(Photo by Speed Demon Productions)
Inside Line Promotions – WHEATLAND, Mo. (Sept. 25, 2019) – Jordon Mallett entered the Jesse Hockett/Daniel McMillin Memorial last weekend at Lucas Oil Speedway with one goal in mind – to make the feature each night and give himself a shot.
Mallett did just that during his first career visit to the ‘The Diamond of Dirt Tracks,’ where he qualified for all three nights of Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour A-Main action, highlighted by two 12th-place finishes and a 14th-place result.
“I was pleased with the performance for never having been there before,” he said. “To have that quality of cars and quantity and to not have to run a B Main all weekend was a great feeling for our team.”
With more than 70 drivers competing in the event, Mallett launched Thursday night’s opener by starting second in a heat and advancing one position to take the checkered flag as the winner. It gave him enough points to advance to the qualifiers, where he started sixth and passed one car to finish fifth. As a result of being among the top 16 cars in passing points, Mallett secured the 13th starting spot in the night’s feature.
On a track that didn’t allow much passing, Mallett struggled to make up ground in the feature and ultimately lost one position to finish 14th.
“Early on in the night the track was really heavy and come feature-time we judged wrong on what the track would do,” he said. “You had to capitalize on guys making mistakes and we just didn’t really capitalize on it when we needed to.”
Friday night started similar as Mallett won a heat race for the second time in as many nights. In the qualifier he started fifth and passed one car to finish fourth, good enough to secure him the 13th starting spot in the feature.
Mallett passed one car in the A Main to finish 12th. The top 15 was the Greenbrier, Ark., native’s 22nd top-15 finish of the season.
“I was frustrated with myself after Night 1 that I judged the track wrong and we tried to change things up a bit,” he said. “The track came to us with about five laps to go. By then it was too late to really make any ground up, but we left feeling like we were gaining on things.”
Sitting three spots outside of the top eight in points after two nights of racing, Mallett needed to run a Last Chance Qualifier on Saturday in hopes of having a shot to claim the $10,000 payday awaiting the feature winner. He started from the pole position and finished second, which secured the 15th starting spot in the weekend finale.
Mallett moved forward in the opening laps before he made contact with another car and got pushed off the racing surface. He ended up in the work area, bringing out the caution. After checking the car over and tagging onto the rear of the field, Mallett advanced 12 positions to finish 12th for the second consecutive night.
While he was hoping to contend for wins, it was a good points weekend for Mallett as he closed in on eighth place in the ASCS championship standings and now only trails by 79 points.
“The track was super heavy and everybody was so fast,” he said. “We got knocked off the track and we brought out the caution. If that doesn’t happen, I think we’re looking at a lot better of a finish. Overall, it was a great points weekend for me and we’ve got confidence for the rest of 2019.”
Mallett will take this weekend off and will head back to Arkansas where the team will prepare for a homecoming of sorts as they will pick back up Oct. 4-5 at the $10,041-to-win Short Track Nationals hosted by I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Ark.
QUICK RESULTS –
Sept. 19 – Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Mo. – Heat Race: 1 (2); Qualifier: 5 (6); Feature: 14 (13).
Sept. 20 – Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Mo. – Heat Race: 1 (1); Qualifier: 4 (5); Feature: 12 (13).
Sept. 21 – Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Mo. – Last Chance Qualifier: 2 (1); Feature: 12 (15).
SEASON STATS –
34 races, 1 win, 7 top fives, 13 top 10s, 23 top 15s, 26 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Oct. 4-5 at I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Ark, for the 32nd Annual COMP Cams Short Track Nationals presented by Hoosier Tires
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://jordonmallett.myracepass.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jmmotorsports14
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jordonmallettmotorsports
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Porter Commercial Refrigeration
Porter Commercial Refrigeration, which was created in 1992 and is based in Greenbrier, Ark., provides the finest refrigeration equipment sales, quality service and installation for supermarkets, c-stores, restaurants, warehouses, processing plants and ice machines. For more information, visit http://www.PorterRefrigeration.com.
“Porter Commercial Refrigeration is a huge supporter of our team,” Mallett said. “They are always stepping up to help us however they can and we really appreciate the partnership.”
Mallett would like to thank Awakening Events, Water for Christ, Racing Optics, DHR Suspension, Red River Rack Company, KSE Racing Products, FK Rod Ends, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Sinco, Inc., D&K Farms, Autometer, Callies Racing Products, Dynotech Race Engines, Dickerson Marine Services, Hero Graphics, Hilborn Fuel Injection, ISC Racers Tape, K&N Engineering, Lone Star Super Gas (Sunoco), Schoenfeld Headers, Simpson Race Products, Smiley’s Racing Products, and Superior Bearing and 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 Sep 25, 2019
- Article Date: 9/25/2019 by Inside Line Promotions