Inside Line Promotions – SEDALIA, Mo. (Aug. 23) – Nineteen.
That’s the number of cars Tony Bruce Jr. passed in his three features last weekend on a trio of ½-mile tracks.
“Every single A Main we were in this weekend we went forward and that’s about the only thing you can hope for,” he said. “Hopefully one of these days we’ll start up front in the A Main.”
Bruce Jr. started the weekend last Friday with the ASCS National Tour at the 33rd annual Jackson Nationals at Jackson Speedway in Jackson, Minn. He started on the pole of his heat race, which he led for six laps before Brady Bacon was able to slide by with two circuits remaining.
The Liberal, Kan., native finished second in the heat race, which gave him the 11th-most points. Had he ended up winning that heat, Bruce Jr. would have been in the redraw and started somewhere in the top eight positions. That proved to be more important than ever as the track was rubbered down before the feature.
“It was rubber down from the word, ‘Go,’” he said. “It was get in line, follow the guy in front of you and hope that he messes up.”
Bruce Jr. drove from 11th to eighth on the less than racy track, which was his third top 10 with the ASCS National Tour this season.
He was so frustrated by the track on Friday that he worked with the officials on Saturday at Jackson Speedway, even hopping into the water truck. The big, semi-banked oval responded to a much wider surface, which Bruce Jr. needed after drawing the 70th pill out of 72.
He started last – ninth – during his eight-lap heat race. He passed a car in each of the first four laps.
“We really needed a caution,” Bruce Jr. said. “Starting that far back in a heat race on a ½ mile, we needed a caution to help us out and get everyone bunched up. Other than not having a caution, I felt like the car rolled around really well.”
Bruce Jr. placed fifth, which started him on the pole of a B Main. He then finished second to garner a transfer to the main event, which he began 19th.
“The top was probably the fast way around the track,” he said. “They say you’ve got to go where everyone else isn’t. We were able to go in there, stick the car on the bottom and drive around people.”
After a slow start, when he fell back to 22nd on the opening lap, Bruce Jr. rallied to finish 12th and move within 17 points of eighth place with the ASCS National Tour standings.
He wrapped up the weekend on Sunday at the Missouri State Fair Speedway in Sedalia, Mo., with the ASCS Warrior Region.
After finishing third in his heat race, Bruce Jr. charged from the 13th starting position to record a fourth-place finish.
“The car was really hooked up and basically I could go anywhere and everywhere that I wanted,” he said after his fifth top five of the season. “We were able to stick the bottom and go forward.”
Bruce Jr. will race for Clifford and Don Young three out of the next four weekends, including this Saturday at I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Ark.
QUICK RESULTS –
Aug. 19 – Jackson Speedway in Jackson, Minn. – Heat race: 2 (1); Feature: 8 (11).
Aug. 20 – Jackson Speedway in Jackson, Minn. – Heat race: 5 (9); B Main: 2 (1); Feature: 12 (19).
Aug. 21 – Missouri State Fair Speedway in Sedalia, Mo. – Heat race: 3 (2); Feature: 4 (13).
SEASON STATS –
38 races, 32 features, 1 win, 5 top fives, 15 top 10s, 23 top 15s, 30 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Saturday at I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Ark., with the ASCS Sooner Region
FAVORITE NUMBER –
1,672: ASCS National Tour points, which ranks ninth best and only 17 points out of eighth.
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS –
Website: www.tonybrucejr.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/tonybrucejr
ON THE AIR –
Bruce Jr. was a featured guest on the ASCS Show by Racinboys on May 24. Check out the link below for his interview, which starts at approximately 44:20 into the show.
http://www.meridix.com/mbp/general/index.php?liveid=Racinboys&recordid=19159
He was also on the April 26 edition. Click on the link below to listen to Bruce Jr.’s interview, which begins around the 52:25 mark.
http://www.meridix.com/mbp/general/index.php?liveid=Racinboys&recordid=18733
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Travelwizer.com
Travelwizer.com was established in 2010 as a full-service destination for various travel-related needs. Travelwizer.com is a one-stop website to book everything from a hotel to an entire vacation package. For more information, visit www.travelwizer.com.
“You can purchase entire vacation packages, from the flight, hotel, rental cars, cruises to the entire package,” Bruce Jr. said. “Travelwizer.com is the wizer way to travel.”
Bruce Jr. would like to thank his sponsors, including The Oil Medics, TBJ Promotions, Ticketmob.com, LRB Manufacturing, Hoosier and Smiley’s Racing Products 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.
- administrator on Aug 23, 2011
- Article Date: 8/23/2011