(Photo by Jay Hallas)
Inside Line Promotions – BAYTOWN, Texas (Feb. 29, 2016) – Ray Allen Kulhanek took many lessons from last weekend’s World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series doubleheader.
Kulhanek kicked off his season by making the feature both nights, including a career-best World of Outlaws result on Saturday at Royal Purple Raceway during the O’Reilly Auto Parts presents the World of Outlaws hosted by Kasey Kahne.
“I look back on it as a big, big learning curve,” he said. “I found out really quick how unfamiliar I am with 410 racing.”
The weekend began on Friday at Cotton Bowl Speedway in Paige, Texas, for the ATX Rentals Outlaw Showdown.
“I had a good starting point from getting to run once (with the World of Outlaws) last year, but I didn’t really get to run that feature because I got caught up in a wreck on the start,” he said. “(On Friday) I didn’t know how far I could go on snugging the car up and I went too far.”
Friday night had started on a positive note as Kulhanek qualified 10th quickest overall. He then finished where he started – third – in a heat race to miss advancing into the dash by only one spot. That lined Kulhanek up on the outside of the fifth row for the main event.
“I couldn’t keep the front wheels on the ground,” he said. “I couldn’t get into the corner, out of the corner, carry any corner speed, anything. I decided to pull in and jot down the notes of what we did and scratch that out not to do again.”
Kulhanek ended with a 21st-place result.
The weekend wrapped up on Saturday at Royal Purple Raceway.
“They had a scoring problem with the transponder loop so we didn’t get to time trial,” he said. “That sucked because we pulled a high pill and they lined heat races up off the pill draw. We got a good start and went from sixth to fourth and had a good run on the outside of a guy. We ran into turn three and he started up the track. I had to get on the binders and I got balled up on the cushion. A couple guys got by me and I couldn’t gain those spots back.”
Kulhanek finished seventh, which relegated him to the Last Chance Showdown. However, he charged from sixth to second place in the consolation race to garner a transfer into the main event.
“I was feeling pretty excited about the main,” he said. “I didn’t do anything but take an inch of stagger out and put a full fuel load on. I should have freed the chassis up to compensate for the fuel load. It doesn’t seem to affect the 360 car as much as the 410. We started off too tight and then I ended up getting a left rear flat.”
Kulhanek pulled into the infield with several laps remaining and he was credited with a 20th-place finish, which was his best result with the World of Outlaws.
“I feel pretty good about the weekend,” he said. “Of course going out and making the shows is a humongous chore in itself. We had enough speed. I’m just disappointed with the lack of knowledge in order to be a top 10 car in the main event.
“I want to say thanks to all of my sponsors for supporting me and to Alcon Construction for pulling me to the track both nights.”
QUICK RESULTS –
Feb. 26 – Cotton Bowl Speedway in Paige, Texas – Qualifying: 10; Heat race: 3 (3); Feature: 21 (10).
Feb. 27 – Royal Purple Raceway in Baytown, Texas – Heat race: 7 (6); B Main: 2 (6); Feature: 20 (22).
SEASON STATS –
2 races, 0 wins, 0 top fives, 0 top 10s, 0 top 15s, 1 top 20
UP NEXT –
TBD
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.RayAllenKulhanek.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Kulhanek_Ray
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RayAllenKulhanek/?fref=ts
APPAREL –
Kulhanek will have apparel available for sale at his race trailer throughout the season. For a list of his scheduled events, visit http://www.RayAllenKulhanek.com.
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Big Bass Tour
Founded in 2010, the Big Bass Tour is the nation’s premier big bass tournament series. The 2016 season will feature more than $1 million in guaranteed prizes and payouts with events in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. For more information, visit http://www.BigBassTour.com.
“I want to thank Keith Odom and Mark Jones, a.k.a. Jonesy, who are partners in Big Bass Tour,” Kulhanek said. “I look forward to working with them for several years to come. I’m excited to build a new relationship focused on mutual success in both of our ventures.”
Kulhanek would also like to thank Texas Rotating Equipment, Alcon Construction, GoPro, ASI Racing Engines, Miller’s RV Park, Frazier & Son, J&J Auto Racing, ButlerBuilt Professional Seat Systems, Smiley’s Racing Products, 41 Shocks, Engler Machine & Tool, Outlaw Wings, Hoosier Racing Tire Southwest, Penske Racing Shocks, C4 Graphics and Simpson Race Products for their 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 Feb 29, 2016
- Article Date: 2/29/2016 by Inside Line Promotions