Inside Line Promotions – TULSA, Okla. (Jan. 25, 2019) – Travis Rilat was efficient throughout the 33rd annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Midget Nationals last week.
Rilat and the BDS Motorsports team invaded the River Spirit Expo Center a week ago Monday for preliminary competition that featured more than 60 other competitors.
“We moved forward in our heat and picked up a victory in a qualifier so it set the stage for a solid event,” he said. “When you’re racing in an event like that with so many other drivers it’s critical to move forward every time you hit the track.”
Rilat advanced from fourth to third place in a heat race before he won a qualifier after starting on the outside of the front row. That ranked him ninth in overall points and garnered the ninth starting position for the main event.
“The top was the predominant lane so it made passing a little difficult,” he said. “We were able to gain a couple of positions early and then got in line. In that position you don’t want to force the issue and crash or scrub off a bunch of speed getting stuck in the slick part of the track so essentially you want to be in a position to take advantage of anyone’s mistakes in front of you.”
Rilat battled inside the top 10 throughout the 25-lap race before finishing seventh, which was his career-best result during a Chili Bowl preliminary night.
The strong run during the opening night of action set Rilat up in the 11th starting position in a B Main on Saturday. He quickly moved into the top 10 and ran ninth for much of the race, battling only two spots out of a transfer position into the main event. However, a late restart cost him a few positions and he finished 13th, tying his career-best result set in 2008.
“We moved forward in almost every race we were in during the Chili Bowl,” he said. “It’s an event I’ve only run a handful of times so to make a B Main, especially given that there were 350 drivers competing, is an accomplishment. I want to thank Bryan Sundby and everyone with BDS Motorsports for the opportunity. This year was our second time racing the event together and we made a huge improvement so I’m looking forward to seeing that progress continue in future races.”
QUICK RESULTS –
Jan. 14 – River Spirit Expo Center in Tulsa, Okla. – Heat race: 3 (4); Qualifier: 1 (2); Feature: 7 (9).
Jan. 19 – River Spirit Expo Center in Tulsa, Okla. – B Main: 13 (11).
UP NEXT –
TBD
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.TravisRilat.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/TravisRilat29
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – MDS Boring & Drilling
MDS Boring & Drilling is located in Houston, Texas, and has been one of the leading road boring contractors in the pipeline industry for more than 35 years. For more information, visit http://www.MDSDrilling.com.
“We are excited to have MDS Boring & Drilling as part of the team,” Rilat said. “I look forward to visiting Victory Lane several times this year with MDS Boring & Drilling.”
Rilat would also like to thank BDS Motorsports, Frio Chevrolet, The BOSS, Shark Racing Engines, CnB Chubby, Champion Brands, Joe’s Kleen Products, KSE Racing Products, Simpson Race Products, Schoenfeld Headers, Hoosier Racing Tires, HRP Wings, Goodrich, All Star Auto Reconditioning, All Pro Cylinder Heads, Astro Titanium, AutoMeter, Batts Farms, Birch Corp Financial, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Carlan Services, Car Star Collision and Service (from Leduc, Alberta, Canada), Clark Construction, Diversified Machine Inc., Dyer Rods, Eagle Motorsports, FK Rod Ends, Fuel Safe, Gee and Gee Racing, Gillund Enterprises, Global Power Services, Hepfner Racing Products, Hoosier Tire Midwest, Impact Coatings, The Joie of Seating, Justice Brothers, Kinsler Fuel Injection, Kustom Sprintcar Supplies, Lanktree Holdings, Millstone, Moroso Products, NGK Spark Plugs, Outerwears, Over The Top Marketing and Promotions, Pat Beck Motorsports, Pit Stop Liquors, Quick Racing Products, Randy’s Lawncare/Maintenance – Newton, Iowa, Sander Engineering, SCE Gaskets, Sebastian Sandblasting and Powdercoating, Shane Liebig, Shaver Specialty Race Engines, Speedway Motors, Strong Crane Service, Super Shox, Total Seal Piston Rings, Ultra-Lite Brakes and Zephyr Pro40 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.
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- Shawn Miller on Jan 25, 2019
- Article Date: 1/25/2019 by Inside Line Promotions