(Photo by Seth Lacewell)
Inside Line Promotions – HIGHLANDS, Texas (March 29, 2015) – Ray Allen Kulhanek started his season on a bright note last weekend with the ASCS Gulf South Region.
Kulhanek garnered the Hard Charger Award on Friday at Golden Triangle Raceway Park in Beaumont, Texas, after he charged from a B Main to finish second in the main event.
“I wish it would be have been a 30-lap race because we would have won it,” he said. “Or if we got a caution with a green-white-checkered finish we would have won. We just ran out of time.”
Kulhanek opened the night by finishing third in a heat race, which relegated him to a B Main. He led the distance of the consolation race to transfer into the main event, which he started 15th.
“It’s always an advantage (to run a B Main) as far as knowing what the track surface is exactly like,” he said. “A plus for me was working on a little bit of a different shock package than what I’ve been on. It gave me a few more laps to tweak on it to see where I wanted to get my baseline.”
The extra time on the track benefitted Kulhanek in the main event as he manuevered from 15th to the runner-up finish.
“We picked off the first few cars one at a time,” he said. “By the time we hit the midway point my car came in and did nothing but get better the rest of the race. I could go anywhere on the track. If they were running the top I could go to the bottom. If they were running the bottom I could go to the top.”
Kulhanek continued his drive forward on Saturday at Battleground Speedway, where he opened the competition by charging from sixth to second place in a heat race. That made him the high-points earner throughout the heat races and gave him a trip into the feature redraw, where he pulled the No. 6 to start on the outside of the third row for the main event.
“We had a caution within the first four or five laps,” he said. “I had a left rear tire going down on me. I think it was pretty much flat by the time I made it to the pit area. They normally give you a two-lap grace period. They didn’t make but a lap and they took the green flag. By the time they set me on the ground they took the green. They said (after the race) that they didn’t see me go to the work area.”
Kulhanek, who was in the top five prior to the caution, was trapped in the work area and unable to resume racing. He was credited with a 16th-place result.
“I was really happy with the turnout on Friday,” he said. “Everything was going well on Saturday and the way the race panned out I think they only finished with nine cars. That’s how many DNFs there were. I could have been caught up in someone else’s crash so maybe I lucked out.”
Kulhanek will return to competition on April 17 at Heart O’ Texas Speedway in Waco, Texas, and April 18 at Gator Motorplex in Willis, Texas, with the ASCS Gulf South Region.
QUICK RESULTS –
March 27 – Golden Triangle Raceway Park in Beaumont, Texas – Heat race: 3 (2); B Main: 1 (1); Feature: 2 (15).
March 28 – Battleground Speedway in Highlands, Texas – Heat race: 2 (6); Feature: 16 (6).
SEASON STATS –
2 races, 0 wins, 1 top five, 1 top 10, 1 top 15, 2 top 20s
UP NEXT –
April 17 at Heart O’ Texas Speedway in Waco, Texas, and April 18 at Gator Motorplex in Willis, Texas, with the ASCS Gulf South Region
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.RayAllenKulhanek.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dork.racing.9?fref=ts
APPAREL –
Kulhanek will have apparel available for sale at his race trailer throughout the season. For a list of his scheduled events, visit http://www.RayAllenKulhanek.com.
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Texas Rotating Equipment
Based in Dayton, Texas, Texas Rotating Equipment is an industrial turbine services and repairs company for oil companies.
“Texas Rotating Equipment has partnered with us the past couple of years and it has really helped our team out,” Kulhanek said. “We appreciate their support and hope to represent them in Victory Lane a lot this season.”
Kulhanek would also like to thank Oilfield Equipment & Manufacturing, Miller’s RV Park, J&J Auto Racing, ButlerBuilt Professional Seat Systems, Smiley’s Racing Products, 41 Shocks, Engler Machine & Tool, Outlaw Wings, Hoosier Racing Tire Southwest, Penske Shocks, Don Ott Racing Engines, Snap Graphics, Frazier and Son Laser Cutting and Simpson Race Products for their 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 Mar 29, 2015
- Article Date: 3/29/2015 by Inside Line Promotions