(Photo by IBRACN Photos)
Inside Line Promotions – KNOXVILLE, Iowa (Aug. 12, 2014) – Jack Dover had a strong debut with his 410ci engine this season.
Tackling the 54th annual FVP Knoxville Nationals Presented by Casey’s General Stores, Dover won a pair of heat races and earned his best career finish during a 410 main event at Knoxville Raceway last weekend.
“It wasn’t the Nationals I wanted,” he said. “I’m always expecting to be in the A Main on the final night, but we’ll keep trying.”
The weekend started on Thursday when Dover qualified 33rd quickest despite going out late in time trials. That was good enough to make the heat race inversion and line him up on the outside of the front row of a heat race. He took the lead on the start and led the distance en route to his third career Knoxville Nationals heat race victory.
That locked him into the 25-lap main event, which he started 14th. However, after battling for a top 15 throughout the majority of the feature, Dover noticed his engine was overheating during a red flag with six laps remaining and he decided to pull into the pits early. He was credited with a 23rd-place result.
“We were expecting to be top eight to top 10 and we had some overheating issues so we had to pull in,” he said. “I’m just not used to the 410 deal with the flat wings and stuff. It definitely gives the Outlaw guys an advantage compared to guys like me that don’t really run them. There’s a lot to learn with the 410 deal.”
After the point totals were tallied from the preliminary action, Dover ranked 51st – only one spot out of being locked into Saturday’s C Main. Instead, he had to race during the non-qualifier program on Saturday morning.
Since races were lined up heads up, Dover started on the pole of the first heat race. He led throughout to pick up his second heat victory of the weekend and earn the pole position for the main event.
Dover then held off Steve Kinser for most of the first half of the feature before the duo was caught up in slower traffic. That allowed Danny Lasoski to maneuver into the top spot and with an overheating issue reoccurring in the closing laps, Dover hung on to record a career-best second-place finish.
“It turns out we blew a head gasket and my engine builder, Chris Moss, fixed it during the day,” he said. “That shows you how good he is to fix it in two hours before we went racing again.”
That lined Dover up on the outside of the sixth row for Saturday night’s C Main, which transferred the top five into the back of the B Main.
After narrowly escaping a wild crash that involved more than a half dozen drivers on the opening lap, Dover advanced into the sixth spot early in the race. Unfortunately, his tires sealed over during a late caution and he fell to a 10th-place result to miss a transfer.
“My tires cooled down on that restart and made the car really tight,” he said. “That’s what we struggled with. That yellow definitely hurt us. I think we could have made it to the B Main without that yellow.”
QUICK RESULTS –
Aug. 7 – Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa – Qualifying: 33; Heat race: 1 (2); Feature: DNF (14).
Aug. 9 – Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa (Friday program) – Heat race: 1 (1); Feature: 2 (1).
Aug. 9 – Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa – C Main: 10 (12).
SEASON STATS –
30 races, 11 wins, 20 top fives, 23 top 10s, 23 top 15s, 26 top 20s
UP NEXT –
TBD
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.JackDoverRacing.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JackDoverRacing
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jackdoverracing?fref=ts
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Eagle Motorsports
Eagle Motorsports, formerly known as Eagle Chassis, has fabricated sprint car chassis since 1998. Eagle has been a part of winning three Knoxville Nationals. For more information, visit http://www.EagleMotorsports.com.
“Eagle chassis are one of the easiest to drive and one of the easiest to work on,” Dover said. “And they’ve been great with custom, reliable chassis because of my height.”
Dover would also like to thank Home Pride Companies Inc., Certified Transmission, Moss Racing Engines, Thorpe’s Body Shop, Trail Performance Coatings Inc., The Oil Medics, ButlerBuilt Professional Seat Systems, Keizer Wheels, Schoenfeld Headers, Shaver Racing Engines, Langfeldt Overhead Doors, K&N Filters, FK Rod Ends, DMI, Speedway Motors, Vortex Wings and True Trucking for their continued support.
PARTNERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES –
Jack Dover Racing is close to being able to compete across the country by returning to the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour, where Dover has finished in the top 10 both seasons he has raced full time with the premier 360 sprint car series. He is also ready to compete with the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series en route to his dream of racing in NASCAR. The only variable missing is a reliable truck and trailer. For more information on partnership opportunities, e-mail teamdover@gmail.com.
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 Aug 12, 2014
- Article Date: 8/12/2014 by Inside Line Promotions