(Photo by Brandon Young Photography)
Inside Line Promotions – HIGHLANDS, Texas (July 21, 2015) – Ray Allen Kulhanek earned a pair of top 10s last weekend with the ASCS Gulf South Region during the 14th annual Summer Nationals.
“It was a middle of the road, mediocre weekend,” he said. “I wasn’t particularly happy with it. I felt like we should have been a little better than we were.”
Kulhanek kicked off the doubleheader on Friday at Golden Triangle Raceway Park in Beaumont, Texas, where he advanced from seventh to fifth place during a heat race. That lined him up on the inside of the sixth row for the main event.
“It’s always hard to pass in heat races in Beaumont,” he said. “We were decent in the main. It seemed like the track was fairly even on the bottom and the top and it made it pretty tough to pass. Just about everybody on the track was fast. To go up and get a top five was decent.”
Kulhanek maneuvered from his 11th starting position to a fifth-place result, which was his seventh top five of the season.
The weekend wrapped up on Saturday at Battleground Speedway, where Kulhanek fell from third to fourth place during a heat race.
“The guy who started behind me decided he should jump beside me before the polesitter took off,” he said. “I was already behind when he did take off. I got passed by a couple of cars and only got back up to fourth.”
That started Kulhanek on the outside of the sixth row for the feature.
“As horrible as it is it’s probably one of the best cars I’ve had at Battleground and I didn’t really have much to show for it,” he said. “I’m really disappointed with Saturday. The race went green to checkered. I got bottled up on the start and got passed by a couple of guys. Once we got going we were picking cars off. Every car we passed if there was a gap between us and the next car I would run them down in a lap or two. Unfortunately, I never got any cautions or anything to help us out.”
Kulhanek rallied from 12th to a seventh-place finish to keep him third in the ASCS Gulf South Region championship standings – 74 points out of the lead.
Although Kulhanek didn’t get the results he aimed for, he found a change for his race car that he hopes will work during the ASCS Gulf South Region Shady Oaks Classic this Friday and Saturday at Shady Oaks Speedway in Goliad, Texas.
“I went a little more drastic on a setup last weekend,” he said. “I got out of my element a little bit trying to find something to get more speed. It was a little different shock package deal than I’ve been running. We kind of mixed some stuff together and it really worked. It seemed like it really kept the car pretty happy no matter if I was in the slick or up in the cushion.
“There’s always room to grow in this sport. My only mindset for this weekend is just win. That’s it. I’m just going out to win. I’m not settling for anything.”
QUICK RESULTS –
July 17 – Golden Triangle Raceway Park in Beaumont, Texas – Heat race: 5 (7); Feature: 5 (11).
July 18 – Battleground Speedway in Highlands, Texas – Heat race: 4 (3); Feature: 7 (12).
SEASON STATS –
13 races, 2 wins, 8 top fives, 10 top 10s, 10 top 15s, 11 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Friday and Saturday at Shady Oaks Speedway in Goliad, Texas, for the Shady Oaks Classic 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, DR2 Racing Engines, ButlerBuilt Professional Systems, J&J Auto Racing, Frazier and Son, Smiley’s Racing Products, 41 Shocks, Engler Machine & Tool, Outlaw Wings, Hoosier Racing Tire Southwest, Penske Racing Shocks, Snap Graphics 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 Jul 21, 2015
- Article Date: 7/21/2015 by Inside Line Promotions