(Photo by Mike Howard Photography)
Inside Line Promotions – EAGLE, Neb. (June 1, 2014) – Tony Bruce Jr. pieced together another consistent weekend on the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour.
Bruce Jr. continued his improvement at Salina Speedway in Salina, Kan., last Friday when he registered his best career finish and his second straight top 10 at the track.
“In the heat race we weren’t too bad,” he said. “I probably wasn’t as aggressive as I needed to be. If we could have picked off one more spot we could have put ourselves in the redraw.”
After rallying from seventh to fourth place in his heat race, Bruce Jr. missed the feature redraw by one position. It started him ninth in the main event, which is the same starting position Bruce Jr. has had in each of the previous two races at Salina Speedway.
“In the A Main we got rolling pretty good,” he said. “The track was good, slick and wide, but a lot of the good cars started up front. At one point we were in the top five, but at the end of the race I missed the bottom one lap and had to settle for sixth.”
Bruce Jr. battled for a top-five position throughout the 30-lap feature before he ended with a sixth-place finish.
“I felt pretty good about it because the couple of times we’ve been there I haven’t felt that good,” he said. “To go there and improve from what we’ve done in the past is always a good sign.”
The One 8 Motorsports team tackled Eagle Raceway on Saturday for the Hinchman Racewear Eagle Nationals, which was hosted by Bruce Jr. and his company – TBJ Promotions.
“I think the bottom of the race track just didn’t have enough grip on it,” he said. “Any time you caught a car and had to peel to the bottom you couldn’t keep the momentum up. That was the difference from years past.”
Bruce Jr. advanced from fourth to third place in his heat race and nearly captured the runner-up position, which would have put him in the feature redraw. Instead, Bruce Jr. missed the redraw by two spots and started the 35-lap feature on the outside of the fifth row.
“The turn one hole let me know that I didn’t give it enough respect at the beginning of the race,” he said. “I hit it extremely hard and it felt like we bounced about 20 feet in the air. It got the car to bouncing. I’m surprised I didn’t get upside down.”
The problem on Lap 2 of the main event dropped Bruce Jr. to the back of the field. Later in the race someone nearly spun in front of Bruce Jr., who sustained nose wing damage.
“It was one of those nights were everything that could go bad or could go wrong did and we didn’t end up with the position that we should,” he said after finishing 13th.
Bruce Jr. enters this weekend’s Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour competition – Friday at Lexington 104 Speedway in Lexington, Tenn., and Saturday at I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Ark. – seventh in the championship standings.
QUICK RESULTS –
May 30 – Salina Speedway in Salina, Kan. – Heat race: 4 (7); Feature: 6 (9).
May 31 – Eagle Raceway in Eagle, Neb. – Heat race: 3 (4); Feature: 13 (10).
SEASON STATS –
22 races, 2 wins, 5 top fives, 13 top 10s, 15 top 15s, 20 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Friday at Lexington 104 Speedway in Lexington, Tenn., and Saturday at I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Ark., with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour
LIVE COVERAGE –
To keep up to speed with Bruce Jr. at every Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour event, visit http://www.RacinBoys.com for free, live audio. Additionally, RacinBoys will provide live Pay-Per-View video at select races.
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.TonyBruceJr.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TonyBruceJr
VIDEO –
Click on the link for a video by Thriller Productions that highlights Bruce Jr.’s Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour triumph at Devil’s Bowl Speedway on March 21: http://vimeo.com/89899519
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, Briley Trucking, Wheeler Metals, The Oil Medics, Eagle Motorsports, Smiley’s Racing Products, SWE, Maxwell Industries, Moss Racing Engines, FK Rod Ends, ButlerBuilt Professional Seat Systems, Factory Kahne Shocks, DriverWebsites.com, RacinBoys.com, Wilwood, Schoenfeld Headers, Hoosier Racing 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 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 Jun 01, 2014
- Article Date: 6/1/2014 by Inside Line Promotions