Inside Line Promotions – LEBANON, Ore. (July 28, 2013) – It was pretty easy for Tony Bruce Jr. to summarize his weekend.
“Not very good,” he said.
Bruce Jr. wrapped up the Northwest swing with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour by placing 12th and ninth, respectively, at Willamette Speedway to drop to sixth in the championship standings – only 17 points out of the top five.
The weekend opened on Friday with Bruce Jr. advancing from third to second place in his heat race, which gave him the seventh-most points and a trip to the feature redraw. He pulled the No. 6 in the random draw to start on the outside of the third row.
Bruce Jr. battled between the sixth through eighth positions for most of the race before a near crash in the closing laps.
“Unfortunately somebody else got crossed up in front of us,” he said after finishing 12th. “Whenever I slid in the corner, I got tagged by him. It put us in the wall and knocked the Jacobs Ladder out. It was a handful to drive and unfortunately we faded real bad and didn’t have a good finish on Friday.”
A high pill draw on Saturday put Bruce Jr. in the back from the drop of the green flag. He pulled the second-highest number and started last – eighth – in his eight-lap heat race. Bruce Jr. maneuvered to fifth place, which started him 12th in the 30-lap feature.
“Saturday wasn’t too bad,” he said. “They gave us two extremes on the race track over the weekend. The first night was really dry and the second night was really wet. Unfortunately, we drew a 71, which put us in the back of the heat race. We were on a one-lane race track. It was super tough to pass. We got all we could.
“You pretty much had to run the bottom in (turns) one and two and the top in (turns) three and four. It was weird because each end of the track had a predominant line and if you were out of it you were going to struggle and lose spots.”
Bruce Jr. worked his way to a ninth-place result, which was his 24th top 10 of the season.
He will head to Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa, for this weekend’s 23rd annual Arnold Motor Supply 360 Knoxville Nationals. Last season, Bruce Jr. was passed on the last lap for the final transfer position in the B Main of the prestigious event.
In one race at the famed half mile this season, Bruce Jr. qualified third quickest and placed seventh in the feature.
“Earlier this year we were pretty solid there,” he said. “We’re looking forward to it. We’re meeting up with Roush Yates. They are going to put a special tune on our engine this week. Knoxville is a place where everybody wants to run good and we’re looking forward to it. We’re ready to get back to the Midwest and get back on the tracks we’re accustomed to.”
QUICK RESULTS –
July 26 – Willamette Speedway in Lebanon, Ore. – Heat race: 2 (3); Feature: 12 (6).
July 27 – Willamette Speedway in Lebanon, Ore. – Heat race: 5 (8); Feature: 9 (12).
SEASON STATS –
36 races, 3 wins, 14 top fives, 24 top 10s, 34 top 15s, 36 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Thursday through Saturday at Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa, for the 23rd annual Arnold Motor Supply 360 Knoxville Nationals
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.tonybrucejr.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/tonybrucejr
VIDEO –
Here is a link for RacinBoys’ footage of Bruce Jr.’s victory at Boyd Raceway on April 26: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Wx3nrOFTDyg
APPAREL –
Bruce Jr. has black and white t-shirts in adult sizes for sale at his race trailer at each of his races. For his schedule, visit http://www.TonyBruceJr.com/schedule.
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Hinchman Racewear
With more than 80 years in the industry, Hinchman Racewear prides itself on safety, experience, innovation, quality and customer service. For more information on how Hinchman Racewear can protect you, visit http://www.HinchmanRacewear.com.
“When looking for safety and innovation, look no further than Hinchman Racewear,” Bruce Jr. said. “With great customer service and a passion for keeping drivers protected, it’s no wonder why they are the leaders in the custom suit industry. I choose Hinchman to keep me safe and I encourage all drivers to do the same.”
Bruce Jr. would also like to thank Lubbock Wrecker Service, The Oil Medics, Wheeler Metals, Briley Trucking, Eagle Motorsports, Smiley’s Racing Products, SWE, Maxwell Industries, FK Rod Ends, ButlerBuilt Professional Seat Systems, Factory Kahne Shocks, DriverWebsites.com, RacinBoys.com, Wilwood, Schoenfield Headers, Hoosier Tires, HRP, Kaeding Performance, Schaeffer Oil, Fuel Safe, Bell Helmets, Four Seasons Radiator, Southern Trailer Works, KSE, Brown and Miller Racing Solutions, Weld Wheels, ISC Racers Tape and Pressure Tek for their continued support.
INSIDE LINE PROMOTIONS –
Inside Line Promotions specializes in affordable public relations, media management and merchandising services for sprint car teams. ILP Founder Shawn Miller leverages professional journalism with new media technologies and social networking to improve your exposure and your sponsors’ return on investment.
To meet the media relations needs of your team, contact Shawn at 541-510-3663 or sprintcarreporter@yahoo.com. For more information on Inside Line Promotions, visit http://www.insidelinepromotions.com.
- Tony Bruce on Jul 28, 2013
- Article Date: 7/28/2013 by Inside Line Promotions