(Photo by Dusty Wiegert/Dirt Racing USA)
Inside Line Promotions – GREENWOOD, Neb. (Aug. 4, 2015) – Brandon Hanks will go to his backup engine this week as he tackles the 25th annual Arnold Motor Supply 360 Knoxville Nationals.
Hanks and the David Smith Racing team lost their primary engine to a mechanical problem last weekend at I-80 Speedway during the second night of a Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour doubleheader.
“It’s really frustrating,” he said. “Man, I had a race car before that happened.”
The weekend began on Thursday at the high-banked track with Hanks finishing where he started – second – during a heat race. That lined him up on the inside of the sixth row for the main event.
“We struggled because the motor wasn’t pulling,” he said. “I just couldn’t get out of the corner like I wanted. It’d be real good from the middle of the straightaway to the end of the straightaway. I felt like I was lugging coming out of the corner. We fixed the timing and we changed the high speed. We played with it all night.
“In the feature I made it up to seventh and we had a restart. The very bottom of the race track wasn’t worked in. It was slime down there. If you got next to it it was good, but if you got too low it was greasy. I went in there and hit that slime and slid up the race track.”
Hanks lost three positions following the incident and he finished 10th, which was his 15th top 10 of the season.
The David Smith Racing team made more changes on Friday seeking additional speed, which was found after a header swap.
“It was like I had 100 more horsepower,” he said. “It woke it up. I knew that it was better when the car cranked. I felt it. It just sounded different.”
Hanks quickly maneuvered from his seventh starting position into fifth and he was on the bumper of the fourth-place driver during a heat race when the mechanical problem ended the weekend early.
“I had passed two cars and I was going for a third car,” he said. “I was busy watching him, seeing what line he was running. I was going to go the opposite direction. I didn’t smell anything. It didn’t shake. It just happened. It made me sick because I believe that was the best that motor has ever been.”
The backup engine will have to do this Thursday through Saturday at Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa, where the 360 Knoxville Nationals are contested.
QUICK RESULTS –
July 30 – I-80 Speedway in Greenwood, Neb. – Heat race: 2 (2); Feature: 10 (11).
July 31 – I-80 Speedway in Greenwood, Neb. – Heat race: DNF (7); B Main: DNS (-).
SEASON STATS –
27 races, 0 wins, 8 top fives, 15 top 10s, 19 top 15s, 20 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Thursday and Saturday at Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa, for the 25th annual Arnold Motor Supply 360 Knoxville Nationals
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.HanksMotorsports.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Brandon_K_Hanks
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hanks-Motorsports/135263046488177
LIVE COVERAGE –
To keep up to speed with Hanks at every Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour event, visit http://www.RacinBoys.com for free, live audio. Additionally, RacinBoys will provide live Pay-Per-View video at select races.
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Hinchman Racewear
With more than 80 years in the industry, Hinchman Racewear prides itself on safety, experience, innovation, quality and customer service. For more information on how Hinchman Racewear can protect you, visit http://www.HinchmanRacewear.com.
“I want to thank Hinchman Racewear for keeping me safe whenever something goes wrong,” Hanks said. “The quality of their products is second to none.”
Hanks would also like to thank David Smith Racing, Howard’s Auto Plus, Performance Powder Coating, D&B Farms, Wesmar Racing Engines, Walls Paint and Body Shop, R.E. Enterprises, Penske Racing Shocks, Acme Graphix, ButlerBuilt Professional Seat Systems, and J-R1 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 Aug 04, 2015
- Article Date: 8/4/2015 by Inside Line Promotions