(Photo by Ron Skinner Photos)
Inside Line Promotions – WILLIS, Texas (June 11, 2014) – Channin Tankersley put together one of his best nights of the season last Friday.
Tankersley claimed his heat race during the ASCS Gulf South Region event at Heart O’Texas Speedway in Waco, Texas, to advance into the feature redraw. He then pulled the No. 1 in the random draw to start the main event on the pole.
“We had a pretty fast car in the heat race,” he said. “We showed a lot of speed. Somehow or another I drew the pole in the redraw, which never happens.”
Once the feature started, the driver on the outside of Tankersley took the early lead.
“We got going and Sam (Hafertepe Jr.) got a good jump on me,” he said. “I stayed with him for about a lap and then he dropped down in front of me and started pulling away. We were just a little too loose to keep up with him and the track started deteriorating. I guess it slowed down enough on the bottom where we could get the top rolled back in.”
Midway through the race the top line began to provide grip for Tankersley, who methodically worked his way back toward Hafertepe Jr. for the lead.
“I pulled the wing all the way back and started being able to roll the top and the middle better,” Tankersley said. “We had a caution with about five laps to go. There were lapped cars in between us, but I cleared them quickly. I stayed within about a car or two behind him and on the last lap I got to him. I just couldn’t get enough rolling around the middle and top to get around him.”
Tankersley finished a close second, which was his sixth top five of the season.
The ASCS Gulf South weekend concluded on Saturday at Gator Motorplex, where Tankersley advanced from fifth to fourth place in his heat race. That earned him the 11th starting position for the main event.
“It’s hard to go anywhere when it’s single file,” he said. “The track started getting a little better toward the end. I just couldn’t get enough rolling to where I could move forward like I should have. I was lucky to get where I got. We were about a 10th-place car.”
Tankersley rallied to cap his weekend with an eighth-place result.
“I was disappointed we didn’t do better Saturday night,” he said. “I would say it was an average weekend. We didn’t tear anything up so that’s a plus.”
Tankersley also increased his lead to 69 points in ASCS Gulf South Region championship standings.
QUICK RESULTS –
June 6 – Heart O’Texas Speedway in Waco, Texas – Heat race: 1 (2); Feature: 2 (1).
June 7 – Gator Motorplex in Willis, Texas – Heat race: 4 (5); Feature: 8 (11).
SEASON STATS –
19 races, 1 win, 6 top fives, 12 top 10s, 13 top 15s, 16 top 20s
UP NEXT –
June 20 at Golden Triangle Raceway Park in Beaumont, Texas, and June 21 at Royal Purple Raceway in Baytown, Texas, with the ASCS Gulf South Region
MEDIA LINKS –
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChanninTankersley?fref=ts
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TankRacing
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Challenger Drilling
Based in Tomball, Texas, Challenger Drilling specializes in providing quality Horizontal Directional Drilling services to a variety of markets, including Oil and Gas Transmission, Cathodic Protection, Water and Sewer. For more information, visit http://www.ChallengerDrilling.com.
“Jeff with Challenger Drilling has been helping me since 2012 and has been a great asset to our team,” Tankersley said. “I really appreciate his support.”
Tankersley would also like to thank Marvin and Peggy Pearson, Miller’s Machine & Welding, 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 Jun 11, 2014
- Article Date: 6/11/2014 by Inside Line Promotions