(Photo by Bush Photo)
Inside Line Promotions – SWEDESBORO, N.J. (Oct. 6, 2020) – Joey Amantea battled back from adversity to score a 14th-place finish during the Danny Serrano Skyscraper Micro Sprint Spectacular at Spirit Auto Center Speedway on Sunday night.
Amantea’s weekend appeared to be over after he damaged an engine following only one lap of qualifying during the Friday night opener for the three-day event.
“We made the best out of a really bad situation and I’m pretty proud of that,” he said. “We could’ve easily packed it in and given up, but we found a way to make it work.”
Following an overnight three-hour drive to get a backup engine, Amantea and his crew replaced the engine in time to compete on Saturday night. He finished third and fourth, respectively, in a pair of heat races to place him 15th in passing points heading into the Sunday night finale paying $4,000 to win.
“We were pretty out to lunch in the first heat and we were just really lost,” he said. “We made a big change for the second heat and it paid off big and put us in a decent position for the Sunday finale.”
Amantea secured a lock-in position into the main event by finishing second in a heat race on Sunday. He started 24th on the grid and advanced 10 positions to finish 14th.
While it was short of his goal of finding Victory Lane and outside of the top 10, Amantea is extremely proud of his team’s effort considering all they went through just to get into the feature.
“We were able to get ourselves in the show and salvaged a top-15 finish,” he said. “You’d always like to finish better and with a little more time we had a top-10 car. However, with everything we went through last weekend, just getting into the show was a win and we’re leaving feeling good.”
Next up for Amantea is a two-race week featuring a trip to Shelhammer Dirt Track in Shoemakersville, Pa., on Wednesday night to compete in his wingless micro sprint followed by a trip to Big Diamond Speedway in Minersville, Pa., on Friday to race with the Rapid Tire USAC East Coast Wingless Sprint Cars. The sprint car event will showcase a pair of twin-20 features and will be Amantea’s final 360 sprint car races of the season.
“I’m really excited to get back behind the wheel of the sprint car and we’ve got two chances to park it in Victory Lane,” he said. “At the beginning of the year I would’ve told you I’d be happy just being out there, but with the speed we’ve shown and with all I’ve learned we’re looking for a finish toward the front to close out this year.”
QUICK RESULTS –
Oct. 2 – Spirit Auto Center Speedway in Swedesboro, N.J. – Qualified: 14.
Oct. 3 – Spirit Auto Center Speedway in Swedesboro, N.J. – Heat race #1: 3 (1); Heat race #2: 4 (-).
Oct. 4 – Spirit Auto Center Speedway in Swedesboro, N.J. – Heat race: 2 (1); Feature: 14 (24).
SEASON STATS –
56 races, 3 wins, 19 top fives, 36 top 10s, 42 top 15s, 45 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Wednesday at Shellhammer Dirt Track in Shoemakersville, Pa., and Friday at Big Diamond Speedway in Minersville, Pa., with the Rapid Tire USAC East Coast Wingless Sprint Cars
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 Oct 06, 2020
- Article Date: 10/6/2020 by Inside Line Promotions