(Photo by Bush Photo)
Inside Line Promotions – MT POCONO, Pa. (Nov. 18, 2020) – Joey Amantea had the most successful season of his young racing career in 2020 as he showed the ability to be consistent in the micro sprint division while gaining valuable experience behind the wheel of a 360ci sprint car.
Amantea scored a career-high three victories to go along with 19 top-five finishes and 38 top 10s in 63 races across four divisions.
"It was a really good year for us in every aspect and I had so much fun this season," he said. "I would have liked to have won a few more races at some different tracks as we were really close to more wins, but I'm really proud of what we accomplished this year."
Amantea began the season in late February at the CURE Insurance Arena in Trenton, N.J., during the 3rd annual East Coast Indoor Dirt Nationals. He rallied from mechanical problems to qualify out of the C Main and into the feature event.
Following a two-month hiatus due to COVID-19, Amantea returned to action at Greenwood Valley Action Tracks in Orangeville, Pa., where he began a streak of nine consecutive top-10 finishes behind the wheel in both winged and wingless micro sprint competition.
"I knew I was going to be good in the wingless car early on in the season, but to have success with the wing on too gave me a ton of confidence," he said. "With COVID-19 pretty much shutting everything down, the best drivers were all coming to Greenwood and to be able to run up front with those guys told me a lot about how this season was going to go."
The consistency continued throughout the season at various tracks. Amantea was most successful in wingless micro sprint competition at Hamlin Speedway in Hamlin, Pa. He picked up his first victory at the track on July 4 and three weeks later he earned another triumph for his first multiple-win season of his young career. He scored a third victory at the oval in late September.
"I kind of cut my teeth at Hamlin Speedway four years ago and it was pretty cool to get three wins there this year," he said. "With my ambitions and our plans as a team going forward, I don't know how many more races I'll do there so it's a fitting way to kind of close that chapter in my career full circle."
Along with the improved consistency, 2020 marked the embarkment of a career behind the wheel of a 360 sprint car. Amantea partnered with Burke Motorsports to drive the No. 54 sprint car. He made his winged debut with the United Racing Club in late June at Big Diamond Speedway in Minersville, Pa., where he finished 14th.
Amantea made a handful more starts with the division before turning his focus to wingless 360 racing with the Rapid Tire USAC East Coast division. He scored a top finish of fifth with the series at Bridgeport Speedway in Swedesboro, N.J., in late September and finished out the season with results of seventh and 11th during a doubleheader at Big Diamond Speedway in October.
"It was a really good opportunity to run with the Burke family and I'm appreciative of everything they did in helping me get my start," he said. "We intended to run for Rookie of the Year with the USAC East Coast division, but COVID-19 kind of put a damper on that.
"I think in total we got around 10 shows in the 360 division and in the limited time we were there we showed speed and promise each time out. My first real introduction to the division was at Big Diamond and to see how much better we were there at the end was pretty special."
Amantea and his family purchased the 360 sprint cars from the Burke family and re-numbered the car to their familiar No. 88j. They also added other cars and engines in anticipation for an all-out assault on the Rookie of the Year Award with the USAC East Coast series next season.
The team also plans to be regulars at Action Track USA in Kutztown, Pa., in the wingless micro sprint division as Amantea chases a track championship there as well.
"I've got ambitious goals for next year and I'm aiming for the Rookie of the Year Award and hopefully a top five in the points next year," he said. "This is the next step toward my ultimate goal of becoming a full-time 410 sprint car driver. I get to go to the race track weekly and live out my dream with my dad by my side and I can't wait to make more memories in 2021."
SEASON STATS –
63 races, 3 wins, 19 top fives, 38 top 10s, 45 top 15s, 49 top 20s
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 Nov 18, 2020
- Article Date: 11/18/2020 by Inside Line Promotions