(Photo by Al Steinberg)
Inside Line Promotions – TAMPA, Fla. (Feb. 24, 2015) – Brandon Hanks is going after the next step in his racing program.
However, sometimes that means taking gambles that require learning curves, which was the theme of last weekend’s season-opening Ronald Laney Memorial at East Bay Raceway Park.
Hanks and his team experimented with the setup throughout the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour tripleheader. Some changes paid off and other times it didn’t.
“We’re trying to step out of our comfort zone and find something that is fast,” he said. “We tried that and we did pick up some speed, but we’ve got to get the bugs out of it. We’re still playing with it and I think we’ll continue to play with a different setup to find some speed.”
Hanks kicked off the event by charging from sixth to second place on the opening lap of his heat race last Thursday. Unfortunately, he was unable to complete that lap.
“We tried something a lot different,” he said. “We went from sixth to nearly the lead on the first lap. That thing was a rocket ship, but it didn’t make that fourth turn. The car bottomed out and the torque tube hit the seat and when it did it spun the car around.”
Hanks ended eighth in the heat race and he capped the night with a 13th-place finish in a B Main.
The team returned to East Bay Raceway Park on Friday, when Hanks placed eighth in a heat and 11th in a B Main.
He continued to struggle with the setup in traffic on the slick track during Saturday’s finale. Hanks placed seventh in both a qualifier and a C Main.
Looking back at his results, Hanks said the team needs to improve on the slick tracks.
“In Thursday’s heat race that was the best handling car I’ve had until I got in some slick stuff,” he said. “When I had bite that car was fast, which most cars are. What I had, it was incredible at how fast it was, but I couldn’t maneuver in anything slick. We’re going to do a lot of studying.”
Hanks will return to action this Friday and Saturday at Bubba Raceway Park in Ocala, Fla., with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour. It will be his first time competing at the unique track.
QUICK RESULTS –
Feb. 19 – East Bay Raceway Park in Tampa, Fla. – Heat race: 8 (6); B Main: 13 (16).
Feb. 20 – East Bay Raceway Park in Tampa, Fla. – Heat race: 8 (2); B Main: 11 (14).
Feb. 21 – East Bay Raceway Park in Tampa, Fla. – Qualifier: 7 (9); C Main: 7 (4).
SEASON STATS –
3 races, 0 wins, 0 top fives, 0 top 10s, 0 top 15s, 0 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Friday and Saturday at Bubba Raceway Park in Ocala, Fla., with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.HanksMotorsports.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Brandon_K_Hanks
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hanks-Motorsports/135263046488177
LIVE COVERAGE –
To keep up to speed with Hanks 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.
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – D&B Farms
Located in Burlison, Tenn., D&B Farms is a corn and beans farm owned by the Hanks family.
“It’s a family business so I need to thank my dad, Brad Jones, Ricky Huffman and my granddad,” Hanks said. “We all work on the farm together. Without them not only would we not be able to race, but we couldn’t make a living.”
Hanks would also like to thank Performance Powder Coating, Blue City Neon Signs & Graphics, J&J Auto Racing, Wesmar Racing Engines, Walls Paint and Body Shop, RE Enterprises, Hinchman Racewear and ButlerBuilt Professional Seat Systems 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 by joining Team ILP, contact Shawn at 541-510-3663 or Shawn@InsideLinePromotions.com. For more information on Inside Line Promotions, visit http://www.InsideLinePromotions.com.
- Shawn Miller on Feb 24, 2015
- Article Date: 2/24/2015 by Inside Line Promotions