(Photo by DB3 Imaging)
Inside Line Promotions – BEDFORD, Pa. (April 20, 2016) – Less than the tick of a clock can make or break your night when it comes to sprint car racing. For Ryan Smith it made for a lot of hard work over the weekend.
The Kunkletown, Pa., driver competed in three events with the Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions over the weekend. It began at Attica Raceway Park in Attica, Ohio, on Friday followed by Wayne County Speedway near Orrville, Ohio, on Saturday and ending Sunday on the half-mile Bedford Speedway.
The All Stars’ procedure has drivers qualifying against the cars in their respective heat races with the top four in times inverted for the heats. The top two finishers of each heat then compete in a dash and where they finish is where they start in the feature event.
Smith made the inversion for his heat at Attica and qualified for the dash, and thus a better starting position in the feature. However, at both Wayne County and Bedford, he missed the four-car heat race inversion by one position. He finished in the necessary position to make the feature, but had to start toward the back of the field in each feature event.
“At least with the All Stars a bad qualifying pill number doesn’t necessarily put you behind the eight ball all night because you are only qualifying with the cars in your heat,” he said. “Unfortunately as tough as the competition is, just a hundredth of a second can be the difference in starting in the first two rows and getting that shot at making the dash.”
Smith went into the HD Supply Spring Nationals at Attica Raceway Park with a lot of confidence after winning the event in 2015. He set the fourth quickest time in his heat race group, started on the pole and finished second in a heat race and qualified for the dash, where he placed sixth. Smith then finished where he started – sixth – in the 40-lap feature on a track that took rubber making passing difficult.
The next night at Wayne County Speedway Smith qualified 14th out of the 30 cars and fifth for his heat. He made the A Main with a sixth-place finish in his heat, which started him 17th in the feature. He ended with a 16th-place result.
Smith wrapped up the weekend on Sunday at Bedford Speedway, which saw 42 cars in competition. Again, he qualified fifth quick in his heat race group and 22nd overall, putting him to the inside of the third row for the starting grid of his heat. Smith raced to a fifth-place heat finish, good enough to make the A Main. On a track where passing was at a premium, Smith started 19th and came home 15th at the checkers.
Smith has a busy weekend on tap as he will battle the famed “PA Posse” at Williams Grove Speedway in Mechanicsburg, Pa., on Friday for the Tommy Hinnershitz Memorial before battling the Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions again on Saturday at Port Royal Speedway in Port Royal, Pa., for the Inaugural Keith Kauffman Classic and Sunday at Selinsgrove Speedway near Selinsgrove, Pa., for the Ray Tilley Classic.
QUICK RESULTS –
April 15 – Attica Raceway Park in Attica, Ohio – Qualifying: 8; Heat race: 2 (1); Dash: 6 (5); Feature: 6 (6).
April 16 – Wayne County Speedway in Orrville, Ohio – Qualifying: 14; Heat race: 6 (5); Feature: 16 (17).
April 17 – Bedford Speedway in Bedford, Pa.– Qualifying: 22; Heat race: 5 (5); Feature: 15 (19).
SEASON STATS –
13 races, 0 wins, 2 top fives, 5 top 10, 8 top 15s, 11 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Friday at Williams Grove Speedway in Mechanicsburg, Pa; Saturday at Port Royal Speedway in Port Royal, Pa., and Sunday at Selinsgrove Speedway in Selinsgrove, Pa., with the Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions
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 – Fighting Angels Foundation
Children with Angelman Syndrome (AS) do not talk and many struggle to walk. They have difficulty eating and sleeping. Every year, individuals with AS die due to complications from seizures, however large pharmaceutical companies are not focused on the search for a cure. Despite the rarity of AS, a cure for this disorder is not only possible, but probable. We know what causes Angelman Syndrome. We know that, despite its devastating effects, it’s an incredibly simple disorder involving only one gene. And we know that curing AS will have a profound impact on other related and rare disorders, such as Prader-Willi, Rett and Fragile X Syndromes, as well as much more common disorders such as autism and Alzheimer’s.
Fighting Angels Foundation, Inc., is an organization dedicated to support and fund research and raise awareness of the rare neuro-genetic disorder Angelman Syndrome as well as serving and protecting the needs of the 1 in 15,000 individuals affected by this disorder. Our inspiration is Joseph (Joey) Paul Moretti Jr. FAF focuses its activities through yearly fundraising events and the support of public donations from generous individuals and companies to help fund its cause. Fighting to Talk, Fighting to Walk, Fighting for a Cure is our motto! For more information, visit http://www.FightingAngelsFoundation.com.
“We need to find a cure for kids like little Joey who have Angelman Syndrome,” Smith said. “The Fighting Angels Foundation is a great foundation that raises money to find a cure for this syndrome. Hopefully in the near future there will be a cure.”
Smith would also like to thank Warko Group, S&S Speedways, G.L.T. Electrical, Quality Roofing Supply, East Coast Helicopter Tours, 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 Apr 20, 2016
- Article Date: 4/20/2016 by Inside Line Promotions