(Photo by Bush Photo)
Inside Line Promotions – BECHTELSVILLE, Pa. (July 21, 2020) – Joey Amantea landed on the podium during his first visit of the season to Spirit Auto Center Speedway last Friday when he finished third in wingless micro sprint competition.
The result was the best outing of a three-race week that also saw Amantea place 10th in wingless micro sprint action on Wednesday at Action Track USA and end in the B Main at Grandview Speedway on Saturday night in a 360ci sprint car.
“We continued to deal with motor issues and that made the week extremely frustrating,” he said. “To salvage a podium finish was really a nice feeling because it was shaping up to be a bad week.”
Amantea kicked off the week on Wednesday at Action Track USA in Kutztown, Pa., where he advanced one position in a heat race to finish fourth and earn the 10th starting spot in the feature. He was running as high as second before a caution negated several passes and placed him in sixth. After the restart, contact with another driver caused his car to lose power steering and he nursed the car home to a 10th-place finish.
“We lost a bunch of coolant in the feature and the motor wasn’t running well,” he said. “We found out after the race that we had a blown head gasket so I’d say I was lucky to even hold on for 10th.”
On Friday the team headed to Spirit Auto Center Speedway in Swedesboro, N.J., where Amantea advanced one position in a heat race to finish second. He started the feature from the 11th position and within four laps he was running in fourth. A few laps later he made a move for first and hopped the right-rear tire of the leader, which caused him to fall backwards. Amantea rallied to advance back through the field to third, where he finished as he dealt with late-race overheating problems.
“We were still struggling with motor issues, but the car almost acted as if there wasn’t an issue at all,” he said. “We were running all over the track and were in position to maybe steal a win before I jumped the leader’s right rear. Luckily, we kept our spot and got a top three.”
Amantea finished off the weekend on Saturday as he jumped behind the wheel of the Burke Racing No. 54 360ci sprint car to compete with the United Racing Club at Grandview Speedway. He finished eighth in a heat race and 11th in the B Main.
“It was another learning experience and I’m glad to put Grandview in the rearview,” he said. “We were not great in the heat race and I screwed up in the B Main. It was just a night I’d like to forget.”
Next up for Amantea will be a four-race week consisting of wingless micro sprint races at Action Track USA on Wednesday; at Linda’s Speedway in Jonestown, Pa., on Friday; at Hamlin Speedway in Hamlin, Pa., on Saturday; and at Spirit Auto Center Speedway on Sunday.
“It seems like we’ve been dealing with nothing but misfortune and bad luck here lately,” he said. “So a four-race week is just what the doctor ordered and hopefully we can finish it out with win No. 2 on the year and some good runs.”
QUICK RESULTS –
July 15 – Action Track USA in Kutztown, Pa. (wingless micro) - Heat race: 4 (5); Feature: 10 (10).
June 17 – Sprit Auto Center Speedway in Swedesboro, N.J (wingless micro) – Heat race: 2 (3); Feature: 3 (11).
June 18 – Grandview Speedway in Bechtelsville, Pa. (360 sprint car) – Heat race: 8 (7); B Main: 11 (6).
SEASON STATS –
27 races, 1 win, 9 top fives, 17 top 10s, 20 top 15s, 22 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Wednesday at Action Track USA in Kutztown, Pa.; Friday at Linda’s Speedway in Jonestown, Pa.; Saturday at Hamlin Speedway in Hamlin, Pa.; and Sunday at Spirit Auto Center Speedway in Swedesboro, N.J.
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.joeyamantearacing.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joeyamantearacing/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/joeyamantea88J
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – JPA Masonry
JPA Masonry, which is located in Mt. Pocono, Pa., is a trusted and experienced masonry leader in the Poconos. Although established in 2001, contractor and owner, Joseph P. Amantea (JPA), has almost 20 years of experience in the masonry field, including custom stone and design. For more information, visit http://www.JPAMasonry.com.
“JPA Masonry drives our race team,” Amantea said. “Without their support I wouldn’t be able to race. I’m very appreciative of all they do for me.”
Amantea would also like to thank Amantea Real Estate, Hyper Racing, Jet Signs, Radical Race Gear, Pensyl Enterprises and Gilroy Northeast Inc. Excavating and Construction 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 Jul 21, 2020
- Article Date: 7/21/2020 by Inside Line Promotions