Back to the Future: VanderBeek breathes new life into old ride

This past Fourth of July weekend, the 33z Racing team unleashed the LG2 by Jimmy Owens machine that carried them through the 2014 season for the first time in the 2015 campaign. After a lot of head scratching this season trying to find the right set up on the new ride, the team acquired last year's racecar back from Rowland Racing and the results were immediate.

Friday night at the Mississippi Thunder Speedway in Fountain City, Wis., Zack VanderBeek competed in the Rivercity Rumble which carried a hefty top prize and purse for the event. After a tough draw in a stacked heat race, VanderBeek rolled off 18th to start the main event. In the end, he clawed his way forward to a fifth-place finish while earning hard charger honors for the race.

At the Deer Creek Speedway in Spring Valley, Minn., on Saturday, the No. 33z Casey's General Stores machine powered by Sput's Racing Engines was fast right off the trailer as VanderBeek sped to a heat race win. Alas, the draw was unkind again as he had to start tenth on the grid. Nonetheless, he worked his way up to a third-place finish and simply ran out of time to challenge the leader.

Up next, the team heads for West Virginia to compete in the Renegades of Dirt "Mega 100" at the Tyler County Speedway.