Inside Line Promotions – HUTCHINSON, Kan. (July 19) – It was hardly the outcome Jack Dover expected.
But his expectations are pretty high after top fives are becoming routine for the 21-year-old from Springfield, Neb. And once again, he was in contention for a pair of victories in Iowa and Missouri, and he drove into a top 10 on a rubber-down track in Kansas to cap the weekend.
“It’s real frustrating,” Dover said after finishing second in a pair of races that he started on the pole. “Especially since my car was perfect both those times.”
The week started last Wednesday at Sioux Speedway in Sioux Center, Iowa, where Dover drove from fourth to claim his heat race. He then started on the pole of the feature.
However, outside polesitter Gregg Bakker got the jump and took the lead entering turn one on the opening lap. Dover chased him in a close second, but was unable to make a pass for the lead and settled for the runner-up position.
A similar result – basically the same outcome – happened on Friday at U.S. 36 Raceway in Cameron, Mo., in the ASCS Midwest vs. Warrior Region event. Dover again won his heat race from fourth and earned the pole for the main event.
This time he led approximately the first half of the 25-lap feature before lapped traffic wreaked havoc.
“We led until we got to lapped traffic,” Dover said. “Lapped cars were all over the place.”
Brad Loyet passed Dover for the top spot, which the duo then competed for in a heated battle. Dover, who was using the high side to his advantage, slid into the lead at one point before Loyet was able to maneuver back to first place.
With about five laps remaining, Dover was charging again for the lead on the high side when a lapped car tried to exit the track directly in front of Dover. He got into the back of the slowing car, damaging his nose wing.
“I kept the car going so we didn’t have to go to the back of the field,” he said. “We were having a real good battle for the lead.”
Dover restarted second, but was unable to mount a pass for the lead and he settled for second place for the second consecutive race. It was his fifth straight top-four finish.
Dover finished his weekend on Saturday at the Hutchinson Nationals at the Kansas State Fairgrounds in Hutchinson, Kan.
“It was throwing dust like crazy in hot laps,” he said. “I couldn’t even see the guy in front of me. After hot laps, it was already taking rubber.”
Dover started and finished fifth in his heat race on the one-lane track, which started him 15th in the feature.
“I knew that we weren’t really going to have an opportunity to pass a lot of cars,” he said. “So I just waited and picked off cars when they messed up. That’s all I did the whole race.”
Dover rallied from 15th to place eighth – his 23rd top-10 finish in 25 main events this season.
He will race on Friday night at Crawford County Speedway in Denison, Iowa, with the ASCS Midwest Region. On Saturday, Dover will compete at either Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa, or at Eagle Raceway in Eagle, Neb.
QUICK RESULTS –
July 13 – Sioux Speedway in Sioux Center, Iowa – Heat race: 1 (4); Feature: 2 (1).
July 15 – U.S. 36 Raceway in Cameron, Mo. – Heat race: 1 (4); Feature: 2 (1).
July 16 – Kansas State Fairgrounds in Hutchinson, Kan. – Heat race: 5 (5); Feature: 8 (15).
SEASON STATS –
26 races, 25 features, 6 wins, 18 top fives, 23 top 10s, 24 top 15s, 25 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Friday at Crawford County Speedway in Denison, Iowa, with the ASCS Midwest Region and Saturday at either Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa, or at Eagle Raceway in Eagle, Neb.
FAVORITE NUMBER –
72: Percentage of features when Dover has finished in the top five this season.
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS –
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/JackDoverRacing
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/jackdoverracing
ON THE AIR –
Dover was a featured guest on the ASCS Show with Racinboys on June 14 after his win at the Eagle Nationals. His interview starts around 18:40.
http://www.meridix.com/mbp/general/index.php?liveid=Racinboys&recordid=19427
He was also on the ASCS Show with Racinboys on June 7. Check out the link below for his interview, which begins around the 6:50 mark.
http://www.meridix.com/mbp/general/index.php?liveid=Racinboys&recordid=19351
Here’s a link to some on-board video of Dover winning his heat race at Knoxville Raceway on June 4:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWFqplMGokk&feature=channel_video_title
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.
“It’s one of the best oils out there,” Dover said. “It’s really durable, you don’t have to switch it every other race and it still holds up just as good.”
Dover would also like to thank Thorpe’s Body Shop, Trail Performance Coatings, Inc., Home Pride Companies, Inc., Certified Transmission, Shaver Engines, Eagle Motorsports and ButlerBuilt 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.
- Admin Account on Jul 20, 2011
- Article Date: 7/19/2011 by Shawn Miller