(Photo by DB3 Imaging)
Inside Line Promotions – HARTFORD, Ohio (July 13, 2015) – Ryan Smith nearly made a last-lap pass to claim the Lou Blaney Memorial last Saturday at Sharon Speedway.
Smith finished in the runner-up position by 0.021 of a second, which is less than the blink of an eye, during the UNOH All Star Circuit of Champions $10,000-to-win event.
“It definitely was a good night, but I came out a couple hundredths short,” he said. “I just about pulled it off. I think it goes back to being our second time there. We knew what to expect. We weren’t full-blown rookies at the place. It helped drawing a good number. We timed good and did everything to line ourselves up for the shot at the win.”
Smith kicked off the night by qualifying fourth quickest, which ranked third in his heat race. That lined him up on the outside of the front row of a heat race. Smith placed second to lock himself into the dash, where he maintained third place throughout to garner the third starting position for the main event.
“We had a red flag about eight laps into the feature and my crew chief, Jeremy, made a couple of changes,” he said. “It dialed it right in. I just couldn’t get Sheldon (Haudenschild) to make a mistake. He was slipping off the bottom of turn four. In turns one and two we were about equal until I got in his dirty air. I was good enough to stay with him. In turns three and four I was able to get a good run on him. I just couldn’t clear him getting into turn one and I didn’t have a good angle to put a slider on him.”
Smith spent most of the race in second place and stayed within striking distance of Haudenschild. Smith pulled even a couple of times, including off turn four on the final lap when he finished approximately a front bumper away from scoring his third win of the season.
“We’re back into racing up front again and battling for wins,” he said. “The car is working good and everything is gelling again.”
Smith is scheduled to make his Kings Royal debut this Friday and Saturday during the 32nd edition of the $50,000-to-win World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series event at Eldora Speedway near Rossburg, Ohio.
“It’s going to be tough, but we know what to expect and have a decent package for there,” he said. “It’s about drawing a good number early and putting down a good lap in qualifying.”
QUICK RESULTS –
July 11 – Sharon Speedway in Hartford, Ohio – Qualifying: 4; Heat race: 2 (2); Dash: 3 (3); Feature: 2 (3).
SEASON STATS –
36 races, 2 wins, 8 top fives, 13 top 10s, 19 top 15s, 26 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Friday and Saturday at Eldora Speedway near Rossburg, Ohio, for the 32nd annual Kings Royal with the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series
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 – CnB Chubby
“Chubby is a great guy and is great for the sport,” Smith said. “He helps out a bunch of guys and I’m glad to be one of them. The sport needs more people like him.”
Smith would also like to thank Warko Group, S&S Speedways, Quality Roofing Supply, G.L.T. Electrical, 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 Jul 13, 2015
- Article Date: 7/13/2015 by Inside Line Promotions