Inside Line Promotions – MOBERLY, Mo. (Sept. 2, 2013) – Ever since the Knoxville Nationals, Tony Bruce Jr. has been on a roll.
Bruce Jr. has finished in the top seven of every feature the past three weeks, including a trio of events last weekend. In fact, his performance at the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour 35th annual Jackson Nationals at Jackson Speedway in Jackson, Minn., on Friday and Saturday were two of his best races that he didn’t win this season.
Bruce Jr. powered from sixth to claim his heat race both nights, which earned him a trip to the feature redraw each time.
“We were pretty strong to be able to do what we did in the heat race,” he said. “Any time you go from sixth to first in the heat race, I don’t care what track you’re on, shows how good you are.”
On Friday, Bruce Jr. drew the No. 5 in the random draw, which started him on the inside of the third row for the 30-lap feature.
“I really didn’t get a good start,” he said. “We fell back to 11th at one point. More than anything I blame myself for a couple of early moves that didn’t work out how I had them planned. It was a good effort to salvage a top five.”
Bruce Jr. began to work the bottom in the closing laps and picked up a handful of positions in the latter stage, earning a fifth-place finish on the opening night of the Jackson Nationals.
“We knew the top was going to go away at some point,” he said. “At the beginning of the race I tried the bottom to see if it was there and lost a bunch of spots. Toward the end of the race I felt like we were slowing down at the top and moved down to the bottom and we were able to pick off some cars.”
After repeating his impressive feat of winning a heat race after starting sixth on Saturday, Bruce Jr. drew the No. 2 to start on the outside of the front row for the main event.
“In reality the outside lane wasn’t the place to be on the start,” he said. “I knew (polesitter) Brian Brown was probably going to get the start on us. I spun the tires a little bit and we just had to get in line.”
Bruce Jr. maintained the runner-up position for the entire race and finished second, marking his 18th top-five result of the season.
“There were a few times I felt we were better than he was and there were laps he was better than us,” he said. “I felt rubber go down early and to be honest we got in conserve mode. In my mind I was going to try to capitalize on any mistakes that he made, but he drove a great race.”
Bruce Jr. ventured to Randolph County Raceway for the first time in his career on Sunday. After advancing from fourth to second place in his heat race, Bruce Jr. started the feature on the outside of the fifth row.
“Unfortunately the worst thing about it was the first five or six laps there the bottom was the place to be,” he said. “We fell to about 13th in the opening laps because we started on the outside. You really had to be down on the bottom the first few laps. Once the bottom went away we had a really good car and could pick some guys off.”
Bruce Jr. rallied to place seventh and notch his sixth-straight top-seven result.
His final TBJ Promotions event of the season – Topless at the Ditch at Riverside International Speedway in West Memphis, Ark. – is Saturday and Bruce Jr. will fly to Nebraska Sunday morning to compete in the Nebraska Cup at Eagle Raceway in Eagle.
QUICK RESULTS –
Aug. 30 – Jackson Speedway in Jackson, Minn. – Heat race: 1 (6); Feature: 5 (5).
Aug. 31 – Jackson Speedway in Jackson, Minn. – Heat race: 1 (6); Feature: 2 (2).
Sept. 1 – Randolph County Raceway in Moberly, Mo. – Heat race: 2 (4); Feature: 7 (10).
SEASON STATS –
50 races, 3 wins, 18 top fives, 31 top 10s, 41 top 15s, 45 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Sunday at Eagle Raceway in Eagle, Neb., for the Nebraska Cup
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, 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 Sep 02, 2013
- Article Date: 9/2/2013 by Inside Line Promotions