(Photo by Jay Hallas)
Inside Line Promotions – BEAUMONT, Texas (May 9, 2016) – Ray Allen Kulhanek made the best of the situation both nights last weekend during an ASCS Gulf South Region doubleheader.
Kulhanek fought a tight race car on Friday at Heart O’ Texas Speedway in Waco, Texas, and a car that lacked brakes on Saturday at Golden Triangle Raceway Park to come away from the weekend with a pair of top-five finishes.
“I wasn’t pleased with the weekend, but I definitely wasn’t disappointed,” he said. “I made the best of the situations. DNFs will kill your points runs faster than anything. That has cost me the last two championships. I definitely know how important it is to not have DNFs. To come away without having a DNF and to pull off top fives was a big deal.”
The weekend began on Friday with Kulhanek winning a heat race after starting on the outside of the front row at Heart O’ Texas Speedway. That locked him into the feature redraw, where he pulled the second-highest number – seven – during the random draw to line up on the inside of the fourth row for the main event.
“I didn’t have everything I needed to get the car freed up like I needed it to be,” he said. “We were super tight all night long and fighting that. It was a lot heavier than I’ve ever seen that track. They’ve had a lot of rain over the last few weeks and that dirt retains moisture really well. The longer we ran the heavier and rougher the track got throughout the night. It was fun to drive on, but it was treacherous keeping the car on all four tires. I was happy to roll it in the trailer on all four with nothing torn up. To come away with a top three was the icing on the cake.”
Kulhanek recorded a third-place result, which was his first podium finish of the season.
The weekend concluded on Saturday at Golden Triangle Raceway Park, where Kulhanek advanced from third to second place in a heat race. That earned him enough points to advance into the feature redraw. This time he pulled the No. 5 to start the main event on the inside of the third row.
“I lost the brakes three laps into the main event,” he said. “At that point I was trying not to have a DNF. I wanted to stay on the track to get a finish out of it. I got fortunate that we wound up getting a top five out of that deal.”
Kulhanek picked up a fifth-place finish. He now ranks second in the ASCS Gulf South Region championship standings and is only 38 points out of the lead.
He is scheduled to return to competition this Friday and Saturday at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas, for the Texas World Dirt Track Championships with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour.
QUICK RESULTS –
May 6 – Heart O’ Texas Speedway in Waco, Texas – Heat race: 1 (2); Feature: 3 (7).
May 7 – Golden Triangle Raceway Park in Beaumont, Texas – Heat race: 2 (3); Feature: 5 (5).
SEASON STATS –
12 races, 0 wins, 2 top fives, 6 top 10s, 7 top 15s, 9 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Friday and Saturday at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas, for the Texas World Dirt Track Championships with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour
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, Miller’s RV Park, J&J Auto Racing, ButlerBuilt Professional Seat Systems, ASI Racing Engines, Frazier & Son, Smiley’s Racing Products, 41 Shocks, Engler Machine & Tool, Outlaw Wings, Hoosier Racing Tire Southwest, Penske Racing Shocks, C4 Graphics, Simpson Race Products and Marvin and Peggy Pearson 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 May 09, 2016
- Article Date: 5/9/2016 by Inside Line Promotions