By Inside Line Promotions
โ LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (June 6) โ At this point, itโs just about getting more laps.
Despite a bout of tough luck and high pill draws, Tony Bruce Jr. has started to turn around his rough start to the season and a pair of good finishes last weekend have sparked some momentum.
โWe finally got to complete some laps,โ he said. โI think thatโs what weโre lacking now. Everyone else is getting to unload and get laps at every race, while Iโve had a ton of issues that have kept me off the track.โ
The Liberal, Kan., native finished seventh driving for Clifford Young last Thursday at Beebe Speedway in Beebe, Ark., with the USCS.
The highlight of the night was the heat race, when Bruce Jr. rocketed from eighth to finish third. That gave him the most points, which should have lined him up on the pole of the feature. However, the redraw โ which originally was zero โ was redrawn and the No. 8 was pulled, which started Bruce Jr. on the outside of the fourth row. That didnโt bode well as the track was one groove on the top.
โBasically, if you were going to pass someone, you were going to have to dirty them up,โ he said. โSomeone was going to have to give if you were going to make a pass.
โBut it was a pretty good night. Clifford and Don Young had the car working well and it was nice to finally get some laps this season.โ
Bruce Jr. took that momentum into Saturdayโs ASCS National Tour race at I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Ark., where he finished 11th.
โI think our A Main run should have been better,โ he said. โWeโve got the engine situated and itโs good. Now weโre getting more laps with the new car and figuring it out.โ
This weekend is the next test for Bruce Jr., whose business โ TBJ Promotions โ is putting on the Eagle Nationals featuring the ASCS National Tour at Eagle Raceway in Eagle, Neb., on Friday and Saturday.
He finished sixth and seventh at the Eagle Nationals last year.
โEagle is a track that weโve won at before and usually have some success,โ Bruce Jr. said. โWeโre really looking forward to going back to that high-banked one-third mile.โ
QUICK RESULTS โ
June 2 โ Beebe Speedway in Beebe, Ark. โ Heat race: 3 (8); Feature: 7 (8).
June 4 โ I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Ark. โ Heat race: 4 (6); Feature: 11 (12).
SEASON STATS โ
19 races, 16 features, 0 wins, 2 top fives, 6 top 10s, 11 top 15s, 16 top 20s
UP NEXT โ
Friday and Saturday at Eagle Raceway in Eagle, Neb., with the ASCS National Tour
FAVORITE NUMBER โ
5: Cars passed by Bruce Jr. in his heat race last Thursday at Beebe Speedway in Beebe, Ark., which gave him the most points of any driver.
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS โ
Website: www.tonybrucejr.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/tonybrucejr
ON THE AIR โ
Bruce Jr. was a featured guest on the ASCS Show by Racinboys on May 24. Check out the link below for his interview, which starts at approximately 44:20 into the show.
http://www.meridix.com/mbp/general/index.php?liveid=Racinboys&recordid=19159
He was also on the April 26 edition. Click on the link below to list to Bruce Jr.โs interview, which begins around the 52:25 mark.
http://www.meridix.com/mbp/general/index.php?liveid=Racinboys&recordid=18733
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT โ TBJ Promotions
TBJ Promotions is a full-service promotional company with an emphasis on sprint car racing. Owned and operated by Tony Bruce Jr. and Jesse Douglas, TBJ Promotions runs the Rock-N-Roll 50 at Riverside International Speedway in West Memphis, Ark. (May 7), the Steve King Memorial at Jetmore Motorplex in Jetmore, Kan. (May 28-29) and the Eagle Nationals at Eagle Raceway in Eagle, Neb. (June 10-11). For more information, visit www.tbjpromotions.com.
โWe know what to do and know how to do the right thing in racing,โ Bruce Jr. said. โIโve lived the promotional side and the racing side. Iโm out to win for the competitors and Iโm out to win for the fans.โ
Bruce Jr. would like to thank his sponsors, including The Oil Medics, Travelwizer.com, Ticketmob.com, LRB Manufacturing, Hoosier and Smileyโs Racing Products for their continued support.