(Photo by Allan Holland)
Inside Line Promotions – TAMPA, Fla. (Feb. 23, 2016) – Travis Rilat scored a trio of top-10 finishes last weekend during the Ronald Laney Memorial at East Bay Raceway Park.
“I’d have liked to finish a couple spots closer to the front each night, but we were competitive and that’s all you can ask for,” he said.
The event began last Thursday with Rilat maneuvering from seventh to fourth place during a heat race. That relegated him to a B Main, where a third-place result garnered a transfer into the 18th starting position of the main event.
“We had a decent car,” he said. “The main goal was keeping our nose clean. There were a couple of cars that got knocked out. We just needed to get as good of a finish as possible to earn as many points as we could.”
Rilat rallied to post a seventh-place finish.
He returned to the unique track on Friday for the second preliminary round, which Rilat began by winning a heat race after starting on the outside of the front row. That locked him into the fourth starting position for the main event.
“We needed a good top-five finish,” he said. “We go there to win, but ultimately you want to have two good preliminary nights to get locked into the feature. The whole goal is getting in the top six (in preliminary points) for Saturday night.”
Rilat maintained a top five throughout the feature before closing with a third-place result, which was his second podium of the season. That placed him fifth in overall points and locked into Saturday’s feature redraw, in which Rilat pulled the No. 4 to start the 40-lap main event on the outside of the second row.
“We set the car up wanting to be faster at the end of the race,” he said. “We were, but I needed to be fast midway through. It seemed like it was three-quarters of the way through before we got going good. We were a little off on our setup.”
Rilat quickly advanced to third place on the opening lap before he began to fade toward the back of the top 10 by the midpoint of the feature. However, in the closing stages of the race the car came to life and Rilat mounted a charge back toward the top five.
“We made up a lot of ground,” he said. “We just needed the car to come to us sooner.”
Rilat ended with a sixth-place finish.
He is slated to compete this Saturday at Royal Purple Raceway in Baytown, Texas, for the O’Reilly Auto Parts presents the World of Outlaws hosted by Kasey Kahne with the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series.
QUICK RESULTS –
Feb. 18 – East Bay Raceway Park in Tampa, Fla. – Heat race: 4 (7); B Main: 3 (2); Feature: 7 (18).
Feb. 19 – East Bay Raceway Park in Tampa, Fla. – Heat race: 1 (2); Feature: 3 (4).
Feb. 20 – East Bay Raceway Park in Tampa, Fla. – Feature: 6 (4).
SEASON STATS –
4 races, 1 win, 2 top fives, 4 top 10s, 4 top 15s, 4 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Saturday at Royal Purple Raceway in Baytown, Texas, for the O’Reilly Auto Parts presents the World of Outlaws hosted by Kasey Kahne with the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.TravisRilat.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/TravisRilat29
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – MDS Boring & Drilling
MDS Boring & Drilling is located in Houston, Texas, and has been one of the leading road boring contractors in the pipeline industry for more than 35 years. For more information, visit http://www.MDSDrilling.com.
“We are excited to have MDS Boring & Drilling as part of the team,” Rilat said. “I look forward to visiting Victory Lane several times this year with MDS Boring & Drilling.”
Rilat would also like to thank Shop The BOSS, Shark Racing Engines, Weld Wheels, KSE Racing Products, Schoenfeld Headers, Simpson Race Products, Hoosier Racing Tires, HRP Wings, Goodrich, Penske Racing Shocks and All Star Auto Reconditioning.
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 Feb 23, 2016
- Article Date: 2/23/2016 by Inside Line Promotions