(Photo by TeeJay Crawford)
Inside Line Promotions – QUINTER, Kan. (Nov. 1, 2016) – Zach Blurton has won championships and several prestigious awards during his young racing career, but he will remember 2016 as his best season thus far.
Blurton recorded five feature wins and finished in the top five in more than one third of his 43 events. He won the International Motor Contest Association (IMCA) National Rookie of the Year Award and the United Rebel Sprint Series (URSS) Colorado Region Championship. Blurton also finished second in the URSS Kansas Region standings as well as fourth in the national standings.
“That’s the most wins I’ve ever gotten in a season,” he said. “What’s even more impressive is we did not have one DNF in 40-some races. We did all this with one motor and one car. We didn’t bend one single part this year. We finished with the same front end and the same wings. And we never rebuilt the engine. It was a pretty remarkable year. In this sport things can change so fast so I feel blessed we had the year we did.”
Blurton started the year as the reigning URSS Kansas Region champion and he felt confident as the team put together a new car for 2016.
“We came out of the gates strong,” he said. “I had a new car. I had never had anything new … and we got a win the third night out and I thought we were on our way. I had never gotten a win that early in the season.
“But then the tracks started to get slicker and slicker and this car just didn’t work. So we put the old car back together. We knew what we had in that car. It’s a 2005 former World of Outlaws car and probably has 300 shows on it, but it works. Once we got that car back out we started winning again.
“We raced our 305 against the 360s a couple of times and made the shows. I got to do a non-wing race and that was fun. All in all it was a great year and I can’t thank all our sponsors, my family and my fiancée for all their support and hard work.”
Blurton is also excited about what is in store for 2017.
“We just took possession of a new toter and Stacker trailer,” he said. “We’re looking at a newer chassis and hopefully to purchase a 360ci engine. We will send the old car back to be cleaned and inspected and put it back together for our 305 car.
“Our goal for 2017 is to win the national IMCA championship and national URSS title. I also hope we can do a little more traveling and get some 360 races in. It all comes down to sponsorship.”
SEASON STATS –
43 races, 5 wins, 15 top fives, 32 top 10s, 36 top 15s, 36 top 20s
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.ZachBlurton.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ZachBlurton
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ZachBlurtonRacing
APPAREL –
Visit Blurton’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/ZachBlurtonRacing for more information.
RACING OPPORTUNITIES –
Blurton, who earned 2013 Knoxville Raceway 360 Rookie of the Year and 2012 NCRA Rookie of the Year honors, is seeking additional racing opportunities and is willing to travel. To learn more information, contact Blurton at 620-393-5249 or ZachBlurton@gmail.com.
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Tornado Racing Engines
Tornado Racing Engines is an engine business in Utica, Kan., owned by Jon Johnson.
“I ran the whole season with one motor,” Blurton said. “We never had a rebuild and didn’t break a thing. That’s a testament to Jon Johnson. He’s a farmer that builds these things in an old shed in Utica, Kan. He is going through some stuff with his family and my prayers are with the family.”
Blurton would also like to thank Midwest Ag Professionals Inc., Ti22 Performance, Phillips Chiropractic & Physical Therapy Center, Jet-Hot Coatings, Randy Patterson Welding, Outlaw Wings, Billinger Repair Shop, Park Liquor, Rob’s Fun Center and Rod End Supply 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 Nov 01, 2016
- Article Date: 11/1/2016 by Inside Line Promotions