(Photo by Hillbilly Gorilla Photography)
Inside Line Promotions – MARION, Ill. (June 22, 2021) – Frank Flud earned a pair of second-place finishes last weekend during the Engler Machine & Tool, Inc. Highbanks Hustle.
Flud set himself up to defend his event title in the outlaw winged micro sprint spectacle that featured nearly 100 drivers at Southern Illinois Raceway thanks to a strong preliminary night performance. Unfortunately, misfortune during the dash on Saturday hampered him during the finale.
“We set ourselves up in a good position, but I broke a chain in the dash running second,” he said. “I really felt like I could have won it. I was right on the leader when it happened. It was a brand new chain. It was just a fluke deal. When it breaks it tears up a bunch of other stuff so you’re not sure what went first.”
That relegated Flud to a sixth-place result, which lined him up on the outside of the third row for the main event.
“On the start I got bottled up and fell back to eighth,” he said. “I got back to sixth within a few laps. I passed a guy for fifth twice and each time a yellow came out. We finally got by him and did our best to work forward.
“The track was tough. Everybody running the same groove. My car didn’t come in until the last 10 laps. I was able to get into third and then took second. I wasn’t any faster than the leader, but I could have made it interesting with a late caution. If I had the second-place starting position I’d have had a hell of a lot better shot, but it wasn’t my year and didn’t play out like it needed to.”
Flud’s runner-up result was his 36th top five of the season.
He was also strong on Friday, winning both a heat race and a qualifier after lining up on the outside of the front row. That started him second in the feature and he maintained the runner-up position throughout the race to lock into Saturday’s dash.
“I felt like we had a car capable of winning on Friday night,” he said. “They reworked the track before the feature and it ended up taking rubber. It was right around the bottom. Everybody in the top five was playing it smart trying not to wreck each other because we knew we were locked in. I didn’t push the issue too much because I knew I was sitting solid for Saturday.”
Flud returns to action this Friday and Saturday at Port City Raceway in Tulsa, Okla., for the 10th annual Donnie Ray Crawford Memorial.
QUICK RESULTS –
June 18 – Southern Illinois Raceway in Marion, Ill. – Heat race: 1 (2); Qualifier: 1 (2); Feature: 2 (2).
June 19 – Southern Illinois Raceway in Marion, Ill. – Dash: 6 (2); Feature: 2 (6).
SEASON STATS –
48 races, 14 wins, 36 top fives, 40 top 10s, 45 top 15s, 47 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Friday and Saturday at Port City Raceway in Tulsa, Okla., for the 10th annual Donnie Ray Crawford Memorial
MEDIA LINKS –
Twitter: https://twitter.com/81racing
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/frankfludracing
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Engler Machine & Tool, Inc.
Established in 1980, Engler Machine & Tool, Inc., builds fuel injection systems, custom made pulling chassis, gears, shafts, specialty CNC products, racing engines and some custom machining. For more information, visit http://www.EnglerMachine.com.
“Tim Engler’s injection products and support are second to none,” Flud said. “Tim wants to make sure you understand his product and you are prepared. He goes above and beyond to help make sure you have everything you need.”
Flud would also like to thank Driven Midwest, Driven Performance, Harley Hollan Companies, Smith Titanium, Outlaw Wings, Disinger Racing Products, The Lumber Lounge & Garage, PureMax Racing Oil, Metric Cycles Racing Engines, Performance Electronics, LTD, Mychron-Tom, Schoenfeld Headers, Swindell Bleeders, TUHB, Impact RaceGear, Broken Arrow Powder Coating, Keizer Aluminum Wheels, Select Coatings, Klint Pursley Trucking, Walker Performance Filtration, Hoss Media, Fast Four Media and Velocita 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 22, 2021
- Article Date: 6/22/2021 by Inside Line Promotions