Inside Line Promotions – DODGE CITY, Kan. (July 5) – There were plenty of positives and negatives, but a silver lining has provided a glimpse of excitement for Tony Bruce Jr.
Racing with the World of Outlaws at Dodge City Raceway Park in Dodge City, Kan., one of the closest tracks to his native Liberal, Kan., Bruce Jr. deemed last weekend an up-and-down event.
“Everytime we go home and race it always seems like we have some sort of issue,” he said.
The issue the first night was a poor draw, which sent Bruce Jr. out to qualify second to last on a track that favored early qualifiers. Bruce Jr. put out the 15th-best time, which set the tone for the night.
He started fifth and finished sixth to garner the final transfer in his heat race. Bruce Jr. then started and finished 15th in the feature.
“There were a couple of guys who were able to make some moves, but we just really weren’t able to go forward,” he said.
That was just the start of the trouble for Bruce Jr., who blew an engine during qualifying on Saturday. Without a spare 410 engine, the team was relegated to putting in a 360 to finish the night.
Unfortunately, a fuel line issue forced Bruce Jr. to the pits prior to the start of his heat race, which he was scheduled to start sixth – in a transfer position. That put the veteran in the B Main, when his race car started to really take off.
Bruce Jr. won the consolation to earn a transfer to the feature, where he started 17th. Racing with a smaller engine, Bruce Jr. found himself down a lap before the car began to work well. Although he was trapped a lap behind the rest of the main event, Bruce Jr. was able to pass a handful of Outlaw drivers to give his 15th-place finish a boost.
“We were actually pretty competitive with our 360,” he said. “It’s a really good sign of things for our 360 program, knowing that it can compete with 410s.”
His pair of top-15 finishes give him eight in a row and 17 in 22 features this season.
QUICK RESULTS –
July 1 – Dodge City Raceway Park in Dodge City, Kan. – Qualifying: 15; Heat race: 6 (5); Feature: 15 (15).
July 2 – Dodge City Raceway Park in Dodge City, Kan. – Qualifying: 17; Heat race: DNS (6); B Main: 1 (1); Feature: 15 (17).
SEASON STATS –
25 races, 22 features, 1 win, 3 top fives, 10 top 10s, 17 top 15s, 22 top 20s
FAVORITE NUMBER –
8: Consecutive races with a top-15 finish, including two last weekend with the World of Outlaws at Dodge City Raceway Park in Dodge City, Kan.
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS –
Website: www.tonybrucejr.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/tonybrucejr
ON THE AIR –
Bruce Jr. was a featured guest on the ASCS Show by Racinboys on May 24. Check out the link below for his interview, which starts at approximately 44:20 into the show.
http://www.meridix.com/mbp/general/index.php?liveid=Racinboys&recordid=19159
He was also on the April 26 edition. Click on the link below to listen to Bruce Jr.’s interview, which begins around the 52:25 mark.
http://www.meridix.com/mbp/general/index.php?liveid=Racinboys&recordid=18733
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – The Oil Medics
Located in Fort Worth, Texas, The Oil Medics services diesel trucks and distributes racing oil for sprint car engines and rear ends. For more information, visit www.theoilmedics.com.
“Bill and the entire Jewell family has been more than just a great sponsor, but also great friends,” Bruce Jr. said. “They specialize in truck maintenance and fuel economy, which has saved us hundreds of dollars the past two years in diesel fuel.”
Bruce Jr. would like to thank his sponsors, including TBJ Promotions, Travelwizer.com, Ticketmob.com, LRB Manufacturing, Hoosier and Smiley’s Racing Products for their continued support.
INSIDE LINE PROMOTIONS –
Inside Line Promotions specializes in affordable public relations, media management and merchandising services for sprint car teams. ILP Founder Shawn Miller leverages professional journalism with new media technologies and social networking to improve your exposure and your sponsors’ return on investment.
To meet the media relations needs of your team, contact Shawn at 541-510-3663 or sprintcarreporter@yahoo.com. For more information on Inside Line Promotions, visit www.insidelinepromotions.com.
- administrator on Jul 05, 2011
- Article Date: 7/5/2011