Inside Line Promotions
LAS CRUCES, N.M. (Nov. 3, 2013) – The silver lining from last weekend was that Tony Bruce Jr. had a very fast race car.
Unfortunately, luck was missing and Bruce Jr. was forced to use a pair of provisionals to advance to the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour features on Friday at El Paso Speedway Park in El Paso, Texas, and on Saturday at Southern New Mexico Speedway.
“It sucks because we had to use two provisionals to get into the show,” he said. “That’s something that you never want to do. Overall, we had a fast race car when it came to the A Mains and that’s the positive of it.”
Bruce Jr. started on the third row of his heat race both nights on super-fast tracks that didn’t allow for much passing. That sent him to the B Main in each event and bad luck attached the team on both Friday and Saturday to force Bruce Jr. into two provisionals.
“Friday was one of those nights where in reality we got caught with a bad pill draw,” he said. “The track was really wet and really fast and really hard to pass on in the heat race. We went back out for the B Main and had a cylinder drop while we were lining up. I heard it as soon as the car fired off. It felt like a spark plug was broke or something. We pulled in and started changing motors.”
After finished seventh in his heat race and failing to finish the B Main, Bruce Jr. started 23rd in the main event at El Paso Speedway Park. With a fresh engine in for the 30-lap feature, Bruce Jr. worked his way into the top 10 in the final 10 laps.
“We got rolling really well,” he said. “We had a fuel line come loose. I was going to the work area to get the line tightened up. Unfortunately, it caught fire and we weren’t able to go back out. It was a pretty good fire, too. My arm was completely on fire. It seemed like everything that could go wrong did.”
Bruce Jr. was unable to finish and was credited with a 16th-place result.
Similar misfortune struck on Saturday at Southern New Mexico Speedway. Bruce Jr. finished where he started – sixth – in his heat race, which nearly began with him getting upside down.
“Saturday was more of the same stuff,” he said. “We started in the back of the heat and on the start I went in and got a little tight, biked up and flew off the race track. I had to restart again and whenever we did we just couldn’t get anything going in the heat.”
Bruce Jr. started sixth and was running fifth in the B Main, which transferred the top-six finishers to the back of the main event, when a parts failure dramatically changed the handling of the race car.
“The wing slider broke so the wing went all the way to the back of the car,” he said. “I got super tight and I couldn’t roll the corner and fell out of a transfer spot.”
Bruce Jr. placed seventh to miss a transfer by one position. After electing to take another provisional, Bruce Jr. again lined up on the inside of the 12 th row for the main event.
“Once the track widened out we were able to pass people and show we were capable of running up front,” he said. “It kinda got to where you had to run the bottom in (turns) one and two. In (turns) three and four I was going in really high in (turn) three and cutting out of the bottom in (turn) four. It worked out well to pass cars that way because it put us in the right position going into turn one.”
Bruce Jr. advanced into the top 10 by the midpoint and he maneuvered to a sixth-place result, which earned him the Hard Charger Award for passing the most cars.
He enters the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour season finale – Friday and Saturday at Cocopah Speedway in Somerton, Ariz., for Rounds 3 and 4 of the Cocopah Cup Challenge – fifth in the championship standings. Bruce Jr. is 30 points out of fourth place and 97 points out of third place in the standings.
“Anything can happen,” he said. “We had an extremely fast car, but just no luck to go along with it last weekend. It can happen to anybody else. It’s definitely within striking distance.”
QUICK RESULTS –
Nov. 1 – El Paso Speedway Park in El Paso, Texas – Heat race: 7 (5); B Main: 16 (12); Feature: 16 (23).
Nov. 2 – Southern New Mexico Speedway in Las Cruces, N.M. – Heat race: 6 (6); B Main: 7 (6); Feature: 6 (23).
SEASON STATS –
61 races, 4 wins, 23 top fives, 39 top 10s, 50 top 15s, 55 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Friday and Saturday at Cocopah Speedway in Somerton, Ariz., with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour for Rounds 3 and 4 of the Cocopah Cup Challenge
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.tonybrucejr.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/
VIDEO –
Here is a link for RacinBoys’ footage of Bruce Jr.’s victory at Boyd Raceway on April 26: http://www.youtube.com/watch?
APPAREL –
Bruce Jr. has black and white t-shirts in adult sizes for sale at his race trailer at each of his races. For his schedule, visit http://www.TonyBruceJr.com/
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Wheeler Metals
Established in 1968, Wheeler Metals is a sheet metal business that offers a variety of products for professional and amateur builders. Wheeler Metals has three locations in Muskogee, Okla., Rogers, Ark., and Springfield, Mo. For more information, visit http://www.WheelerMetals.com.
“When I moved to the Tulsa area a few years back we built a brand new shop,” Bruce Jr. said. “We always strive as a race team to find the best products for the situation and that was no different selecting the company to build our building. Wheeler Metals was the perfect fit for our needs. From 10×10 pole barns to 100×100 full metal buildings, they have it all. I challenge anyone to find a building company that will work the customers’ need like they do.”
Bruce Jr. would also like to thank Lubbock Wrecker Service, The Oil Medics, Briley Trucking, Hinchman Racewear, Eagle Motorsports, Smiley’s Racing Products, Moss Racing Engines, SWE, Maxwell Industries, FK Rod Ends, ButlerBuilt Professional Seat Systems, Factory Kahne Shocks, DriverWebsites.com, RacinBoys.com, Wilwood, Schoenfield Headers, Hoosier Tires, HRP, Kaeding Performance, Schaeffer Oil, Fuel Safe, Bell Helmets, Four Seasons Radiator, Southern Trailer Works, KSE, Brown and Miller Racing Solutions, Weld Wheels, ISC Racers Tape and Pressure Tek for their continued support.