(Photo by Mike Knappenberger Photos)
Inside Line Promotions – SWEDESBORO, N.J. (May 5, 2021) – Joey Amantea highlighted three nights of wingless 600cc micro sprint racing competition last week with a seventh-place finish on Friday night at Linda’s Speedway in Jonestown, Pa.
Amantea also recorded a 14th-place result a week ago Wednesday at Shellhammer’s Speedway in Leesport, Pa., before a DNF at Spirit Auto Center Speedway on Sunday.
“Last week was not exactly a great week compared to how we’ve been running this year,” he said. “To race three times and only come away with one top 10 is disappointing, but we’ll keep at it and try again this week.”
Amantea kicked off the trio of races on Wednesday with his first trip of the season to Shellhammer’s Speedway. He advanced one position in a heat race to finish third. Amantea earned the eighth starting spot in the feature as a result. He was running comfortably inside the top 10 when he got caught up in an accident and had to tag the rear of the field. Amantea was able to rebound for a 14th-place finish, which was good enough for his fifth top-15 performance of the season.
“Shellhammer’s wasn’t too bad and we were running pretty well until we got in a wreck,” he said. “We worked ourselves back forward, which was nice, but overall we were better than the results.”
With high winds in the forecast, Amantea’s original plan of competing in his winged 360ci sprint car at Williams Grove Speedway in Mechanicsburg, Pa., on Friday was canceled so the team headed to Linda’s Speedway to try to defend his win from the previous week. His night started off well as Amantea won a heat race to lock himself into the A Main in the ninth starting position. On a track that proved tough to pass on, Amantea advanced two positions to finish seventh for his fifth top 10 of 2021.
“We came into Linda’s with high expectations and we started off good by winning our heat,” he said. “Their redraw rule puts the last week’s winner no better than ninth and with the track the way it was we just couldn’t really muster up too much to move forward.”
Amantea closed out the weekend on Sunday at Spirit Auto Center Speedway. He started off by finishing third in a heat race to lock himself directly into the feature. Amantea lined up 11th and had advanced to seventh when he got collected in an accident, which dropped him to 14th. He tried to mount a charge forward, but got into the infield wall on a restart and sustained damage that resulted in a DNF.
“We missed the redraw by one spot for the feature and that put us mid-pack trying to come forward,” he said. “We were moving forward pretty good and unfortunately just got caught up in someone else's deal. From there it went downhill and it wasn't a great ending to the week.”
Next up for Amantea will be a return behind the wheel of his wingless 360 sprint car with the Rapid Tire USAC East Coast Sprint Cars on Saturday at Delaware International Speedway in Delmar, Del. He’ll then close out the weekend on Sunday in wingless micro sprint competition at Action Track USA in Kutztown, Pa.
“We haven't been able to run the 360 sprint car for a couple of weeks now so I’m excited to get back behind the wheel and go racing,” he said. “It’s hard to gain momentum when you are starting and stopping so much, so hopefully we can pick up where we left off and have a good night.”
QUICK RESULTS –
April 28 – Shellhammer’s Speedway in Leesport, Pa. – Heat race: 3 (4); Feature: 14 (8).
April 30 – Linda’s Speedway in Jonestown, Pa. – Heat race: 1 (3); Feature: 7 (9).
May 2 – Spirit Auto Center Speedway in Swedesboro, N.J. – Heat race: 3 (3); Feature: 29 (11).
SEASON STATS –
9 races, 1 win, 3 top fives, 5 top 10s, 6 top 15s, 7 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Saturday at Delaware International Speedway in Delmar, Del., with the Rapid Tire USAC East Coast Sprint Cars and Sunday at Action Track USA in Kutztown, Pa.
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.joeyamantearacing.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joeyamantearacing/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/joeyamantea88J
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – JPA Masonry
JPA Masonry, which is located in Mt. Pocono, Pa., is a trusted and experienced masonry leader in the Poconos. Although established in 2001, contractor and owner, Joseph P. Amantea (JPA), has almost 20 years of experience in the masonry field, including custom stone and design. For more information, visit http://www.JPAMasonry.com.
“JPA Masonry drives our race team,” Amantea said. “Without their support I wouldn’t be able to race. I’m very appreciative of all they do for me.”
Amantea would also like to thank Stinger Race Fuel Products, Amantea Real Estate, 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 May 05, 2021
- Article Date: 5/5/2021 by Inside Line Promotions