(Photo by Fast Eddie Racing & Photography)
Inside Line Promotions – BEAUMONT, Texas (May 28, 2014) – Although his ASCS Gulf South Region tripleheader didn’t yield a win, Channin Tankersley had a solid weekend.
Tankersley sandwiched a crash between a pair of top-six finishes as he extended his championship points lead to 59 points.
“It’s always frustrating not running like you want, but even though we did have a little bit of bad luck we still salvaged a decent weekend,” he said.
The action began last Friday at Cotton Bowl Speedway in Paige, Texas, where Tankersley won his heat race after starting on the outside of the front row. That earned him enough points to advance into the feature redraw, where he pulled the highest number – eight – in the random draw to start the main event on the outside of the fourth row.
“On the original start (of the feature) I was passing for second coming out of turn four,” he said. “I got a great start, but they called it back. I had already showed my hand so the next restart everybody went to the bottom.”
Tankersley picked up a trio of positions on the ensuing restart to compete within the top five for the entire race before ending with a fourth-place result, which marked his fifth top five of the season.
Saturday’s race at Shady Oaks Speedway in Goliad, Texas, was the frustrating point of the weekend. Tankersley finished fifth in his heat race and sixth in the B Main to garner the final transfer to the main event, which he started last.
“We just didn’t have speed,” he said. “I’m baffled on what happened. But in the A Main we were a rocket ship. We were going to the front in a hurry. We threw something at the car and it liked it a lot better.”
Tankersley methodically rallied from 20th into the top 10.
“I got up to ninth or so and was trying to get around eighth place in lapped traffic and ran into a lapped car to knock myself out of the A Main,” he said.
The contact with approximately five laps remaining bent his front end and Tankersley pulled into the pits early with an 18th-place result.
The weekend wrapped up on a solid note when Tankersley claimed his heat race from the pole position on Sunday at Golden Triangle Raceway Park. That put him in the feature redraw, where he got the No. 6 to start the main event on the outside of the third row.
“I got to fifth on the last restart and I caught fourth place,” he said. “I went to the top to go around him and when I did sixth place got around me. I was wheel to wheel with him going into turn three on the last lap, but I was slower than him in turns three and four.”
Tankersley finished sixth to record his series-leading eighth top 10 in 10 ASCS Gulf South Region races this season.
He will take this weekend off before the next ASCS Gulf South Region doubleheader – June 6 at Heart O’Texas Speedway in Waco, Texas, and June 7 at Gator Motorplex in Willis, Texas, which wraps up the first half of the season.
QUICK RESULTS –
May 23 – Cotton Bowl Speedway in Paige, Texas – Heat race: 1 (2); Feature: 4 (8).
May 24 – Shady Oaks Speedway in Goliad, Texas – Heat race: 5 (3); B Main: 6 (6); Feature: 18 (20).
May 25 – Golden Triangle Raceway Park in Beaumont, Texas – Heat race: 1 (1); Feature: 6 (6).
SEASON STATS –
17 races, 1 win, 5 top fives, 10 top 10s, 11 top 15s, 14 top 20s
UP NEXT –
June 6 at Heart O’Texas Speedway in Waco, Texas, and June 7 at Gator Motorplex in Willis, Texas, with the ASCS Gulf South Region
MEDIA LINKS –
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChanninTankersley?fref=ts
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TankRacing
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“If I crash or if I need something cut, they can pretty much do anything,” Tankersley said. “Miller’s Machine & Welding is a great fabrication shop and I’m grateful for their help.”
Tankersley would also like to thank Marvin and Peggy Pearson, Challenger Drilling, Accu-Fab, Griffith Truck & Equipment and Day Motorsports for their continued support.
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 28, 2014
- Article Date: 5/28/2014 by Inside Line Promotions