By Kaleb Hart
Travis Rilat and Jayme Barnes won arguably the two biggest races in the Pacific Northwest late season, taking home the Fred Brownfield Memorial ASCS National race at Grays Harbor Raceway and the Jim Raper Memorial Dirt Cup at Skagit Speedway respectively. This week, the two Team XXX drivers led the Triple X Race Co charge to victory lane, scoring race wins in ASCS Sprint Bandit TNT competition and 410 action. Other race winners included Seth Hespe in his XXX Ford Focus Midget, Matt VanDerSys at Skagit Speedway, Kyle Miller at Cottage Grove Speedway and Landon Hurst at Lemoore Raceway.
Drivers using XXX chassis have been particularly successful in ASCS Sprint Bandit TNT action over the past three seasons, with Brady Bacon and Robert Ballou taking their XXX chassis to the top of the mountain six times over the past three years. On Friday night, it was Travis Rilat’s turn to shine as the Forney, TX native took his first TNT victory and first non-wing win in close to eight years at Devil’s Bowl Speedway in Mesquite. Rilat led all thirty laps of the feature event to score the $3,000 paycheck for car owner Richard Bell. Bacon made it a XXX 1-2 finish by bringing home second in the Mike & Megan Eubanks #99. XXX chassis occupy positions 2-4-5 and 8 in Sprint Bandit TNT points, with a month off coming before action resumes in Mid-June.
Jayme Barnes drove the LAW Motorsports #33 XXX back to victory lane at Skagit Speedway in Alger, WA. Barnes took to the lead on lap three of the twenty five lap tilt, and was gone from there, never seriously challenged for the rest of the race. The win was the first for Barnes since taking last year’s $25,000 to win Jim Raper Memorial Dirt Cup last June, and came after a motor swap during the off weeks. Whatever Barnes and the team changed worked, as they also set quick time on the night with their new Wesmar powerplant.
Defending Grays Harbor Raceway Ford Focus Midget champion Seth Hespe kick started his charge for back to back titles with a win in the first race of the year in his #92 XXX midget. After winning his heat race, Hespe took the lead in the A Feature on lap seven and quickly distanced himself from the field on his way to victory lane. Seth also won his heat race and qualified third fast. Good luck Seth, Brian and the rest of the crew on your pursuit of a second points title.
Matt VanDerSys won his first career Sportsman Sprint race at Skagit Speedway, piloting his #30 XXX to victory lane after a brutal battle. After leading the first 8 laps, VanDerSys was relegated to second as Michael Bollinger knifed underneath for the lead coming to lap nine. With VanDerSys dogging him, Bollinger would lead laps 9-18 until VanDerSys made a savvy move in traffic, pinning Bollinger behind lapped cars. A lap 19 red flag would result in a green white checkered restart, with VanDerSys bringing home the victory following the restart.
With a week off from his 360 schedule, Kyle Miller returned to his roots with a win in the Limited Sprint division at Cottage Grove Speedway in Oregon. After setting quick time, Miller would lead the first 16 laps of the main before sliding to second. Using traffic to his advantage, Miller would jump back into the lead and hang on to win his first race of the year in his XXX chassis. Triple X Chassis snagged another spot on the podium, with Heath Shelton grabbing third place.
Landon Hurst’s California tear continued this week with another win in the stock 600 class at Lemoore Raceway in California. Driving the Stonekerken Motorsports #179 XXX, Hurst won for the second time in 4 weeks, leading all 30 laps of the feature. Hurst’s second win of the season vaulted him to the points lead, riding a string of two wins and two runner up finishes over the past four races.
Triple X Race Co representatives will be visiting Pennsylvania this weekend to watch the World of Outlwas take on the PA Posse Thursday and Friday at Williams Grove Speedway, followed by a trip to Lincoln Speedway on Saturday. We’ll be in the Carnahan Motorsports #R19 pit and the Premier Auto Works #21 pit areas. Feel free to stop by and ask any questions you may have. You can also visit us online at www.xxxraceco.com or call us at 866.632.9925. Triple X Race Co – Race Inspired. Race Proven. Race XXX and Save!