(Photo by Tylan Porath Photography)
Inside Line Promotions – BRANDON, S.D. (June 8, 2021) – Tony Rustad gained more experience and is optimistic about his season moving forward as a 410ci winged sprint car rookie following competition at Huset’s Speedway Sunday night.
“I felt like we learned a lot Sunday night and we confirmed we have the speed,” said Rustad, who timed in 12th quickest of 19 cars and made the inversion for the lineup of his heat race. “Time trials was a huge relief. It was the first time I’ve really had the car up to full speed.
“To qualify within a tenth of a second of drivers like the McCarls and Justin Henderson shows we have the speed. I know it’s obvious that the track was ‘wide-open and turn left.’ The challenge will be driving it when it slicks off.”
Rustad welcomed a veteran driver and car owner to his crew this week and credited him with making big improvements to his performance during his first night with the new team.
“Doug Martens joined our crew and he already made a big difference our first night,” he said. “He gave me some great driving advice after hot laps that helped me do well in time trials. Doug has probably forgotten more about sprint car racing than I know. I’m looking forward to him helping us the rest of the year.”
Rustad started on the pole of his heat race and finished sixth.
“It was a little intimidating starting on the front row next to Austin (McCarl) with Shane Golobic in the second row,” he said. “But I just tried to focus on driving the track without regard to who I was racing with. I dropped back right away, but I started getting a little more comfortable toward the end. I had a fun race with Colin Smith in the final laps.”
Rustad lined up 16th for the night’s main event. His race ended early following his second unassisted caution. He was credited with an 18th-place result.
“The feature actually went pretty good,” he said. “I was feeling more comfortable as the race went on. I thought the track was great – near perfect – especially considering the hot and windy weather we had.
“I ran into trouble twice when I tried to enter turn one on the bottom. I didn’t slow down enough both times and missed the bottom and spun. The second time I gassed the car to keep it going so I wouldn’t cause a caution, but that shot me into the berm and tipped the car on its side, ending our night. I have to get better at that since I can’t gain any experience when I’m sitting in the infield.”
Rustad plans to return to Huset’s Speedway this Sunday.
QUICK RESULTS –
June 6 – Huset’s Speedway in Brandon, S.D. – Qualifying: 12; Heat race: 6 (1); Feature: 18 (19).
SEASON STATS –
3 races, 0 wins, 0 top fives, 0 top 10s, 0 top 15s, 1 top 20
UP NEXT –
Sunday at Huset’s Speedway in Brandon, S.D.
MEDIA LINKS –
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TonyRustad
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/2Xtreme-Racing-243238039097395
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“I’m a client of Christoffels Hair Restoration and I’m very pleased with what they’ve been able to do for me,” Rustad said. “After I did some commercials for them, I asked them if they’d be interested in cross-promoting by sponsoring my car and they agreed. I’m grateful for their support and I hope this develops into something beyond this year.”
Rustad would also like to thank Tim Rustad Construction, Olsen Electric, Bill Habben Construction, KISD 98.7 FM, Bang Energy Drink and The Barrel House 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 Jun 08, 2021
- Article Date: 6/8/2021 by Inside Line Promotions