Inside Line Promotions – JACKSON, Minn. (Aug. 22) – It was a frustrating lesson, but one that paid off in multitude.
Jack Dover mistimed his slide job entering turn three on the final lap of his B Main last Friday at Jackson Speedway in Jackson, Minn., with the ASCS National Tour at the 33rd annual Jackson Nationals.
The 21-year-old from Springfield, Neb., slid into the third and final transfer position only to have his momentum carry him up the track and allow Dover’s competitor to beat him to the checkered flag by a nose..
“I did the slide job too fast,” Dover said after failing to advance to the feature. “I should have done it slower. That way he would have been slowed too and I think I would have been able to hang on to that transfer.”
It didn’t take long for Dover to apply his new lesson. Starting last – ninth – in his heat race on Saturday at the Jackson Nationals finale, Dover knew passing would be at a premium.
“Before we went out for the heat race I looked at the score sheet and noticed I had to get third to get 116 points,” he said. “I knew I had a pretty good chance of getting into the redraw if I could pass six cars. I told myself I had to finish at least third.”
Dover capitalized on a solid start to pass three cars on the initial lap and he clicked off a couple more in the next handful of laps. He then passed Thomas Kennedy, the driver who claimed the final transfer position in the B Main on Friday night, in the waning laps to secure third.
Dover earned enough points to be one of two drivers to join Friday’s top-four finishers in the redraw, which determined the first three rows of the feature. In the random draw, which is done by a child from the stands, Dover got the No. 3 to start on the inside of the second row.
“I told myself a top five would be a good night because of our bad luck,” he said. “I would have liked to start on the outside because I would have had the momentum on the start.”
The outside lane got a better jump and Dover found himself in fifth on the first lap. He passed Brady Bacon for fourth and began to reel in third-place Johnny Herrera as the field was mired in lapped traffic with about 10 laps remaining. However, just as Dover made a move to the outside of Herrera for third place, the caution flag waved.
Veteran Jeff Swindell got underneath Dover on the restart and the duo worked on passing Herrera until they caught lapped traffic again in the closing laps. Dover had an opportunity on the high groove in turn one, but a lapped car slowed directly in front of him and Dover ended up settling for fifth place.
The Jackson Nationals were co-sanctioned by the ASCS Midwest Region, which Dover continues to lead. He holds a 367-point advantage with five races remaining.
Dover is scheduled to race at U.S. 36 Raceway in Cameron, Mo., with the ASCS Midwest and Warrior Regions on Friday. He finished second in both of his appearances at the high-banked, 3/8-mile dirt oval this season.
He will wrap up the weekend on Saturday at Lake Ozark Speedway in Eldon, Mo.
For live updates of Dover and the rest of his competitors at both races, visit www.insidelinepromotions.com throughout the weekend.
QUICK RESULTS –
Aug. 19 – Jackson Speedway in Jackson, Minn. – Heat race: 6 (6); B Main: 4 (6).
Aug. 20 – Jackson Speedway in Jackson, Minn. – Heat race: 3 (9); Feature: 5 (3).
SEASON STATS –
35 races, 31 features, 6 wins, 21 top fives, 26 top 10s, 27 top 15s, 28 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Friday at U.S. 36 Raceway in Cameron, Mo., with the ASCS Midwest and Warrior Regions, and Saturday at Lake Ozark Speedway in Eldon, Mo.
FAVORITE NUMBER –
6: Cars passed in the eight-lap heat race last Saturday at Jackson Speedway in Jackson, Minn., where Dover charged from ninth to third.
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
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“Certified Transmission did a great job in repairing the transmission in my truck, which runs better than ever now,” Dover said.
Dover would also like to thank Thorpe’s Body Shop, Trail Performance Coatings, Inc., Home Pride Companies, Inc., Shaver Engines, Eagle Motorsports, Inc., The Oil Medics 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 Aug 23, 2011
- Article Date: 8/22/2011 by Shawn Miller