Inside Line Promotions – FINDLAY, Ohio (July 7, 2015) – Ryan Smith returned to Victory Lane last weekend during a solid tripleheader with the UNOH All Star Circuit of Champions.
Smith captured a trio of top-10 finishes, including his second career victory with the series, to advance to eighth in the championship standings.
“Definitely building a new car during Ohio Speedweek was the right move,” he said. “Plus I’m working really well with my crew chief, Jeremy. It was a really good feeling to be out front again.”
Smith kicked off last weekend on Friday at Mercer Raceway Park in Mercer, Pa., where he qualified 10th quickest and fifth in his group.
“We just didn’t time good enough and I missed the invert so I had to start fifth in a heat race,” he said. “I picked up a spot and finished fourth to lock into the feature. We were decent in the feature. I wasn’t going to win the race, but we made gains. We got better every time we were on the race track.”
Smith advanced from his 14th starting position to an eighth-place result, which provided needed momentum entering Saturday’s All Star event at Mercer Raceway Park.
Smith timed in fifth quickest during qualifying and fourth in his group to garner the pole of a heat race. He finished second to lock himself into the dash, which is when everything clicked.
“We tried something for the dash and really found something with the car setup and handling,” he said. “We tried something off the wall and it worked.”
Smith placed third in the dash to start the feature on the inside of the second row.
“My goal was to beat (fourth starting) Dale Blaney into turn one and we did,” he said. “I figured the top would be the place to be. My goal was to clear him and get to the top. With the fuel load in the car I couldn’t. Once I saw Parker Price-Miller drive by Lee Jacobs to the lead I moved up. I drove by Jacobs for second and I was running a line in turns one and two that Parker wasn’t running and I was quicker than he was. I was going to beat him in lapped traffic, but the yellow came out. About three or four laps later I drove by him. I could run anywhere.”
Smith took the lead on Lap 15 and he cruised to the victory.
The weekend concluded on Sunday at Millstream Speedway, where Smith made his debut by qualifying fifth quickest and third in his group. He started a heat race on the outside of the front row, but a broken shock dropped him to a third-place result.
“We timed pretty good and was going to run second in the heat race, but I broke a shock off on Lap 2,” he said. “The car was a handful. The track was pretty heavy. That kind of hurt us because we were going to try something in the dash. Then we were too tight in the feature.”
Smith fought a challenging race car during the main event, when he finished where he started – 10th. It was his 12th top 10 of the season.
He is slated to compete with the All Stars this Saturday at Sharon Speedway in Hartford, Ohio, for the $10,000-to-win Lou Blaney Memorial.
QUICK RESULTS –
July 3 – Mercer Raceway Park in Mercer, Pa. – Qualifying: 10; Heat race: 4 (5); Feature: 8 (14).
July 4 – Mercer Raceway Park in Mercer, Pa. – Qualifying: 5; Heat race: 2 (1); Dash: 3 (4); Feature: 1 (3).
July 5 – Millstream Speedway in Findlay, Ohio – Qualifying: 5; Heat race: 3 (2); Feature: 10 (10).
SEASON STATS –
35 races, 2 wins, 7 top fives, 12 top 10s, 18 top 15s, 25 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Saturday at Sharon Speedway in Hartford, Ohio, for the Lou Blaney Memorial with the UNOH All Star Circuit of Champions
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.RyanSmithRacing.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RyanSmithRacing
Twitter Race Updates: https://twitter.com/DeniseS_SS
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RyanSmith.TheKunkletownKid
Instagram: https://instagram.com/denises_ss
VIDEO –
Here is a link to Smith’s first career All Star Circuit of Champions victory on April 4 at Attica Raceway Park: https://youtu.be/nBIxI_tNFyc
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – S&S Speedways
S&S Speedways is a family owned and operated fun center located in Stroudsburg, Pa. For the novice to the racing enthusiast, S&S Speedways showcases an indoor track that assimilates dirt racing with side-by-side action generating lots of smiles. S&S is open 7 days a week offering public racing and private parties by reservation. The lobby offers full track viewing to watch the racing plus video games, a snack bar, pool table and S&S merchandise is available. For more information, visit http://www.SSSpeedways.com.
“It’s the best indoor slick track for go-karts in Eastern Pennsylvania,” Smith said. “It really simulates dirt track racing. It’s a fun place for a family to have a great time out.”
Smith would also like to thank Warko Group, Quality Roofing Supply, G.L.T. Electrical, CnB Chubby, Fighting Angels Foundation, Armbruster Racing Photos, Thunder on the Hill Racing Series, HP Engines, Pancho’s Racing Products, GME Steering and Vahlco Racing Wheels 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.