Inside Line Promotions
– KNOXVILLE, Iowa (June 6) – Jack Dover was a little unsure about what to expect from his first visit to Knoxville Raceway this season.
Two heat victories and a pair of top fives later, the 21-year-old from Springfield, Neb., is satisfied with his 2011 debut at the famed ½-mile dirt oval in Knoxville, Iowa.
“Anytime I race I’m expecting to win,” he said. “I wish we would have done better, but any night you can move forward is always a good night. And with a couple of top fives at Knoxville in my first time there in 10 months, I can’t complain too much.”
Dover finished third on Friday night and capped the weekend by driving from 11th to fifth in Saturday’s feature in what he assessed as the first test-and-tune for the Knoxville Nationals.
After charging from 18th to sixth last year and from 18th to seventh in 2009 at the prestigious 360 Knoxville Nationals, Dover said last weekend was the first of many trips to prepare for this year’s big event in August.
“We’re going to go back there quite a bit before Nationals,” he said. “The 360 Nationals has always been good for us.”
Friday looked to be good as well after a bit of luck started Dover on the front row of the feature. After qualifying 17th and winning his heat race, Dover started on the pole because of the invert.
“We were sitting on the front row with Brian Brown, who is hard to beat there,” said Dover, who dropped to fifth before a last-lap pass gave him third place. “I was expecting to get first or second, but any night you can get on the podium is a good night.”
Dover continued the momentum into Saturday by qualifying 12th and again winning his heat race. However, without an invert, he started 11th and the team decided to experiment in the feature.
“We put used tires on and tried a few things,” Dover said. “Some things hurt us and some helped. We learned a couple of things and ended up fifth.”
It was Dover’s ninth top-five finish in his last 10 races and it springboards him into this weekend’s ASCS National Tour Eagle Nationals at Eagle Raceway in Eagle, Neb., where Dover has won twice this season and was a contender at last year’s Eagle Nationals.
“Since it’s my home track and I did well there last year, I’m hoping to win both nights this year,” said Dover, who lives about a half hour away from the track.
For live updates of Dover and the rest of the Eagle Nationals, visit www.insidelinepromotions.com/liveupdates.
QUICK RESULTS –
June 3 – Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa – Qualifying: 17; Heat race: 1 (2); Feature: 3 (1).
June 4 – Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa – Qualifying: 12; Heat race: 1 (3); Feature: 5 (11).
SEASON STATS –
14 races, 3 wins, 10 top fives, 13 top 10s, 14 top 15s, 14 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Friday and Saturday at Eagle Raceway in Eagle, Neb., with the ASCS National Tour
FAVORITE NUMBER –
9: Top-five finishes for Dover in his last 10 races, including a trio of victories, two seconds, two thirds, a fourth and a fifth place.
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS –
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/JackDoverRacing
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/jackdoverracing
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Home Pride Companies, Inc.
Home Pride Companies, Inc., is a leader in vinyl siding, window replacement, roofing and guttering. Based in Omaha, Neb., Home Pride Companies, Inc., also specializes in storm damage repair and has served Nebraska and Iowa for more than 25 years. For more information, visit www.homepridecompanies.com.
“Luke Cochran has become a family friend the last few years and he’s been instrumental in keeping our program going in 2011,” Dover said. “He also has a great company, which we’ve seen first-hand when Home Pride Companies, Inc., roofed my parents house.”
Dover would also like to thank Thorpe’s Body Shop, Trail Performance Coatings, Inc., Certified Transmission, Shaver Engines, Eagle Motorsports, Inc., The Oil Medics and ButlerBuilt for their continued support.