(Photo by Justin Brester)
Inside Line Promotions – SOMERTON, Ariz. (Jan. 12, 2016) – Ryan Smith continued his momentum during the final week of the 2nd annual Winter Heat Sprint Car Showdown at Cocopah Speedway.
Smith, who was driving an X-1 Race Cars chassis owned by Ryan Linder, advanced into two of the three features during the marquee offseason event in the desert.
“The whole Winter Heat down there was pretty good,” Smith said. “With a new team and the first time for Linder with a 410 in it and my second time there, right out of the box we were fast and we were good all week. We were good both weeks, making four out of the five overall features.”
Last week’s competition began on Wednesday with Smith advancing from sixth to third place in a heat race. He then finished where he started – sixth – in a qualifier, which lined him up on the pole of a B Main.
Smith captured the B Main victory to transfer into the main event on the fast and rough race track. However, he elected to pull into the pits early and was credited with a 22nd-place result.
“It got so rough and I didn’t have the brakes that I needed to go forward,” he said. “Instead of tearing equipment up we decided to pull in early and be smart.”
Action resumed on Friday when Smith won a heat race from the pole. He then narrowly missed an opening-lap crash in a qualifier before he charged from fifth to second place.
“Friday we had the toughest heat, but we started on the pole,” he said. “In the qualifier the track came to me and we hit it setup-wise. It’s about how you set yourself up for the main.”
That gave Smith the third-most combined points, which lined the team up on the inside of the second row for the 30-lap main event.
“We were really good, but we had a problem develop and we got really tight in the feature,” he said. “We had a shock go bad and didn’t know it until we got back to the shop (on Sunday) and put it on the dyno.”
Smith salvaged an eighth-place result with the ill-handling race car.
Unfortunately, the shock issue hampered the team during the finale on Saturday. Smith placed fifth in a heat race and second in a qualifier before ending sixth in a B Main to miss a transfer into the feature by only two positions.
“We fought tight all night and we couldn’t find it,” he said. “Come to find out the left front shock was the problem. It probably started on Wednesday when the track was so rough. The shock had two big dings in it. We took it off and looked at it by hand, but couldn’t tell anything was wrong. It was something we needed a dyno to find.
“All in all, I’d give us an A for how we made out down there. It definitely exceeded expectations. It was a pleasure working with Ryan Linder and his X-1 Race Cars. We had a lot of fun and were pretty successful with it. We’re going to try to work together in the future and maybe try to get him up here (to Pennsylvania), too. Our HP Engines was stout both weeks as well.”
QUICK RESULTS –
Jan. 6 – Cocopah Speedway in Somerton, Ariz. – Heat race: 3 (6); Qualifier: 6 (6); B Main: 1 (1); Feature: 22 (18).
Jan. 8 – Cocopah Speedway in Somerton, Ariz. – Heat race: 1 (1); Qualifier: 2 (5); Feature: 8 (3).
Jan. 9 – Cocopah Speedway in Somerton, Ariz. – Heat race: 5 (4); Qualifier: 2 (1); B Main: 6 (5).
SEASON STATS –
5 races, 0 wins, 0 top fives, 1 top 10, 1 top 15, 3 top 20s
UP NEXT –
TBD
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.RyanSmithRacing.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RyanSmithRacing
Twitter Race Updates: https://twitter.com/DeniseS_SS
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RyanSmith.TheKunkletownKid
Instagram: https://instagram.com/denises_ss
APPAREL –
Visit http://www.RyanSmithRacing.com to view the latest apparel options, which include t-shirts and hoodies.
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Warko Group
Warko Group, which is based in Reading, Pa., focuses on general contracting including plumbing, electrical and HVAC.
“This is the second year that Rob Warko of Rainbow Roofing and Warko Group and I have been partnered for our race team,” Smith said. “He puts as much focus and energy in his business as he does the race team, which leads to success on and off the track.”
Smith would also like to thank S&S Speedways, G.L.T. Electrical, East Coast Helicopter Tours, Quality Roofing Supply, Fighting Angels Foundation, CnB Chubby, Armbruster Racing Photos, Thunder on the Hill Racing Series, HP Engines, Pancho’s Racing Products, GME Steering and Vahlco Racing Wheels 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 Jan 12, 2016
- Article Date: 1/12/2016 by Inside Line Promotions