(Photo by Al Steinberg)
Inside Line Promotions – GREENVILLE, Texas (April 12, 2015) – Tony Bruce Jr. was so close to earning his first victory of the season last weekend he could taste it.
Bruce Jr. led the first 19 laps of the ASCS Red River Region main event on Saturday at Superbowl Speedway before he ended with a third-place result.
“It was disappointing to lead most of the race and give it away at the end,” he said. “We led almost the entire race except for the last few laps.”
Bruce Jr. opened the night by winning his heat race after lining up on the outside of the front row. That earned him a spot in the feature redraw, where he pulled the No. 1 to garner the pole position for the main event.
“We got into lapped traffic and I was running the bottom the entire race,” he said. “I never heard anybody or seen anybody coming. You had to be right on the bottom of turns one and two no matter what. In turns three and four you could move around a little bit. It was one of those things where it was a disadvantage being the leader.”
Bruce Jr. maintained the bottom groove until eventual race winner Seth Bergman took the lead on the high line.
“Seth ended up going to the top in turns three and four and getting around us,” he said. “If I get off the bottom and somebody passes me on the bottom I’m the biggest idiot. As soon as he passed us for the lead I followed him up to the top and a lapped car slid up in front of me, which let Blake Hahn get by us.”
However, the third-place result marked the first sprint car podium of the season for Bruce Jr, who kicked off the weekend on Friday with the ASCS Red River Region at Creek County Speedway in Sapulpa, Okla. He advanced from seventh to fifth place in a heat race, which locked him into the 11th starting position for the main event.
“The track was pretty wet the entire night,” he said. “We started at the back of the first heat and were able to get a couple of cars to make it into the show. Unfortunately two cars in front of me got together at the start of the main event. I had to check up in turns one and two and we lost a bunch of spots. The track was narrow and hard to pass on so we had to really work our way up to 10th.”
Bruce Jr. rebounded from the early scare to post a 10th-place finish.
He is slated to compete with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour this Saturday at Randolph County Raceway in Moberly, Mo., where he earned a seventh-place result in 2013 during his last appearance there.
QUICK RESULTS –
April 10 – Creek County Speedway in Sapulpa, Okla. – Heat race: 5 (7); Feature: 10 (11).
April 11 – Superbowl Speedway in Greenville, Texas – Heat race: 1 (2); Feature: 3 (1).
SEASON STATS –
12 races, 0 wins, 2 top fives, 5 top 10s, 7 top 15s, 9 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Saturday at Randolph County Raceway in Moberly, Mo., with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.TonyBruceJr.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TonyBruceJr
LIVE COVERAGE –
To keep up to speed with Bruce Jr. 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 – Hinchman Racewear
With more than 80 years in the industry, Hinchman Racewear prides itself on safety, experience, innovation, quality and customer service. For more information on how Hinchman Racewear can protect you, visit http://www.HinchmanRacewear.com.
“When looking for safety and innovation, look no further than Hinchman Racewear,” Bruce Jr. said. “With great customer service and a passion for keeping drivers protected, it’s no wonder why they are the leaders in the custom suit industry. I choose Hinchman to keep me safe and I encourage all drivers to do the same.”
Bruce Jr. would also like to thank Lubbock Wrecker Service, Wheeler Metals, Briley Trucking, The Oil Medics, Eagle Motorsports, Smiley’s Racing Products, SWE, Maxwell Industries, Moss Racing Engines, FK Rod Ends, ButlerBuilt Professional Seat Systems, Factory Kahne Shocks, DriverWebsites.com, RacinBoys.com, Wilwood, Schoenfeld Headers, Hoosier Racing Tires, HRP, Kaeding Performance, Schaeffer Oil, Fuel Safe, Bell Helmets, Four Seasons Radiator, Southern Trailer Works, KSE, Brown and Miller Racing Solutions, Weld Wheels, ISC Racers Tape and Pressure Tek 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 Apr 12, 2015
- Article Date: 4/12/2015 by Inside Line Promotions