Inside Line Promotions – ELMA, Wash. (Sept. 11, 2015) – Travis Rilat will debut a redesigned paint scheme to go with a new sprint car and a freshened engine this Saturday at Texas Motor Speedway Dirt Track.
Rilat returns to his sprint car at the 4/10-mile oval in Fort Worth, Texas, during the marquee Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour event, which he nearly won in 2013 and charged from 18th to an eighth-place finish last year.
“We’ve always done well there,” he said. “It’s close to home and it’s one of the better facilities. Plus I get a cowboy hat if I win.”
Rilat is coming off a busy week with Richard Saumure in Washington, where the duo ran into a myriad of bad luck.
The competition began a week ago Thursday at Skagit Speedway in Alger, Wash., with the Summer Thunder Sprint Series. Rilat qualified 11th quickest and finished third in a heat race to garner the sixth starting position for the main event.
Unfortunately, the drivers starting on the front row of the feature made contact as the green flag was waved, inciting a massive crash of approximately a dozen cars. Rilat landed upside down and was credited with a 17th-place result.
“We had a decent car, but they had a big pileup on the first lap,” he said. “They were going for the same hole and they both can’t fit in the same hole. I was on the brakes hard, but I got pushed from behind and it shoved me forward into the mess. It tore up everything.”
A World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series event the following night was cancelled because of rain. Rilat returned to competition on Saturday at Skagit Speedway, where he kicked off the World of Outlaws race by qualifying 19th quickest. He was unable to finish the heat race, which relegated the team to the Last Chance Showdown.
Rilat placed fourth in the consolation race to transfer into the 19th starting position for the main event.
“I got to 11th fairly quickly and had a solid, top-10 car,” he said. “A shock came undone so we had to go to the work area. Then we had to come from the back up there to get what I got.”
Rilat posted a 19th-place result.
Sunday’s Summer Thunder Sprint Series event rained out at Grays Harbor Raceway prior to Rilat wrapping up his trip to Washington on Monday with the World of Outlaws at the 3/8-mile oval.
He timed in 16th quickest during qualifying and placed sixth in a heat race to lock into the 15th starting position for the main event.
“I think I was running just outside the top 10 and we blew the motor with about a dozen laps remaining,” he said. “If you look at the lap times I had the fifth fastest time. We had a solid top-10 car there as well before we ran into some bad luck.”
Rilat ended with an 18th-place finish to cap the Northwest trip.
QUICK RESULTS –
Sept. 3 – Skagit Speedway in Alger, Wash. – Qualifying: 11; Heat race: 3 (3); Feature: 17 (6).
Sept. 5 – Skagit Speedway in Alger, Wash. – Qualifying: 19; Heat race: DNF (7); B Main: 4 (4); Feature: 19 (19).
Sept. 7 – Grays Harbor Raceway in Elma, Wash. – Qualifying: 16; Heat race: 6 (6); Feature: 18 (15).
SEASON STATS –
30 races, 5 wins, 17 top fives, 18 top 10s, 20 top 15s, 26 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Saturday at Texas Motor Speedway Dirt Track in Fort Worth, Texas, with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.TravisRilat.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/TravisRilat29
VIDEO –
Here is a link to watch highlights of Rilat’s victory at the Tyson Perez Memorial in Australia on Feb. 7: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPYKg2nfSNw
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Shark Racing Engines
Located in Sedro-Woolley, Wash., Shark Racing Engines has been building high-performance racing engines for more than two decades. For more information, visit http://www.SharkRacingEngines.com.
“It’s kind of funny how I met (Shark owner) Marc Huson when I went up there to Washington for an ASCS National Tour race,” Rilat said. “I was wandering around talking on my cell phone and saw a sprint car next door. I walked over, looked around and introduced myself.
“He’s been a great friend. He was instrumental with a support group for me and my family when I was in the hospital up there. He and his wife helped us out in a hard time. As far as his engine skills go, he’s one of the best in the country. There’s only a handful of great engine builders across the country and I consider him one of the best.”
Rilat would also like to thank Xtreme Oilfield Technology, Carlan Services, Northern Provincial Pipelines, Matt’s Oilfield Services, TriJet Manufacturing Services, Northern Lights Welding, Camex VP, Rob Wright Building Supplies, Scott Safety, Max Fuel, Jaron Water Hauling, Maxim, Factory Kahne, HRP, Ti22, Weld Wheels, Ben Cook Racing and Smiley’s Racing Products among others for their continued support on Richard Saumure’s No. 39c Maxim.
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 Sep 11, 2015
- Article Date: 9/11/2015 by Inside Line Promotions