(Photo by Doug Johnson)
Inside Line Promotions – KNOXVILLE, Iowa (July 21, 2015) – Jamie Ball and White Lightning Motorsports overcame a variety of tough circumstances last weekend to post a pair of top-10 finishes.
“It was definitely a big boost and a confidence builder to know that we can overcome some of those obstacles and earn a good finish,” he said.
Last weekend began on Friday at Bloomfield Speedway in Bloomfield, Iowa, with the Sprint Invaders. Ball finished seventh in a heat race after starting on the inside of the third row, which relegated him to the back of the main event.
“It was a product of Mother Nature,” he said. “The night before it had rained about three inches. The track held water real well and it was real narrow. I started fifth and just fell in line during the heat race. That made me start 19th in the feature.”
Ball was able to rebound in the main event, where he rallied from the back to record an eighth-place result.
“The track was still narrow,” he said. “I was a little nervous going in because starting at the back of the pack can be dangerous like it was for me in Des Moines. I started slow and let everything shake out. Then I slowly started picking them off and I avoided the wrecks. I was able to get up to eighth. I really couldn’t have been much happier. To be able to salvage a top 10 out of how the night started was great.”
Ball also earned the Hard Charger Award for passing the most cars.
The weekend wrapped up on Saturday at Knoxville Raceway, where the night began with mechanical problems.
“I went out in hot laps and the car felt great,” he said. “Then I broke a rear end in turns one and two on the last lap. It turned the motor pretty hard and shattered the gears into a thousand pieces.”
Ball’s crew worked diligently to change the rear end before qualifying. Unfortunately, Ball missed his qualifying spot by a couple of positions. He got one lap at the end and timed in eighth quickest, but was ineligible for the feature inversion.
The crew then worked hard to swap the engine prior to the heat race, in which Ball barely made it to staging before he advanced from fourth to third place on the track. That lined him up on the inside of the fifth row for the main event.
“I fell back a little, but worked my way back up to seventh,” he said. “I had a really good car. I needed track position to race for the win. Everyone is so competitive that starting position is a huge benefit.”
Ball is slated to compete at Knoxville Raceway this Saturday in the 360ci class as well as the 305ci class, where he will join teammate Devin Kline.
QUICK RESULTS –
JAMIE BALL:
July 17 – Bloomfield Speedway in Bloomfield, Iowa – Heat race: 7 (5); Feature: 8 (19).
July 18 – Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa – Qualifying: 8; Heat race: 3 (4); Feature: 7 (9).
SEASON STATS –
JAMIE BALL – 19 races, 1 win, 3 top fives, 7 top 10s, 12 top 15s, 18 top 20s
DEVIN KLINE – 7 races, 3 wins, 3 top fives, 4 top 10s, 5 top 15s, 7 top 20s
UP NEXT –
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 – JJ Kane Auctioneers
Selling from multiple locations across the United States, JJ Kane Auctioneers specializes in asset recovery and liquidation. They hold absolute auctions year round across the United States. For more information, visit http://www.jjkane.com.
“JJ Kane Auctioneers is a huge part of our race team and has been since the beginning,” Ball said. “They are also a big part of our family business and we couldn’t do it without them. They are great people as well and we enjoy our business and personal relationships with each and every one of their team members.”
White Lightning Motorsports would also like to thank Matt Jones Trucking, Jerry & Kelly Johnston, Housby, Ostrich Racing Engines, BCP Weddings, Timber Line Tree Service, The Hearing Clinic, Sweet Manufacturing, Bell Helmets, Driver Websites, 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 21, 2015
- Article Date: 7/21/2015 by Inside Line Promotions