(Photo by Serena Dalhamer)
Inside Line Promotions – KNOXVILLE, Iowa (Aug. 10, 2015) – Jamie Ball accomplished his objective last weekend during the 25th annual Arnold Motor Supply 360 Knoxville Nationals.
Ball locked his White Lightning Motorsports team into the premier 360ci event at Knoxville Raceway for the second straight year before he recorded a career-best result during the $10,000-to-win finale.
“I’d say our Knoxville Nationals went a little better than planned,” he said. “Our year has been a struggle to say the least. To make the A Main is a way we can feel confident about the year.”
Ball opened the event last Thursday by qualifying second quickest to begin his preliminary night at the half-mile oval.
“That was probably the biggest boost of confidence in quite a while,” he said. “Not only was it our best qualifying effort of the year, we did it on the biggest stage.”
Unfortunately, a spark plug wire came loose during a heat race, which dramatically hampered Ball’s horsepower. He ended with a seventh-place result, which relegated him to the B Main. After leading the entire consolation race to register the win Ball transferred into the main event, which he began 21st.
“The first 10 laps I was a little frustrated from the heat race and didn’t drive good laps,” he said. “We had a long red and I was able to calm down. I settled in on the bottom and started pushing the issue because every point counts at the Knoxville Nationals.”
Ball maneuvered to a 15th-place result, which earned enough points out of more than 100 competitors to lock into Saturday’s main event. Ball started the feature on the outside of the ninth row.
“The track was very fast,” he said. “It was just cushion dependent. On the first start I had a decent one, but it got called back. On the second start I spun the tires real bad and ended up falling to last, which was 23rd. I really had to work hard to pass cars. To be able to drive back to 15th, I felt pretty good about that.”
Ball rebounded from the slow start to post a 15th-place finish, which was his best result during the marquee event.
He will take this weekend off before returning to action Aug. 21 at Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, Iowa; Aug. 22 at 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa; and Aug. 23 at Quincy Raceways in Quincy, Ill., with the Sprint Invaders.
QUICK RESULTS –
JAMIE BALL:
Aug. 6 – Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa – Qualifying: 2; Heat race: 7 (6); B Main: 1 (1); Feature: 15 (21).
Aug. 8 – Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa – Feature: 15 (18).
SEASON STATS –
JAMIE BALL – 25 races, 2 wins, 5 top fives, 10 top 10s, 18 top 15s, 24 top 20s
DEVIN KLINE – 8 races, 4 wins, 4 top fives, 5 top 10s, 6 top 15s, 8 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Aug. 21 at Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, Iowa; Aug. 22 at 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa; and Aug. 23 at Quincy Raceways in Quincy, Ill., with the Sprint Invaders
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 – Sweet Manufacturing
Sweet Manufacturing was incorporated in 1978 with the basic concept of providing racers with steering products that would offer a competitive advantage. All of it products have been designed and built using the experience and knowledge gained from Randy Sweet’s 46 years of racing competition, plus continuous input from the nation’s top drivers, engineers, and chassis builders. For more information, visit http://www.SweetMFG.biz.
“Since I started racing sprint cars we choose to have Sweet Manufacturing ‘turn our wheels,’” Jamie Ball said. “Their products are the most durable products on the market. Their craftsmanship and customer service is also top notch. It has been a privilege to put Sweet Manufacturing in Victory Lane multiple times at Knoxville Raceway.”
White Lightning Motorsports would also like to thank Matt Jones Trucking, Jerry & Kelly Johnston, Housby, JJ Kane Auctioneers, BCP Weddings, The Hearing Clinic, Timber Line Tree Service, Ostrich Racing Engines, 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 Aug 10, 2015
- Article Date: 8/10/2015 by Inside Line Promotions