(Photo by Ty's Racing Photos)
Inside Line Promotions – OCALA, Fla. (Feb. 20, 2023) – Joey Amantea’s first-ever week of competition in Florida was a success as he moved forward during four nights of USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Cars competition.
Amantea made the main event each night and he gained multiple positions in every feature to finish in the top 20 during a pair of races at Volusia Speedway Park and at Bubba Raceway Park.
“My theme last week was to put myself in a hole in time trials,” he joked. “But we made every show and went forward every night so I can’t complain. We accomplished our goals.
“All of the guys who were there are at the top in the country. We were competitive, more so at Volusia. Even the guys running 15th had won USAC National shows. I was happy that we could keep up with them with us having minimal experience. To hold my own made me happy about our program.”
The action began a week ago Monday during the first of back-to-back nights at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville during the DIRTcar Nationals. Amantea timed in 24th quickest, placed eighth in a heat race, advanced to fifth in the B Main and gained a pair of positions in the main event to end 20th.
“Volusia was cool,” he said. “Our Monday result didn’t show our speed. We had top-10 speed. I just made rookie mistakes. We were running 14th, hopped the cushion and fell back to 20th.”
Amantea garnered the Hard Charger Award for passing the most cars on Tuesday after he qualified 24th, was seventh in a heat race, finished fifth in the B Main and rallied from 22nd to 16th in the A Main.
Bubba Raceway Park hosted the Winter Dirt Games XIV, beginning with a practice night Wednesday prior to competition on Thursday. Amantea timed in 21st quickest. He placed seventh in a heat race and fourth in the B Main before capping the night with a 17th-place outing in the feature.
Friday’s race rained out before the week wrapped up on Saturday. Amantea was 23rd quickest in qualifying. He scored a seventh-place result in a heat race and rallied to overcome an incident in the B Main to produce a fourth-place showing, earning a bid into the main event. The night ended with a charge from 21st to 18th in the A Main.
“Bubba threw me for a loop,” Amantea said. “I couldn’t figure that place out at all. It really took me until the end of the heat race on Saturday when I felt I was getting sideways enough to rotate through turns three and four.”
This weekend presents a new challenge as Amantea returns to a micro sprint on Friday and Saturday at the CURE Insurance Arena in Trenton, N.J., during the East Coast Indoor Dirt Nationals.
QUICK RESULTS –
Feb. 13 – Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla. – Qualifying: 24; Heat race: 8 (8); B Main: 5 (8); Feature: 20 (22).
Feb. 14 – Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla. – Qualifying: 24; Heat race: 7 (8); B Main: 5 (8); Feature: 16 (22).
Feb. 16 – Bubba Raceway Park in Ocala, Fla. – Qualifying: 21; Heat race: 7 (7); B Main: 4 (7); Feature: 17 (19).
Feb. 18 – Bubba Raceway Park in Ocala, Fla. – Qualifying: 23; Heat race: 7 (8); B Main: 4 (9); Feature: 18 (21).
SEASON STATS –
4 races, 0 wins, 0 top fives, 0 top 10s, 0 top 15s, 4 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Friday and Saturday at the CURE Insurance Arena in Trenton, N.J., for the East Coast Indoor Dirt Nationals
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.joeyamantearacing.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joeyamantearacing/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/joeyamantea88J
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Amantea Real Estate
Amantea Real Estate is a residential and commercial real estate company based in Mount Pocono, Pa. For more information, visit http://www.AmanteaRealEstate.com.
“I’m very happy to have an esteemed company like Amantea Real Estate back our team,” Amantea said. “I’m very grateful for their support and look forward to continued success together.”
Amantea would also like to thank Amantea Real Estate, JPA Masonry, Stinger Race Fuel Products, 600cc Performance, CSI Shocks, Smith Titanium, Radical Race Gear, Pensyl Enterprises and JPA Equipment & Truck Repair for their continued support.
INSIDE LINE PROMOTIONS –
Inside Line Promotions specializes in affordable public relations and media management for motor sports drivers, teams, sponsors, tracks, series, events, organizations, and manufacturers. ILP Founder Shawn Miller leverages professional journalism with new media technologies and social networking to improve your exposure and the return on investment for your sponsors.
To meet the media relations needs of your program by joining Team ILP, contact Shawn at 541-510 3663 or Shawn@InsideLinePromotions.com. For more information on Inside Line Promotions, visit http://www.InsideLinePromotions.com.
- Shawn Miller on Feb 20, 2023
- Article Date: 2/20/2023 by Inside Line Promotions