(Photo by Tim Passmore)
Inside Line Promotions – MESQUITE, Texas (Oct. 19, 2015) – The 42nd annual Winter Nationals ended on a sour note for Tony Bruce Jr., who was involved in an opening-lap crash on Night 1 of the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour event at Devil’s Bowl Speedway before a mechanical problem prevented him from finishing the finale.
“It was a pretty terrible weekend,” he said. “That’s part of racing. The unfortunate part was that was our last weekend for our family owned race car at Devil’s Bowl. We had a lot of family there and friends there and that’s the biggest disheartening part about it.”
The action began on Friday when Bruce Jr. was derailed by an engine issue during his heat race.
“We had a rocker arm break in the heat race, which gave us a DNF,” he said. “We really weren’t going anywhere anyway. We had started sixth and were running sixth.”
That relegated the One 8 Motorsports team toward the rear of a B Main.
“We started way in the back of a B Main and somehow the track finally widened up and we had a good car,” he said. “We were able to come through there and get a transfer.”
Bruce Jr. charged from 11th to third place during the consolation race to lock into the 22nd starting position for the main event.
“Unfortunately we didn’t even make it to the flag stand in the A Main,” he said. “A guy in front of us lost control, got in the wall and collected us as well. It was a bad night to say the least. Whenever he was flipping he came across my car and hit us in the right side. It knocked the injection right off the engine.
“We put together a brand new car for Saturday. However, we learned we had an engine issue whenever we were taking it out. We were fortunate that Mike Baughman was parked next to us and was generous to allow us to borrow a motor to run Saturday night.”
Bruce Jr. advanced from fourth to third place in the heat race, which lined him up on the outside of the front row for a B Main.
“We weren’t very good in the heat race,” he said. “The track went away a lot quicker than I thought it would. Unfortunately we had a mag go bad on the engine so it wouldn’t fire up for the B Main.”
That ended the weekend early for Bruce Jr., who will be off this weekend before wrapping up his season Oct. 28-31 at I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Ark., for the 28th annual Comp Cams Short Track Nationals with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour.
QUICK RESULTS –
Oct. 16 – Devil’s Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, Texas – Heat race: DNF (6); B Main: 3 (11); Feature: DNF (22).
Oct. 17 – Devil’s Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, Texas – Heat race: 3 (4); B Main: DNS (2).
SEASON STATS –
33 races, 3 wins, 9 top fives, 18 top 10s, 24 top 15s, 28 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Oct. 28-31 at I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Ark., for the 28th annual Comp Cams Short Track Nationals with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.TonyBruceJr.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TonyBruceJr
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“It’s an honor to be associated with Scott Brown and Lubbock Wrecker Service,” Bruce Jr. said. “They have been involved with racing for a long time and we are fortunate to have them on our team for the 2015 season.”
Bruce Jr. would also like to thank Wheeler Metals, Briley Trucking, The Oil Medics, Hinchman Racewear, Eagle Motorsports, Smiley’s Racing Products, SWE, Maxwell Industries, Moss Racing Engines, FK Rod Ends, ButlerBuilt Professional Seat Systems, Factory Kahne Shocks, DriverWebsites.com, RacinBoys.com, Wilwood, Schoenfeld Headers, Hoosier Racing Tires, HRP, Kaeding Performance, Schaeffer Oil, Fuel Safe, Bell Helmets, Four Seasons Radiator, Southern Trailer Works, KSE, Brown and Miller Racing Solutions, Weld Wheels, ISC Racers Tape and Pressure Tek 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 Oct 19, 2015
- Article Date: 10/19/2015 by Inside Line Promotions