(Photo by Vince Vellella Photos)
Inside Line Promotions – BYRAM, Miss. (April 11, 2016) – Tommy Bryant capitalized on an efficient weekend at Jackson Motor Speedway to guide Cooper Motorsports to the top position in the ASCS Gulf South Region championship standings.
Bryant and the SawBlade.com backed team netted a top five and charged from 15th to eighth during the doubleheader, which was also co-sanctioned with the ASCS Southern Outlaw Sprints Region, to take an eight-point advantage in the points standings a quarter of the way through the ASCS Gulf South schedule.
“We had some success,” he said. “The racing surface is pretty unusual from what we’re used to running on so I feel like we had a good weekend. I want to also thank Brad Benic from Momentum Racing Suspensions for his help as well.”
The weekend began last Friday with Bryant powering from fourth to second place in a heat race. That earned him a spot in the feature redraw, where he pulled the No. 2 during the random draw to line up on the outside of the front row for the main event.
“We led about the first five laps, but we weren’t coming off the corners like we needed to,” he said. “We were close. At the last caution we were running third and I had John Carney II behind me. He’s a good driver and knew exactly what to do. He and I traded the position back and forth and then Andy McElhannon snuck by us coming to the checkered so we ended up fifth.”
The fifth-place result marked Bryant’s third top five in six races this season. It also gave the team momentum entering Saturday’s finale, which didn’t begin as well.
“We drew a really high number in the pill draw and started last in the last heat,” he said. “We had a third-place car, but didn’t have enough laps to get around Michael McNeil. Then in the B Main we pretty well checked out and I think we led every lap.”
Bryant advanced from seventh to fourth place in a heat race and he won a B Main after starting on the pole. That lined him up on the inside of the eighth row for the main event.
“In the feature we worked our way up to eighth,” he said. “The track was right around the tires so it was really difficult to pass. The guy in front of you had to make a mistake. I tried the top and I tried the middle. I moved around because I’m not one to settle where I’m at. We passed a few cars on the outside. We caught Ray Allen (Kulhanek) and he’s pretty good when it comes to guarding where he’s at. We did the best we could with the track conditions.”
Bryant passed the third-most cars to finish eighth, which was his fifth top 10 of the season.
He is scheduled to return to action on May 6 at Heart O’ Texas Speedway in Waco, Texas, with the ASCS Gulf South Region.
QUICK RESULTS –
April 8 – Jackson Motor Speedway in Byram, Miss. – Heat race: 2 (4); Feature: 5 (2).
April 9 – Jackson Motor Speedway in Byram, Miss – Heat race: 4 (7); B Main: 1 (1); Feature: 8 (15).
SEASON STATS –
7 races, 0 wins, 3 top fives, 5 top 10s, 6 top 15s, 7 top 20s
UP NEXT –
May 6 at Heart O’ Texas Speedway in Waco, Texas, with the ASCS Gulf South Region
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.SawBlade.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SawBladecom
https://www.facebook.com/SawBladecom
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Cooper-Motorsports-691459840983806/?fref=ts
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – SawBlade.com
SawBlade.com, which is located in Houston, Texas, is redefining the way industrial, hardware and home use band saw blades are made and distributed. For more information, visit http://www.SawBlade.com.
“I want to thank Chris and his team at SawBlade.com for their tremendous support,” Bryant said. “They do a great job of marketing their products and marketing this race team. I look forward to winning some races with SawBlade.com this year.”
Bryant would also like to thank Cooper Motorsports, Dissolvalloy, Momentum Racing Suspensions, Westside Truck and Trailer, Leo’s Automotive and DRII Racing Engines 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 Apr 11, 2016
- Article Date: 4/11/2016 by Inside Line Promotions