(Photo by Malcolm White Photography)
Inside Line Promotions – BEAUMONT, Texas (May 27, 2014) – Travis Rilat powered to a pair of podiums with the ASCS Gulf South Region last weekend in Texas.
“We should have won two and we came home with none,” he said. “We had a decent weekend. We didn’t tear anything up. It would have been nice to come away with two wins, but there’s always next time.”
Driving for Richard Saumure, Rilat opened the Texas tripleheader last Friday at Cotton Bowl Speedway in Paige by rallying from sixth to third place in his heat race. That earned him enough points to advance into the feature redraw. He then pulled the No. 2 in the random draw to start the main event on the outside of the front row.
Rilat took the top spot on the opening lap and blasted around the cushion on the track for the first dozen laps before traffic became an issue.
“I just made a bad decision in lapped traffic and let (Johnny) Herrera and (Aaron) Reutzel get by me,” he said. “I should have stayed at the top. It was right up against the fence the whole way around.”
When Rilat ducked to the bottom groove to put another car one lap down around Lap 15, Herrera and Reutzel rallied around the outside lane to drop Rilat to third, which is where he finished.
The team tackled Shady Oaks Speedway in Goliad on Saturday and Rilat maneuvered from fourth to second place in his heat race. That gave him a trip to the feature redraw, where he plucked the No. 4 to start the main event on the outside of the second row.
“The track was kind of weird,” he said. “I had one of the locals tell me the thing would come back throughout the night. I had watched the late models before and they had cleaned it off. A few laps into it the moisture started to come back up. It made for a heavier track. We were just a little bit tight.”
Rilat picked up a pair of positions to finish in the runner-up spot for his fourth straight podium and second of the weekend.
The action wrapped up on Sunday at Golden Triangle Raceway Park.
After advancing from seventh to fourth place in his heat race, Rilat was given the No. 2 in the feature redraw and he capitalized from the start. Rilat took the lead on the opening lap and despite numerous cautions, he led the first 14 laps before finding a hole in a fuel line during a caution with approximately 11 laps remaining.
“It covered my left leg and filled my shoe up,” he said. “I noticed it under the caution. I could feel my suit was wet and my leg was wet. We had a really good car. I could run top, bottom, wherever I needed to go.”
Unfortunately, Rilat was forced to pull into the infield during the caution and his race ended with an 18th-place result.
Rilat is slated to take the next couple of weekends off before returning to competition with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour at Devil’s Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, Texas, on June 14.
QUICK RESULTS –
May 23 – Cotton Bowl Speedway in Paige, Texas – Heat race: 3 (6); Feature: 3 (2).
May 24 – Shady Oaks Speedway in Goliad, Texas – Heat race: 2 (4); Feature: 2 (4).
May 25 – Golden Triangle Raceway Park in Beaumont, Texas – Heat race: 4 (7); Feature: 18 (2).
SEASON STATS –
10 races, 2 wins, 5 top fives, 6 top 10s, 6 top 15s, 7 top 20s
UP NEXT –
June 14 at Devil’s Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, Texas, with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.TravisRilat.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/TravisRilat29
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Xtreme Oilfield Technology
Located in St. Paul, Alberta, Canada, Xtreme Oilfield Technology began in 2000 by providing general and specialized tank cleaning (door pulls), fluid transfers, well loads and rig work. Xtreme Oilfield Technology has expanded to include body vac units, flushby units, combinations units (vacuum/steamer), water trucks and hydro vac units, and offers equipment rental. For more information, visit http://www.XtremeOilfield.ca.
“The people with Xtreme Oilfield Technology are very cool people to hang out with it and we really appreciate their partnership,” Rilat said.
Rilat would also like to thank Carlan Services, Shark Racing Engines, 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 and media management for motor sports drivers, teams, sponsors, tracks, series, events, organizations and manufacturers. ILP Founder Shawn Miller leverages professional journalism with new media technologies and social networking to improve your exposure and the return on investment for your sponsors.
To meet the media relations needs of your program and to join Team ILP, contact Shawn at 541-510-3663 or InsideLinePromotions@gmail.com. For more information on Inside Line Promotions, visit http://www.InsideLinePromotions.com.
- Shawn Miller on May 27, 2014
- Article Date: 5/27/2014 by Inside Line Promotions