(Photo by Bryan Hulbert)
Inside Line Promotions – CLEVELAND, Texas (March 29, 2016) – Brandon Hanks achieved one of his dreams last Friday at Cotton Bowl Speedway, where he recorded his first career feature victory with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour.
The win at the 3/8-mile oval in Paige, Texas, was his first in a sprint car since 2012.
“I did some donuts,” he said. “Dad frowns upon that, but I don’t think he was too mad. I did two little donuts and of course I had to climb on top of the car. I just wanted to take it all in and celebrate.”
The moment was a special one for Hanks, who put together his strongest performance ever with the ASCS National Tour. The night began with Hanks charging from fourth place to win a heat race. That earned him the most points of any driver and a spot in the feature redraw, where he pulled the No. 2 during the random draw to start the 30-lap feature on the outside of the front row.
Hanks ran second to polesitter Josh Baughman for the first 18 laps before an opportunity in traffic allowed Hanks to take the top spot. He remained in the lead for the remaining dozen laps, including a green-white-checkered finish after Baughman crashed right behind him in turn two during the final lap.
“I was really mad when that red came out when I knew I’d have to restart again,” he said. “I knew I had to put together a solid restart and two solid laps. I didn’t want to start picturing everything. I just wanted to stay focused on the task at hand. I kept myself pulled together and I never really thought I’m about to win this thing until I was exiting turn four on the final lap.
“I think it’s sinking in day by day. It just didn’t seem real. The funniest part of the whole night was after we loaded up and everything calmed down, normally when I look at the articles online I’m used to seeing (Johnny) Herrera, (Seth) Bergman and (Aaron) Reutzel popping up. I get on there Friday night and it was weird to see my name on that stuff. It started sinking in from there, but it still feels blurry like a dream.”
The weekend concluded on Saturday at Bronco Raceway Park, where Hanks was hampered by a bad pill draw on a tough track.
“We drew the back and I was way too tight,” he said. “I went through 20 tearoffs between hot laps and that heat race. I actually ran out of tearoffs before the heat was over.”
Hanks placed ninth in a heat race before he charged from 16th to eighth in the B Main, which missed a transfer by only two positions.
He is scheduled to return to competition this Saturday at Riverside International Speedway in West Memphis, Ark., for the Eagle Motorsports Rock ‘N Roll 50 Presented by MyRacePass with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour.
QUICK RESULTS –
March 25 – Cotton Bowl Speedway in Paige, Texas – Heat race: 1 (4); Feature: 1 (2).
March 26 – Bronco Raceway Park in Cleveland, Texas – Heat race: 9 (7); B Main: 8 (16).
SEASON STATS –
7 races, 1 win, 2 top fives, 4 top 10s, 4 top 15s, 6 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Saturday at Riverside International Speedway in West Memphis, Ark., for the Eagle Motorsports Rock ‘N Roll 50 Presented by MyRacePass with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.HanksMotorsports.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Brandon_K_Hanks
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hanks-Motorsports/135263046488177
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Walls Paint and Body Shop
Walls Paint and Body Shop is an auto repair and paint business located in Covington, Tenn.
“They’ve been good friends of ours since I was a kid,” Hanks said. “I want to thank them for everything they have done and for making the cars look incredible every year.”
Hanks would also like to thank Performance Powder Coating, D&B Farms, Wesmar Racing Engines, R.E. Enterprises, Penske Racing Shocks, Acme Graphix, Hinchman Racewear, ButlerBuilt Professional Seat Systems and J-R1 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 Mar 29, 2016
- Article Date: 3/29/2016 by Inside Line Promotions