock non-wing class over the course of the week. Zach is one of nearly 1,600 drivers that have entered the competition next week.

After a successful 2022 season, which included wins at Millbridge Speedway in North Carolina, and a victory at the Gas City I-69 Speedway in Indiana, he will enter the biggest event of his racing career.

“It’s a big prestige,” says Wigal. “Just to make the race there is like winning a feature anywhere else, you know. You got drivers, not only from the country, but all over the world. If you’re a big name, you’re there.”

Zach is a part of an experienced racing team, Chad Boat Industries in North Carolina, and he says they have helped him so much in getting him to this point in his life.

Zach is excited to represent the Mid-Ohio Valley while in Oklahoma, and wants to make his hometown known nationwide, and follow in the footsteps of local drivers like Tyler Carpenter and Steve Schaffer.

“There’s not many big names that come out of here,” Zach says. “It’d be a pretty big deal if (I win).”

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