Inside Line Promotions – LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (Oct. 31) – Shocks.
That was the simple answer to Jack Dover’s unusual lack of success last weekend at the 24th annual Short Track Nationals – an ASCS National Tour event at I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Ark.
“They were all the wrong length,” he said. “I ran three different shocks on each corner. You just can’t do that in a sprint car. That’s why I was kind of off on my qualifying night.”
Driving for Casey Minks and Robert Miller, Dover drove from seventh to fifth in his heat race during preliminary action on Friday at the high-banked, ¼-mile dirt oval. However, he slid from second to fourth in his qualifier, which relegated him to start third in a B Main.
The Springfield, Neb., resident fell to fourth in the consolation race and was unable to pick up one of the two transfer positions to the feature.
“I’d say the balance was off,” he said. “Being the driver, you’ve got to know what you’ve got underneath you. You don’t know how the car is going to react or anything and that hurts your confidence.”
Dover got a new set of shocks for Saturday, when points from his preliminary night forced him to start eighth in a C Main that transferred the top four to a B Main.
“I went up top for the first couple of laps and the car was too tight,” he said. “As soon as I went down to the bottom, there were two guys wrecking right in front of me. I had nowhere to go.”
Dover tried to split the two, but was sandwiched between the cars in a five-car pileup exiting turn four. The impact tipped his car onto its side.
“I got out right away and looked at the car,” he said. “All it tore up was right-side nerf bar and the front bumper.”
Dover restarted 10th and worked his way up to sixth before his right rear tire started going flat in the closing laps. He finished eighth.
“I think we honestly could have made it up to fourth to transfer to the B Main,” he said. “The car was real good. Then the tire started going down and it just got real tight. I started taking it real easy and tried to hold onto where I was.
“I just went there to have a good time and try my hardest. And that’s what we did. I had a fun weekend.”
Dover’s next race will be Nov. 11-12 at Southern New Mexico Speedway in Las Cruces, N.M., with the ASCS National Tour.
QUICK RESULTS –
Oct. 28 – I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Ark. – Heat race: 5 (7); Qualifier: 4 (2); B Main: 4 (3).
Oct. 29 – I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Ark. – C Main: 8 (8).
SEASON STATS –
49 races, 43 features, 9 wins, 32 top fives, 37 top 10s, 39 top 15s, 40 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Nov. 11-12 at Southern New Mexico Speedway in Las Cruces, N.M., with the ASCS National Tour
FAVORITE NUMBER –
2: Average feature result at Southern New Mexico Speedway in Las Cruces, N.M., last season when Dover had a win and a third-place finish.
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 – ButlerBuilt
Founded in 1985, ButlerBuilt manufactures custom seats for race car drivers, including some of the top sprint car drivers in the world. For more information, visit www.butlerbuilt.net.
“They built very good products and are thorough about following up on safety and ways to improve,” Dover said. “Every time I’ve been in a wreck, Jeannie Bulter calls and wants to see pictures to look at the impact.”
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 The Oil Medics 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 31, 2011
- Article Date: 10/31/2011 by Shawn Miller - Inside Line Promotions