Inside Line Promotions – MECHANICSBURG, Pa. (Oct. 9, 2013) – Brent Marks has relived last weekend’s 51st annual National Open in his head.
Despite scoring a career-best 11th-place finish on Saturday during the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series event at Williams Grove Speedway, Marks said he left a little bit on the table.
“I kinda feel like it was just a solid weekend for us,” he said. “It definitely did not meet my expectations. We’ve been running well there at The Grove and I figured we’d be able to do better than we did.”
It started on Friday with Marks qualifying 39th quickest out of the 63 cars. After starting eighth in his heat race, Marks made a last-corner, last-lap pass for the fourth-and-final transfer position into the feature.
“My guys were excited and we didn’t have to go through a C Main,” he said. “Everybody was happy and that made me happy. I’m kinda mad at myself because I let that be good enough for us Friday night. I feel we could have done a couple of things differently in the feature to get us to pass more cars than we did. I was disappointed with our finish.”
Marks advanced from 24th to 19th in the main event.
The $50,000-to-win finale on Saturday started off much better with Marks timing in eighth quickest.
“On Saturday we went out 56th to time and were able to put down a good lap,” he said. “That was really good. I had in my mind that was where we’re supposed to be. We just weren’t able to do anything in the heat race. I wanted to get in the dash. Any Outlaws race you just have to position yourself. I was just too tight in the heat race and we weren’t able to get up there to a dash position.”
Marks finished where he started – third – to lock himself into the feature, but he missed a spot in the dash by only one position. He started the main event 14th.
“In the feature I felt like we had the car good enough where we could pass,” he said. “We got to a point in the race where the car really started to come in and I thought we were going to be really good. Then it went overboard and we got too tight. The track got really high and really wide, but at the same time it held a lot of moisture because of the humidity in the air.”
Marks battled for a spot in the top 10 for the final half of the 40-lap feature and he came up one spot short.
“We were racing with Donny Schatz so you can’t really complain,” he said. “I kinda felt like I let my guys down. We worked really hard to try to give it our best shot. Eleventh is nothing to complain about. To finish 11th out of that group of cars is definitely outstanding. At the same time, for any driver finishing outside the top 10, outside the top five, it doesn’t meet your expectations.”
Marks will return to Williams Grove Speedway on Friday and to Lincoln Speedway in Abbottstown, Pa., on Saturday for the Kenny Weld Memorial.
QUICK RESULTS –
Oct. 4 – Williams Grove Speedway in Mechanicsburg, Pa. – Qualifying: 39; Heat race: 4 (8); Feature: 19 (24).
Oct. 5 – Williams Grove Speedway in Mechanicsburg, Pa. – Qualifying: 8; Heat race: 3 (3); Feature: 11 (14).
SEASON STATS –
75 races, 5 wins, 21 top fives, 54 top 10s, 61 top 15s, 65 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Friday at Williams Grove Speedway in Mechanicsburg, Pa., and Saturday at Lincoln Speedway in Abbottstown, Pa., for the Kenny Weld Memorial
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.BrentMarksRacing.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Brent_Marks
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brentmarksracing?fref=ts
VIDEO –
Here is a link to a highlights package by PaPosseRacing.com of Marks’ first victory of the season at Williams Grove Speedway on June 21: http://youtu.be/OayAFmI9z2Q
Here are highlights of Marks’ first career win at Selinsgrove Speedway on May 26 courtesy of WHPTV: http://www.whptv.com/mediacenter/local.aspx?videoid=4077437
Check out Dirt Station highlights of Marks’ victory at Lincoln Speedway on May 11: http://youtu.be/WWQnrUF5ArI
Here is a link to a highlights package by PaPosseRacing.com of Marks’ win at Lincoln Speedway on May 11: http://youtu.be/9lltxaHih4k
Here is a link to a highlights package by PaPosseRacing.com of Marks’ win at Lincoln Speedway on March 30: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHZvZdKZCk4
Here is a link to a highlights package by PaPosseRacing.com of Marks’ win at Lincoln Speedway on March 9: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zlz27Ec4jA
APPAREL –
Marks has a variety of apparel, including t-shirts, sweatshirts, long-sleeve shirts, hats and stickers. The apparel is located in front of the truck at Williams Grove Speedway and at T-shirt Alley at Lincoln Speedway each weekend.
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – BAPS Auto Paint and Supply
With three stores in Central Pennsylvania and one in Massachusetts, BAPS Auto Paint and Supply is a distributor of Quality Automotive, Industrial, and Commercial Coatings and Supplies. For more information, visit http://www.BAPSpaint.com.
“BAPS Auto Paint and Supply has sponsored me ever since I started racing go-karts in 1999,” Marks said. “They have been longtime family friends and a huge support of my career.”
Marks would also like to thank Fredericksburg Eagle Hotel, Creekside Auto Sales, Russell Heller Builder, TJ’s Body Shop, KC Automotive, Wolf Run Landscaping, Glenna Straley Hair Design, Sprint Aces, Robison Racing Products, KSE Racing Products, Penske Racing Shocks, Triple X Race Co., MEMTEC Services and special thanks to Tim Spangler and Jake’s Carts 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.
- Shawn Miller on Oct 09, 2013
- Article Date: 10/9/2013 by Inside Line Promotions