(Photo by Paul Arch)
Inside Line Promotions – KNOXVILLE, Iowa (Aug. 10, 2021) – Greg Wilson is as confident rolling into a Knoxville Nationals as he has been in years.
Wilson, who partnered with Seeling Motorsports earlier this summer, made progress at Knoxville Raceway last weekend during the 31st annual My Place Hotels 360 Knoxville Nationals presented by Great Southern Bank.
“I’m honestly pretty happy with the speed,” he said. “I’ve never been all that great at Knoxville. I’m happy with where we are at going into the (410) Nationals.”
The Hercules Tires, Ohio Logistics and DNC Hydraulics backed driver qualified 10th quickest to open his preliminary night last Friday. However, a fifth-place finish in both a heat race and the B Main missed locking into the main event by only one position each time.
“The one thing that I felt like we left there with was that we timed good on our preliminary night and we raced good in our heat race,” he said. “If the start would have played out in our favor, which that’s racing, we’d have been in great shape. The first start we rolled out of the first corner and we’re running third, but they called it back. The next start we got balled up and it cost us. You need to have a little luck and some things go your way in events like that.”
Wilson started 20th in the B Main on Saturday and rallied for a 12th-place result. Although the end result of each night isn’t what Wilson was aiming for, his confidence level took a step forward thanks to how comfortable he was inside the race car.
“We passed a few cars and had a little luck,” he said. “We got to around the top 10. I moved around on the track and gave a couple of spots away at the end. It was probably good that I did that because it helped me as a driver figure out turns one and two better. It helped Andy (Potter) gauge where we are at with the race car better, too. I could have rode around on the bottom and ran 10th, but that wasn’t going to transfer us either.”
Next up is another marquee event at Knoxville Raceway this week with the NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey’s General Stores. Wilson’s preliminary night is Thursday.
“Pill draw is so critical,” he said. “You need that to go right once you walk through the gate. At least I’ll know what to expect and I feel like I can make some smooth laps from the get-go. There’s a couple of places in the country that are pretty unique. Knoxville is one of the places where once the track starts to go away and loses grip it becomes a tricky place to drive. A lot of guys who run here a lot get the knack of it and put themselves in position. A lot of times we’ll get here and get hot laps and then run the two most important qualifying laps of the year. I’m hoping that by running the 360 Nationals last weekend it helps that part out.”
QUICK RESULTS –
Aug. 6 – Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa – Qualifying: 10; Heat race: 5 (5); B Main: 5 (5).
Aug. 7 – Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa – B Main: 12 (20).
SEASON STATS –
54 races, 1 win, 9 top fives, 19 top 10s, 23 top 15s, 31 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Thursday through Saturday at Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa, for the NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey’s General Stores
UPCOMING HERCULES TIRES DEALERSHIP VISITS –
TBD
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.GregWilsonRacing.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/GregWilsonw20
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GregWilsonRacing
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Magtech Ignition and Simpson Race Products
Magtech Ignition provides repair and upgrade services for all ignition needs. For more information, visit http://www.MagtechIgnition.com.
Simpson Race Products is an American motor sports parts business that supplies gloves, helmets, harness systems, driver’s suits, head restraints, shoes and more ranging from racers at local tracks to international teams. For more information, visit http://www.SimpsonRaceProducts.com.
“Ed Starr of Magtech has become a good friend whom I met through Danny Smith several years ago,” Wilson said. “He’s taken care of our ignition stuff since then and we appreciate his support.
“Simpson Race Products has helped me for more than 20 years. I use their helmets, suits, shoes, gloves. I am always thankful to have them involved after being involved in a crash.”
Wilson would also like to thank Hercules Tires, Ohio Logistics, DNC Hydraulics, Gear Off Road, Lubbock Wrecker Service, Kinsler Fuel Injection, All Pro Cylinder, Banshee Graphics, Hepfner Racing Products, Nagy Equipment Sales, Winters Performance, Real Capz, Mark Wolford Garage, Burns Petroleum, Inter-State Truck Repair, ATL Fuel Cells, Sandridge Customs, Cooper Custom Powder and Benson Marketing 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 Aug 10, 2021
- Article Date: 8/10/2021 by Inside Line Promotions