Bryan Hulbert - ELMA, Wash. (July 12, 2013) Travis Rilat proved he still has what it takes to complete on the national level, taking the Xtreme Oil Field No. 39c to victory in Friday’s Protect the Harvest A-Feature on night one at the Grays Harbor Raceway presented by Budweiser.
Rilat’s twenty-sixth career Lucas Oil ASCS presented by MAVTV American Real triumph, the Forney, Texas driver dove past Jason Johnson on Lap 2 for the point to become the fourteenth driver to visit Lucas Oil ASCS victory lane in 2013.
Starting the feature off the bottom groove, Rilat moved top side by lap five, “I knew the top was going to come in once they blew some of the dust off and cleaned some of that loose dirt off” commented the 2003 National Champion. “Once I had seen that, I just moved up there since the bottom started going away.”
Leading the final 28 circuits, Rilat was chased across the line by Jason Johnson. Pulling even with Travis on two restarts, first on Lap 12 the again on Lap 16, the MVT No. 41 suffered a broken brake line that left the car difficult to drive, as well as a cut Right Rear.
“The track conditions were excellent. I just came up short” commented Johnson. “You know, I knocked a brake line off about halfway through the race and was struggling with that, then cut a Right Rear tire down but we didn’t have anything for the No. 39, I tried, I dived bombed him and just did everything I could. Just couldn’t pass him.”
Crossing third, Johnny Herrera managed to maintain his points lead, but by an ultra slim five markers. Closing on the lead cars in traffic before the Lap 12 caution, Herrera was asked if slower traffic could have had any bearing on his chance to catch, and pass, Jason or Travis; Herrera explained, “I don’t know, I’ll have to look at times. I think we were all pretty even there. It was just a matter of who made a good corner, and who didn’t.”
Dustin Morgan used restarts to their fullest advantage to climb from eighth to fourth, after several battles with Tony Bruce, Jr. on Lap 12 and Seth Bergman on Lap 16. Roger Crockett, who ran fourth from the opening lap, slipped to fifth on Lap 19, just one spot shy of the transfer into Saturday’s Protect the Harvest feature event.
Tony Bruce, Jr. advanced from ninth to seventh with DMI B-Feature winner Brad Loyet coming from seventeenth to eighth. Jeff Swindell finished ninth after suffering a flat tire that forced the Pearson Farms No. 94 to the tail with Tray Starks completing the top ten.
Heat races numbered four. Jason Johnson, Seth Bergman, Henry VanDam, and Johnny Herrera grabbed wins.
Paired with the ASCS Northwest Region, Rilat also earned high points with the Northwest Region, followed by Roger Crockett, Trey Starks, and Jared Peterson as the top five point earners.
The Lucas Oil ASCS presented by MAVTV American Real returns to the Grays Harbor Raceway on Saturday, July 13. The weekend’s event is presented by Budweiser.
Lucas Oil ASCS presented by MAVTV American Real
ASCS Northwest Region
Grays Harbor Raceway - Elma, Wash.
Friday, July 12, 2013
Car Count: 27
Wesmar Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 41-Jason Johnson[2]; 2. 93-Dustin Morgan[4]; 3. 17-Cameron (Cam) Smith[3]; 4. 71-Chadd Noland[6]; 5. 55-Trey Starks[7]; 6. 0J-Jay Cole[5]; 7. 97-Jason Reed[1]
Ti22 Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 23-Seth Bergman[3]; 2. 39C-Travis Rilat[4]; 3. 11-Roger Crockett[6]; 4. 7N-Jared Peterson[5]; 5. 9R-Reece Goetz[1]; 6. 4J-Allison Journey[7]; DNF 2L-Logan Forler[2]
Rod End Supply Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 33V-Henry VanDam[1]; 2. 18-Tony Bruce Jr[3]; 3. 94-Jeff Swindell[6]; 4. 194-Steven Tiner[2]; 5. 05-Brad Loyet[5]; 6. 3-J.J. Hickle[4]; 7. 33-Colton Heath[7]
BMRS Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 45X-Johnny Herrera[2]; 2. 17W-Cole Wood[1]; 3. 29-Brandon Hahn[4]; 4. 21T-Zack Spaulding[5]; 5. 88-Brent Hoover[3]; 6. 9A-Luke Didiuk[6]
DMI B Feature 1 (12 Laps): 1. 05-Brad Loyet[2]; 2. 194-Steven Tiner[1]; 3. 9R-Reece Goetz[4]; 4. 33-Colton Heath[8]; 5. 0J-Jay Cole[6]; 6. 2L-Logan Forler[9]; 7. 3-J.J. Hickle[7]; 8. 4J-Allison Journey[11]; 9. 97-Jason Reed[10]; 10. 9A-Luke Didiuk[5]; 11. 88-Brent Hoover[3]
Protect the Harvest A Feature (25 Laps): 1. 39C-Travis Rilat[3]; 2. 41-Jason Johnson[1]; 3. 45X-Johnny Herrera[2]; 4. 93-Dustin Morgan[8]; 5. 11-Roger Crockett[4]; 6. 23-Seth Bergman[5]; 7. 18-Tony Bruce Jr[9]; 8. 05-Brad Loyet[17]; 9. 94-Jeff Swindell[7]; 10. 55-Trey Starks[16]; 11. 7N-Jared Peterson[14]; 12. 0J-Jay Cole[21]; 13. 17W-Cole Wood[10]; 14. 2L-Logan Forler[22]; 15. 33V-Henry VanDam[6]; 16. 9R-Reece Goetz[19]; 17. 194-Steven Tiner[18]; 18. 71-Chadd Noland[12]; 19. 21T-Zack Spaulding[15]; DNF 17-Cameron (Cam) Smith[13]; DNF 29-Brandon Hahn[11]; DNF 33-Colton Heath[20]
Lap Leaders: Jason Johnson (1), Travis Rilat (2-25)
PitstopUSA.com Hard Charger: Brad Loyet +9
FSR High Points of the Night: Seth Bergman
Hawk Performance Products Fastest Lap of the Night: Travis Rilat - 13.797 seconds
Provisionals: N/A
2013 “A” Feature Winners: Jason Johnson-5, Johnny Herrera-3, Jeff Swindell-2, Logan Forler-2, Brian Brown-1, Roger Crockett-1, Kyle Bellm-1, Brad Loyet-1, Danny Lasoski-1, Jack Dover-1, Seth Bergman-1, Jonathan Cornell-1, Tony Bruce, Jr.-1, Travis Rilat-1
Lucas Oil ASCS Driver Standings (Top 10): 1. Johnny Herrera 2,792; 2. Jason Johnson 2,787; 3. Jeff Swindell 2,663; 4. Brad Loyet 2,629; 5. Tony Bruce, Jr. 2,573; 6. Logan Forler 2,543; 7. Seth Bergman 2,458; 8. Dustin Morgan 2,326; 9. Cole Wood 2,258; 10. Brandon Hahn 1,776;
The 2013 season marks the twenty-second year of sanctioning Sprint Car racing for the American Sprint Car Series, which brings the best of Sprint Car racing to dozens of different tracks throughout the nation and into Canada. Anchored by the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series, ASCS also consists of nine different Regions throughout the nation.
Lucas Oil Products is the title sponsor of the American Sprint Car Series. More information can be found on Lucas Oil Products at www.lucasoil.com. MAVTV is the presenting sponsor of the American Sprint Car Series. Log onto www.mavtv.com for information regarding availability and listings in your area.
Associate sponsors for the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by MAVTV include: Hoosier Racing Tire and Brodix
Team Lucas Sponsors for the American Sprint Car Series consist of Protect the Harvest, Hawk Performance Products, Geico, E3 Spark Plugs, and General Tire.
Product and Contingency Sponsorship provided by: K&N Filters, PitstopUSA.com, Engler Machine and Tool, Roush Yates Racing Engines, FSR Radiator and Racing Products, Schoenfeld Headers, Driverwebsites.com, Weld Wheels, Fuel Safe, Saldana Racing Products, SBI Fuel Bladders, Maxwell Industries, Print Place, Xtreme Accu-Tach, Simpson, LeJoie Seating, Ti 22 Performance, Wesmar Racing Engines, Hinchman Indy Racewear, Brown and Miller Racing Solutions, DMI Rear Ends, Rod End Supply, Smiley’s Racing Products, Speedway Motors, and Hilborn Injection Systems.
Additional information regarding the American Sprint Car Series is available at www.ascsracing.com as well as Twitter (@LucasOilASCS) and Facebook. News and information can also be sent to you with the ASCS E-News by texting ASCS to 22828 with any mobile device.
Photo Credit: John Fletcher
- Bryan Hulbert on Jul 13, 2013
- Article Date: 7/13/2013