(Photo by Pole Position Photo)
Inside Line Promotions – MESQUITE, Texas (June 5, 2019) – Travis Rilat hustled to his first victory of the season on Tuesday evening at Devil’s Bowl Speedway, which hosted the first round of the Sizzlin’ Summer Speedweek.
The win was Rilat’s 28th career with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour and his third national victory at the track closest to his shop. He also won national races at the half-mile oval in 2002 and 2006.
However, the most unique thing about the trip to Victory Lane was how Rilat did so.
“We used one of Ronald Laney’s old cars,” he said in reference to a friend and former racer who passed away in 2002. “It’s a 20-year-old race car so it isn’t quite the modern chassis that everyone else runs. We had to hustle it.”
Rilat did just that, maneuvering from fourth to second place in a heat race to begin the night. That earned a spot into the feature redraw and he pulled the No. 2 to line up on the outside of the front row for the A Main.
Rilat ran second for the first 15 laps of the 25-lap feature before the leader slid off the top of the track in turns one and two. Rilat capitalized and held off defending ASCS National Tour champion Sam Hafertepe Jr. for most of the remainder of the race. Blake Hahn made a last-lap bid for the win off turn four, but Rilat edged him at the finish line for the win.
“It was special to not only win an ASCS National Tour race and do so at our home track, but to win in one of Ronald’s old cars was really neat,” he said. “His father, Marcus, is a long-time friend and supporter of mine so it meant a lot to be able to have a winning night the way we did.”
The victory highlighted a strong last week for Rilat, who drove for BDS Motorsports during a Midwest Power Series and Midwest Sprint Touring Series doubleheader last weekend. He advanced from 18th to 12th in the main event on Friday at Jackson Motorplex in Jackson, Minn., before rallying from 21st to 10th in the feature on Saturday at Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa. Both events featured more than 45 drivers.
“It was great to get two more nights in with Brian Sundby and BDS Motorsports,” he said. “We got better throughout each night and made a lot of progress in both features during races that had a lot of talented drivers. We also got some great notes at both tracks so whenever we head back there I think we’ll be in a good spot.”
QUICK RESULTS –
May 31 – Jackson Motorplex in Jackson, Minn. – Heat race: 3 (3); B Main: 1 (1); Feature: 12 (18).
June 1 – Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa – Qualifying: 13; Heat race: 6 (7); B Main: 1 (3); Feature: 10 (21).
June 4 – Devil’s Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, Texas – Heat race: 2 (4); Feature: 1 (2).
SEASON STATS –
9 races, 1 win, 2 top fives, 5 top 10s, 7 top 15s, 7 top 20s
UP NEXT –
TBD
MEDIA LINKS –
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TravisRilat29/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/TravisRilat29
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/travisrilat/
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Joe’s Kleen Products
Joe’s Kleen Products is a 70-year-old family owned and operated business based out of Oklahoma City, Okla. The company manufactures an industrial strength, waterless hand cleaner under the trade name Joe’s Hand Cleaner. For more information, visit http://www.JoesKleenProducts.com.
“Joe’s Kleen Products makes a great hand cleaner that our team uses,” Rilat said. “In racing it’s hard to keep anything clean so it’s great to have a top-notch product like Joe’s Hand Cleaner to make sure we can all clean our hands quickly and effectively.”
Rilat would also like to thank BDS Motorsports, The BOSS, Frio Chevrolet, MDS Boring & Drilling, CnB Chubby, All Star Auto Reconditioning, All Pro Cylinder Heads, Astro Titanium, AutoMeter, Batts Farms, Birch Corp Financial, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Diversified Machine Inc (DMI), Donovan Engineering, Dyer Rods, Eagle Chassis (EMi), Engler Machine and Tool, FK Rod Ends, Fuel Safe, Gillund Enterprises, GRP Motorsports, Hepfner Racing Products (HRP), Hoosier Tire, JMS Motorsports, The Joie of Seating, Justice Brothers, Kinsler Fuel Injection, KSE Racing Products, Kustom Race Parts, Mahle, MDS Boring and Drilling, ML Graphics, Moroso Products, NGK Spark Plugs, Outerwears, Over The Top Marketing and Promotions, Pit Stop Liquors, Quick Racing Products, Randy's Lawncare/Maintenance, Sander Engineering, SCE Gaskets, Schoenfeld Headers, Sebastian Sandblasting and Powdercoating, Shane Liebig, Shaver Specialty Race Engines, Simpson Race Products, Smiley’s Racing Products, Speedway Motors, Super Shox, The Boss (www.shoptheboss.com), Thomas Sno Sports, Total Seal Piston Rings, Ultra-Lite Brakes, Visual Impact 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.
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 Jun 05, 2019
- Article Date: 6/5/2019 by Inside Line Promotions