(Photo by Bush Photo)
Inside Line Promotions – NEWMANSTOWN, Pa. (Aug. 11, 2020) – Joey Amantea finished 10th in the Hyper Racing 600 Speedweek standings behind the strength of a pair of eighth-place finishes at Action Track USA and Greenwood Valley Action Tracks.
It was a career-best finish during the annual tradition for the 600cc wingless sprint car division and it marked a consistent effort that saw only three of the five originally scheduled nights of racing get completed because of rain.
“Going into Speedweek I felt like we had a car capable of winning every night,” Amantea said. “Obviously, that didn’t happen. But we were racing against the very best each night so to be up there competing is a good feeling.”
With rain cancelling Monday night’s opener at Spirit Auto Center in Bridgeport, N.J, Amantea kicked off Speedweek last Wednesday at Action Track USA in Kutztown, Pa. He showed speed by qualifying second quickest and then moving forward three positions in a heat race to finish second.
Amantea rolled off on the outside of the front row in the feature. However, he struggled with the setup on his car and changing track conditions. Amantea took the checkered flag in eighth to score his 22nd top-10 outing of the season.
“We made a gamble setup-wise and it just didn’t pay off come feature-time,” he said. “It was disappointing, but it’s the way it goes sometimes and we got a top 10.”
On Thursday night Amantea headed to Greenwood Valley Action Tracks in Orangeville, Pa. He timed in fifth quickest in time trials before advancing three positions to finish second in a heat race for the second consecutive night. The passing points earned him the eighth starting spot in the A Main.
“We were up to fifth at one point, but the track was not easy to pass on,” he said after placing eighth. “We got stuck on the outside row starting off and I really just never could get going momentum-wise.”
Rain cancelled Friday night’s scheduled trip to Path Valley Speedway in Spring Run, Pa., before Amantea headed to Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway on Saturday for the Speedweek finale. Unfortunately, he blew a tire in time trials and only got one lap in to time in 19th overall.
Amantea then finished second in a heat race and fifth in a qualifier. He was forced to run the B Main, in which he finished second to earn the 24th starting spot in the A Main. Amantea was up to 20th on Lap 2, but a blown tire ended his night early.
“We had bad luck from the beginning of the night and it really just set the tone for us,” he said. “It wasn’t the way we wanted to end things, but ultimately we came home 10th in the point standings so we’ll take that as a small victory.”
Next up for Amantea will be four nights of racing in wingless 600cc competition. On Wednesday he will head to Action Track USA for the Wingless 600 Sprint Car Fair Nationals. Friday will be a race at Spirit Auto Center Speedway before a trip to Hamlin Speedway in Hamlin, Pa., on Saturday. Amantea will return to Action Track USA on Sunday.
“Mentally I’ve confirmed to myself that I know I have the opportunity to win every time we go out and now it’s time to put those thoughts to reality,” he said.” We’ve got four chances to do it this week and I’m excited to get back out on the track and go racing.”
QUICK RESULTS –
Aug. 5 – Action Track USA in Kutztown, Pa. – Qualifying: 2; Heat race: 2 (5); Feature: 8 (2).
Aug. 6 – Greenwood Valley Action Tracks in Orangeville, Pa. – Qualifying: 5; Heat race: 2 (5); Feature: 8 (8).
Aug. 8 – Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway in Newmanstown, Pa. – Qualifying: 19; Heat race: 2 (2); Qualifier: 5 (2); B Main: 2 (1); Feature: DNF (24).
SEASON STATS –
34 races, 2 wins, 12 top fives, 23 top 10s, 26 top 15s, 28 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Wednesday at Action Track USA in Kutztown, Pa.; Friday at Spirit Auto Center Speedway in Swedesboro, N.J.; Saturday at Hamlin Speedway in Hamlin, Pa.; and Sunday at Action Track USA
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.joeyamantearacing.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joeyamantearacing/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/joeyamantea88J
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Amantea Real Estate
Amantea Real Estate is a residential and commercial real estate company based in Mount Pocono, Pa. For more information, visit http://www.AmanteaRealEstate.com.
“I’m very happy to have an esteemed company like Amantea Real Estate back our team,” Amantea said. “I’m very grateful for their support and look forward to continued success together.”
Amantea would also like to thank JPA Masonry, 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 Aug 12, 2020
- Article Date: 8/11/2020 by Inside Line Promotions