Inside Line Promotions – ORANGEVILLE, Pa. (June 29, 2021) – Joey Amantea continued to prove to be a versatile driver as he competed in three different divisions of racing last week at three different tracks.
Amantea scored finishes of fifth and seventh in a wingless 600cc micro sprint, and 10th in a winged 360ci sprint car to go along with a disappointing DNF in a winged 600cc micro sprint after setting quick time in qualifying.
“Last week was interesting to say the least, but we had some decent runs and gained more experience,” he said. “Any time I get to race is a good feeling and we continue to move forward each time we hit the track.”
Amantea kicked off the four-race week with a wingless micro sprint start at Action Track USA in Kutztown, Pa., last Wednesday by finishing fifth in a heat race. He earned the 19th starting spot for the feature and powered forward a dozen positions in 25 laps to finish seventh for his ninth top-10 result of the season.
“We didn’t draw very well early in the night and from there it was all about passing cars,” he said. “We started deep in the field with a lot of good cars and we managed to move forward quite a bit for a good finish.”
Next up the Mt. Pocono, Pa., native changed gears and loaded up the trailer with his winged 360 sprint car to join the United Racing Club on Friday at Big Diamond Speedway in Minersville, Pa. Amantea showed speed early by running eighth quickest in hot laps. He then finished seventh in a heat race to earn the 15th starting spot in the A Main. Amantea got caught up in an incident during a feature that was littered with cautions, but still managed to gain five positions to finish 10th.
“I keep saying it, but I’ve still got so much to learn about this winged sprint car deal,” he said. “We battled motor issues throughout the night and it seemed everyone was wrecking. We got credited with 10th, but I don’t know how much of an achievement it really was considering the circumstances.”
Amantea closed out the weekend on Saturday by competing in both the winged and wingless micro sprint divisions during the Firecracker 500 at Greenwood Valley Action Tracks.
In wingless competition he charged forward four positions in a heat race to finish second behind the wheel of his family owned No. 88j. Amantea then lined up 10th for the feature event and on a track that proved tough to maneuver he advanced five positions to score his fifth top five of the season.
Earlier in the night Amantea secured a one-off ride aboard the No. 53 winged micro sprint and he made the opportunity count by setting quick time among 33 drivers with a lap of 10.605 seconds. That locked him directly into the A Main, where he’d start fourth courtesy of a redraw. However, the run was short-lived as Amantea was forced to pull off the track after only a handful of laps with mechanical problems.
“We originally planned to only run the wingless deal and at the last minute I secured a ride in the winged side of things,” he said. “I’ll be damned if we didn’t go out and set quick time, but unfortunately we only got one lap in before a clogged injector ruined our night.
“We went there with the intentions of fine-tuning our Outlaw motor car and ended up getting some extra racing in. So overall I’m happy with our run on both ends as it was just about learning as much as possible.”
Next on tap for Amantea will be a busy stretch of racing behind the wheel of a 360 sprint car. He’ll kick off the week on Wednesday with the United Racing Club winged 360 sprint cars at Port Royal Speedway in Port Royal, Pa., as part of the 31st annual Pennsylvania Speedweek race. He’ll then partake in four Rapid Tire USAC East Coast Sprint Cars events over the next six days during its Speedweek presented by Valley Forge Inc.
The series will take him to Orange County Fair Speedway in Middletown, N.Y., on Thursday; Big Diamond Speedway on Friday; New Egypt Speedway in New Egypt, N.J., on Saturday; and Action Track USA on July 7.
“I’ve been talking a lot about learning and growing and it’s about time that we start applying those things and getting some results on our end,” Amantea said. “I know I’m a rookie, but I feel like I can only lean on that word for so long. This is a great opportunity to do a lot of racing and continue to build our program and I'm excited to tackle all five races.”
QUICK RESULTS –
June 23 – Action Track USA in Kutztown, Pa. – Heat race: 5 (10); Feature: 7 (19).
June 25 – Big Diamond Speedway in Minersville, Pa. – Heat race: 7 (5); Feature: 10 (15).
June 26 – Greenwood Valley Action Track in Orangeville, Pa. (wingless micro sprint) – Heat race: 2 (6); Feature: 5 (10).
June 26 – Greenwood Valley Action Track in Orangeville, Pa. (winged micro sprint) – Qualifying: 1; Feature: DNF (4).
SEASON STATS –
22 races, 1 win, 5 top fives, 11 top 10s, 17 top 15s, 18 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Wednesday at Port Royal Speedway in Port Royal, Pa., with the United Racing Club; and Thursday at Orange County Fair Speedway in Middletown, N.Y.; Friday at Big Diamond Speedway in Minersville, Pa.; Saturday at New Egypt Speedway in New Egypt, N.J; and July 7 at Action Track USA in Kutztown, Pa., with the Rapid Tire USAC East Coast Sprint Cars
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.joeyamantearacing.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joeyamantearacing/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/joeyamantea88J
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Amantea Real Estate
Amantea Real Estate is a residential and commercial real estate company based in Mount Pocono, Pa. For more information, visit http://www.AmanteaRealEstate.com.
“I’m very happy to have an esteemed company like Amantea Real Estate back our team,” Amantea said. “I’m very grateful for their support and look forward to continued success together.”
Amantea would also like to thank JPA Masonry, Stinger Race Fuel Products, 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 Jun 29, 2021
- Article Date: 6/29/2021 by Inside Line Promotions