(Photo by Rick Rarer)
Inside Line Promotions – FREMONT, Ohio (June 29, 2015) – Ryan Smith is taking the positive out of a frustrating week of tiring competition during the UNOH All Star Circuit of Champions Ohio Speedweek.
“To be honest half of our week we kind of wasted on a race car that was used up,” he said. “It probably had 30-to-40 races on it and I was going to run it until it didn’t run anymore. It just started going away at the start of Ohio Speedweek. The car wouldn’t respond to changes. We tried all kinds of different setups. We didn’t have enough time with our travel situation to put the car together until Tuesday.”
Smith and his team made the main event during the first three rounds of Ohio Speedweek at Attica Raceway Park in Attica, Eldora Speedway near Rossburg and Waynesfield Raceway Park in Waynesfield before Round 4 at Wayne County Speedway in Orrville ended in the C Main.
The team spent most of the morning and afternoon last Tuesday building a brand new car, which debut that evening at Sharon Speedway in Hartford.
“Right out of the box we were good,” he said. “We timed good and drew the pole for the dash. We ran with Dale (Blaney) and come feature-time our car was good. Then it started to fade a little bit. I didn’t taken enough stagger out for the feature and I burned off the inside of the right rear tire and the outside of the left rear. We ended up blowing a tire and that killed our finish.”
Smith was in contention for a podium finish when the tire let go around the midpoint of the feature. He returned to the race at the back of the pack and posted a 16th-place finish, which was his best result during Ohio Speedweek.
Smith ventured to Atomic Speedway in Chillicothe on Wednesday. It marked the fourth new track during Ohio Speedweek for the team.
“It was nothing like anything in Pennsylvania,” he said. “It was elbows up, slippery and you have to run on the fence. Our night ended in the B Main, but I need to get experience running those type of tracks so it was beneficial.”
Ohio Speedweek concluded (thanks to the final two nights being rained out) last Thursday at Fremont Speedway, where Smith timed in second quickest during qualifying. He placed third in a heat race to lock himself into the dash. A 10th-place result lined Smith up on the outside of the fifth row for the main event.
“I was just missing something when it gets real slippery,” he said. “I finished 19th, but the biggest thing is that it was a good learning experience with seven races in a row.
“I’m building my notebook and learning what to do for the next time. I’m really looking forward to getting back to these race tracks. I can take all that stuff that we learned and next year for Speedweek or if we get back there this year we’ll be better prepared.”
Smith plans to compete at Grandview Speedway in Bechtelsville, Pa., on Tuesday during Pennsylvania Speedweek. He’ll then return to All Star competition this weekend with races on Friday and Saturday at Mercer Raceway Park in Mercer, Pa., and Sunday at Millstream Speedway in Findlay, Ohio.
QUICK RESULTS –
June 19 – Attica Raceway Park in Attica, Ohio – Qualifying: 42; Heat race: 8 (10); C Main: 5 (6); Feature: 18 (26).
June 20 – Eldora Speedway near Rossburg, Ohio – Qualifying: 4; Heat race: 4 (4); Feature: 24 (20).
June 21 – Waynesfield Raceway Park in Waynesfield, Ohio – Qualifying: 31; Heat race: 4 (6); Feature: 23 (18).
June 22 – Wayne County Speedway in Orrville, Ohio – Qualifying: 46; Heat race: 8 (8); C Main: 13 (10).
June 23 – Sharon Speedway in Hartford, Ohio – Qualifying: 9; Heat race: 1 (1); Dash: 2 (1); Feature: 16 (2).
June 24 – Atomic Speedway in Chillicothe, Ohio – Qualifying: 23; Heat race: 5 (5); B Main: 9 (6).
June 25 – Fremont Speedway in Fremont, Ohio – Qualifying: 2; Heat race: 3 (4); Dash: 10 (9); Feature: 19 (10).
SEASON STATS –
32 races, 1 win, 6 top fives, 9 top 10s, 15 top 15s, 22 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Tuesday at Grandview Speedway in Bechtelsville, Pa., for Pennsylvania Speedweek Round 4, Friday and Saturday at Mercer Raceway Park in Mercer, Pa., and Sunday at Millstream Speedway in Findlay, Ohio, with the UNOH All Star Circuit of Champions
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.RyanSmithRacing.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RyanSmithRacing
Twitter Race Updates: https://twitter.com/DeniseS_SS
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RyanSmith.TheKunkletownKid
Instagram: https://instagram.com/denises_ss
VIDEO –
Here is a link to Smith’s first career All Star Circuit of Champions victory on April 4 at Attica Raceway Park: https://youtu.be/nBIxI_tNFyc
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – G.L.T. Electrical
G.L.T. Electrical is an electrical contracting business based in the Reading, Pa., area.
“Jerry and everyone at G.L.T. Electrical have been a big support for our race team,” Smith said. “We appreciate all of their help and look forward to future success together.”
Smith would also like to thank Warko Group, Quality Roofing Supply, S&S Speedways, CnB Chubby, Fighting Angels Foundation, Armbruster Racing Photos, Thunder on the Hill Racing Series, HP Engines, Pancho’s Racing Products, GME Steering and Vahlco Racing Wheels 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 Jun 29, 2015
- Article Date: 6/29/2015 by Inside Line Promotions