(Photo by Tim's Racing Photos)
Inside Line Promotions – BELLEVILLE, Ill. (Aug. 12, 2014) – Tyler Thomas got to try his hand on both pavement and dirt last weekend.
The results were nearly similar as he earned a pair of top fives, including his four podium finish in as many attempts on pavement this season.
Thomas kicked off the weekend on Friday at New Smyrna Speedway in New Smyrna Beach, Fla., driving a pro late model for Tim Russell. After pulling the No. 8 in the random draw, Thomas lined up on the outside of the fourth row for the 25-lap feature.
“I got to second by Lap 3,” he said. “Once I got to second, the guy who won, Rich Clouser, me and him were dead even. We had a yellow around Lap 10. I hung with him the next 10 laps or so and he started pulling away a little. We got a little loose at the end of the race and it was hard to be aggressive like I wanted to be.”
Thomas finished with his second straight runner-up result at New Smyrna Speedway.
“Overall it was another good experience to pass some cars and get up there to race for the win,” he said. “I’m looking forward to going back because I keep learning more each time we race.”
After hopping on a plane to fly to St. Louis on Sunday morning, Thomas competed in the POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget Series event that night at Belle-Clair Speedway.
The race started by Thomas rallying from sixth to second place in his heat race before a problem on the last lap dropped him to a fifth-place result.
“We were running second and broke a left front brake line,” he said. “Then the spline in the right rear wheel hub stripped out of the axel.”
It relegated him to a B Main, which he won to earn a transfer into the 30-lap main event.
“It was about halfway and we were 10th or 11th,” he said. “It was so hard to pass because the track was so good and it was pretty narrow. I committed to running the bottom and got up to racing for third. First through fifth were all right there together. We were racing side by side, three wide.”
After methodically working from 17th into the top five, Thomas battled for a podium in the closing laps before he ended with a fourth-place finish.
He will return to POWRi competition this weekend with a tripleheader – Friday at Lincoln Speedway in Lincoln, Ill.; Saturday at Macon Speedway in Macon, Ill.; and Sunday at Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie, Wis.
His next pavement race will be Sept. 6.
QUICK RESULTS –
Aug. 9 – New Smyrna Speedway in New Smyrna Beach, Fla. – Feature: 2 (8).
Aug. 10 – Belle-Clair Speedway in Belleville, Ill. – Heat race: 5 (6); B Main: 1 (3); Feature: 4 (17).
SEASON STATS –
31 races, 2 wins, 14 top fives, 18 top 10s, 24 top 15s, 30 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Friday at Lincoln Speedway in Lincoln, Ill.; Saturday at Macon Speedway in Macon, Ill.; and Sunday at Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie, Wis., with the POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget Series
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.TylerThomasMotorsports.com
Twitter: https://Twitter.com/TylerThomas91
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tyler-Thomas-Motorsports/154971717863656
APPAREL –
Thomas has t-shirts for sale at his race trailer during every event this season. For his schedule, visit http://www.TylerThomasMotorsports.com.
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Bell Helmets
Bell Racing USA LLC is the world’s leading auto racing and karting helmet company. More champions in all forms of racing have worn Bell Helmets than any other brand. The Bell name is synonymous with innovation, technology, engineering excellence and superior helmet performance. For more information, visit http://www.BellRacing.com.
“I’ve been using Bell Helmets for the past five years and I don’t think there is anything else out there I’d rather wear,” Thomas said. “They’ve always been comfortable and are a very safe helmet.”
Thomas would also like to thank BT Machine Inc., Quick Racing Products, Triple X Race Co., Thriller Photo, Haynes Equipment, Alpinestars, Factor 1 Racing and Esslinger Engineering 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 Aug 12, 2014
- Article Date: 8/12/2014 by Inside Line Promotions