(Photo by Studio 92 Photography)
Inside Line Promotions – KNOXVILLE, Iowa (July 7, 2015) – Jamie Ball continued his recent string of success at Knoxville Raceway on Saturday.
The White Lightning Motorsports driver powered to his first top five of the season at the famed half-mile oval before adding his third straight top 10 at the track to cap twin feature night.
“We had our most successful twin feature night in my career,” he said. “It’s always been the worst part of my season. Three years ago was when I got hurt there and was life-flighted. So we’re all very happy earning a couple of top 10s.”
Ball kicked off the night by qualifying fourth quickest before he maneuvered from fifth to third place during a heat race.
“Our consistency is back,” he said. “Our qualifying the last three weeks has been third, third and fourth. We’ve been racing real well in our heat races, too.”
Ball lined up on the inside of the third row for the first feature.
“Once feature-time came around we stuck to what we’ve learned the last couple of weeks,” he said. “We got the speed back and the traction back. It was back to basics and having a good time. It went green from start to finish. There wasn’t a whole lot of eventfulness. We weren’t in contention to win, but it was a solid top-five finish.”
Ball maintained a top five throughout the feature before finishing fifth. The second feature lineup was determined by inverting the lead-lap cars from the first feature, which started Ball on the outside of the fifth row.
“I was supposed to line up 10th, but a guy had to scratch so I lined up eight,” he said. “I had an awesome start. I was up to fifth coming off turn two. I got behind Sawyer Phillips and wasn’t able to maneuver around him. It seemed like he went everywhere I went. I fell back to 10th, but was able to rebound to an eighth-place finish.”
Ball scored an eighth-place result, which marked his fifth top 10 of the season.
Last week began on Thursday at Iowa State Fair Speedway in Des Moines, Iowa, with the Sprint Invaders.
“We got behind the eight ball right away by drawing 35 out of 40,” he said. “When you start at the back you’re pretty much in trouble. The track was heavy, one lane with no passing in the heat race and I moved from last to sixth. They lined you up in the feature based on finishing position so I knew starting back there it’d be a little hectic. I tried to take it easy for the first lap.”
Unfortunately, Ball was caught up in an opening-lap crash, which resulted in a series of violent flips.
“A couple of cars got together and at the last second another driver turned right to avoid them and it was over from there,” he said. “I jumped his right rear. It was just a racing deal. I probably flipped three or four times. It was pretty hard and hurt pretty good. The frame was destroyed from landing on the concrete wall. It’s safe to say that car will never race again.”
Ball was credited with a 19th-place result. He dropped to fourth in the championship standings – only 20 points out of the lead.
Ball is slated to compete with the Sprint Invaders on Friday at Cedar County Raceway in Tipton, Iowa, before he and 305ci teammate Devin Kline race on Saturday at Knoxville Raceway.
QUICK RESULTS –
JAMIE BALL:
July 2 – Iowa State Fair Speedway in Des Moines, Iowa – Heat race: 6 (7); Feature: 19 (16).
July 4 – Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa – Qualifying: 4; Heat race: 3 (5); Feature #1: 5 (5); Feature #2: 8 (10).
SEASON STATS –
JAMIE BALL – 16 races, 1 win, 3 top fives, 5 top 10s, 10 top 15s, 15 top 20s
DEVIN KLINE – 7 races, 4 wins, 4 top fives, 5 top 10s, 6 top 15s, 7 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Friday at Cedar County Raceway in Tipton, Iowa, with the Sprint Invaders and Saturday at Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa
MEDIA LINKS –
Jamie Ball Website: http://www.JamieBall.com
Devin Kline Website: http://www.DevinKline.com
Jamie Ball Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/JamieBall5j
Devin Kline Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/DevinKline5j
VIDEO –
Here is a link to highlights of Kline’s first win of the season at Knoxville Raceway on May 9: https://youtu.be/ErMdMcbuxjQ
Here is a link to highlights of Kline’s second win of the season at Knoxville Raceway on May 23: https://youtu.be/3BbJfIPVbqc
APPAREL –
White Lightning Motorsports has t-shirts and hoodies available for purchase at their race trailers in the infield of each sprint car event at Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa.
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Driver Websites
Driver Websites was assembled in order to give racers a way to get recognized through the Internet inexpensively so the racer can put their money where it needs to go – the ride. If you have ever experienced having your own website before, you will understand the fact that being able to update your own site was only a dream. Too many times you come across a site that has results, press releases and pictures from more than a year ago. Either the web developer is no more or you are tired of paying the monthly charges to update your site. Driver Websites has made uploading your own content to your own site a reality. With the tutorial videos DW offers you will see how easy of a system we have created. For more information, visit http://www.DriverWebsites.com.
“Josh Holt and the team at Driver Websites have been with me since the beginning of my sprint car career in 2010,” Jamie Ball said. “They are great people that offer a great service that includes web design, autograph cards, business cards, sponsor proposals and much more. They are professional guys that are also personable and provide great customer service. If you want a website that is professional yet affordable, Driver Websites is the only choice!”
White Lightning Motorsports would also like to thank Matt Jones Trucking, Jerry & Kelly Johnston, Housby, JJ Kane Auctioneers, Ostrich Racing Engines, BCP Weddings, Timber Line Tree Service, The Hearing Clinic, Sweet Manufacturing, Bell Helmets, Iowa State Savings Bank, Keizer Aluminum Wheels, FK Rod Ends, Fragola Performance Systems, King Racing Products, BR Motorsports, Hoosier Tire, MPD Racing, Champion Oil, Wingdance Graphics, Shell Shock and Hooker Harness 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 Jul 07, 2015
- Article Date: 7/7/2015 by Inside Line Promotions