Inside Line Promotions – MESQUITE, Texas (Oct. 24) – Jack Dover summarized his weekend as good. Not great and not bad, simply good.
“For the way the track was both nights, it was a good weekend,” the 21-year-old Springfield, Neb., native said. “We didn’t wreck anything and we were consistent.”
The defending Devil’s Bowl Winter Nationals champion entered the 38th annual Winter Nationals last weekend at Devil’s Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, Texas, with much anticipation. However, starting in the back on a hooked-up track got him off to a rough start at the ASCS National Tour event on Friday.
Dover, who was slated to start eighth, moved up to sixth when a car dropped out in front of his row for the eight-lap heat race. He finished fourth, which put him on the pole of a stacked B Main.
“I knew I was in trouble when I was in staging,” he said. “I could see we had the wrong setup from what the fast cars in the previous B Main had.”
On the start of his B Main, Dover got beat into turn one by veteran Gary Wright and he slid up the track in turn two, losing two more positions. From there, the drivers raced like a game of follow the leader the ensuing 12 laps. Dover finished two spots out of a transfer to the feature.
“There was nothing for me to grab on the start,” he said. “Gary got the jump on me. I got behind him and got in dirty air. I was already tight enough and the dirty air made it worse.”
That snapped a string of 11 top-six finishes in the past 12 races for Dover and it was only the fourth time all season he failed to advance to the main event.
Things improved on Saturday when Dover started on the pole and won his heat race after pulling the No. 3 in the pill draw.
“I knew starting on the pole and winning would get us in the A Main for sure,” he said. “I knew we were good there. It was hard deciding what to do for the feature though because it looked like the track was taking rubber. I talked to some guys who were in the B Mains and they said it was alright out there.”
Dover, who started 12th in the 30-lap feature, quickly advanced into the top 10. He was in seventh place by lap three. However, the track began to take rubber on the bottom and passing was at a premium. Dover was on the bumper of sixth-running Brian Brown for the final 20 laps, but was unable to find an opening in the rubber.
Dover placed seventh, which was his 37th top 10 of the season.
He will be racing for Casey Minks and Robert Miller this weekend at the 24th annual Short Track Nationals at I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Ark. The ASCS National Tour event, which runs Thursday through Saturday, pays $15,000 to win and $2,400 to start.
“I’m excited to race for Casey and Robert at such a prestigious event,” he said. “They told me they were all about having fun, so hopefully we can do that and have a little success as well.”
For live updates of Dover and the competition throughout the weekend, visit www.insidelinepromotions.com.
QUICK RESULTS –
Oct. 21 – Devil’s Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, Texas – Heat race: 4 (6); B Main: 4 (1).
Oct. 22 – Devil’s Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, Texas – Heat race: 1 (1); Feature: 7 (12).
SEASON STATS –
47 races, 43 features, 9 wins, 32 top fives, 37 top 10s, 39 top 15s, 40 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Thursday through Saturday at I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Ark., for the 24th annual Short Track Nationals with the ASCS National Tour
FAVORITE NUMBER –
16: Finish in lone Short Track Nationals feature in 2009.
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.jackdoverracing.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/JackDoverRacing
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/jackdoverracing
ON THE AIR –
Dover was a featured guest on the ASCS Show with Racinboys on Sept. 6 after winning the LOS 360 Nationals. His segment starts around the 3:30 mark into the episode.
http://www.meridix.com/mbp/general/index.php?liveid=Racinboys&recordid=20826
He was also on the ASCS Show with Racinboys on Aug. 30. His interview starts approximately four minutes into the show.
http://www.meridix.com/mbp/general/index.php?liveid=Racinboys&recordid=20614
He was also on the ASCS Show with Racinboys on June 14 after his win at the Eagle Nationals. His interview begins around 18:40.
http://www.meridix.com/mbp/general/index.php?liveid=Racinboys&recordid=19427
Dover’s first interview of the season on the ASCS Show with Racinboys was on June 7. Check out the link below for his interview, which begins around the 6:50 mark.
http://www.meridix.com/mbp/general/index.php?liveid=Racinboys&recordid=19351
Here’s a link to some on-board video of Dover winning his heat race at Knoxville Raceway on June 4:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWFqplMGokk&feature=channel_video_title
Check out this video of Dover’s feature win and heat race victory at U.S. 36 Raceway in Osborn, Mo., on Aug. 26:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaDEszvNAtM
Here is an interview with Dover after he won the LOS 360 Nationals at Lake Ozark Speedway in Eldon, Mo., on Sept. 4:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tJbn2gfsWM
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – The Oil Medics
Located in Fort Worth, Texas, The Oil Medics services diesel trucks and distributes racing oil for sprint car engines and rear ends. For more information, visit www.theoilmedics.com.
“It’s one of the best oils out there,” Dover said. “It’s really durable, you don’t have to switch it every other race and it still holds up just as good.”
Dover would also like to thank Thorpe’s Body Shop, Trail Performance Coatings, Inc., Home Pride Companies, Inc., Certified Transmission, Shaver Engines, Eagle Motorsports, Inc., and ButlerBuilt for their continued support.
INSIDE LINE PROMOTIONS –
Inside Line Promotions specializes in affordable public relations, media management and merchandising services for sprint car teams. ILP Founder Shawn Miller leverages professional journalism with new media technologies and social networking to improve your exposure and your sponsors’ return on investment.
To meet the media relations needs of your team, contact Shawn at 541-510-3663 or sprintcarreporter@yahoo.com. For more information on Inside Line Promotions, visit www.insidelinepromotions.com.
- Shawn Miller on Oct 24, 2011
- Article Date: 10/24/2011 by Shawn Miller - Inside Line Promotions