Inside Line Promotions - ALGER, Wash. (July 29, 2013) - For the first time in the last five weeks, Travis Rilat didn't end in Victory Lane.
"You can't win everything," he said.
Rilat and car owner Richard Saumure came awfully close to extending that streak last weekend during the Bob's Burger & Brew Summer Nationals at Skagit Speedway, when they recorded a pair of top fives during the $12,000-to-win event.
"It wasn't too bad," he said. "We had a decent run on Friday. We had the car where it needed to be. Everything seemed to work our way."
Rilat qualified seventh quickest and charged from third to win his heat race, which locked him into the feature. With the lock-in cars inverted, Rilat started 11th in the main event.
"We had a good car that could move around the track," he said. "We were able to get up to fifth in the feature, which put us second in overall points."
The top six in points were locked into Saturday's scramble, which determined the first three rows of the 40-lap feature. Rilat placed second in the dash to Shane Stewart, who was the eventual winner of the main event.
"Stewart had a little bit better car then we did Saturday night," Rilat said. "They usually get a pretty big hole in turn one. On one of the restarts I tried to go in above it and it got worse. It upset the car quite a bit and (Travis) Jacobson was able to get by. I busted a brake line, too, so we were without brakes the rest of the race."
After racing in second place for the first quarter of the feature, Rilat fell to third on that restart and he maintained that position for the rest of the race. It marked his 13th top-five finish of the season.
"We were decent, but we needed that extra something that everybody was looking for," he said. "Stewart had it that night. We had it there for a few weeks in a row with several of the races in a row when we were winning."
Rilat is scheduled to compete at Castrol Raceway in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, on Wednesday for the Race of Champions.
QUICK RESULTS -
July 26 - Skagit Speedway in Alger, Wash. - Qualifying: 7; Heat race: 1 (3); Feature: 5 (11).
July 27 - Skagit Speedway in Alger, Wash. - Scramble: 2 (2); Feature: 3 (2).
SEASON STATS -
25 races, 4 wins, 13 top fives, 18 top 10s, 19 top 15s, 23 top 20s
UP NEXT -
Wednesday at Castrol Raceway in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, for the Race of Champions
VIDEO -
Here is a highlight video by Nathan Prince of Rilat's Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour victory at Grays Harbor Raceway in Elma, Wash., on July 12: http://youtu.be/Md1evWDAl30
Here's a video by Nathan Prince of Rilat's ASCS Northwest Region Speedweek win at Grays Harbor Raceway in Elma, Wash., on June 28: http://youtu.be/NAeXAJn8nS0
MEDIA LINKS -
Website: http://www.TravisRilat.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/TravisRilat29
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT - Shark Racing Engines
Located in Sedro-Woolley, Wash., Shark Racing Engines has been building high-performance racing engines for almost 25 years. For more information, visit http://www.SharkRacingEngines.com.
"It's kind of funny how I met (Shark owner) Marc Huson when I went up there to Washington for an ASCS National Tour race and Triple X Race Co. was next door," Rilat said. "I was wandering around talking on my cell phone and saw a sprint car next door. I walked over, looked around and introduced myself.
"He's been a great friend. He was instrumental with a support group for me and my family when I was in the hospital up there. He and his wife helped us out in a hard time. As far as his engine skills go, he's one of the best in the country. There's only a handful of great engine builders across the country and I consider him one of the best."
Rilat would also like to thank Xtreme Oilfield Technology, Carlan Services, Northern Provincial Pipelines, Matt's Oilfield Services, TriJet Manufacturing Services, Northern Lights Welding, Camex VP, Rob Wright Building Supplies, Scott Safety, Max Fuel, Jaron Water Hauling, Maxim, Factory Kahne, HRP, Ti22, Weld Wheels, Ben Cook Racing and Smiley's Racing Products among others for their continued support on Richard Saumure's No. 39c Maxim.
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.
- Admin Account on Jul 30, 2013
- Article Date: 7/30/2013 by Shawn Miller