Meredith Kaplan Burns
Brownsburg, Indiana (June 30, 2011) — New London, Ohio, native Ross Rankine continues to excel at the weekly USAC Midwest Ford Focus Midget events at the Bryant Heating & Cooling Indianapolis Speedrome as he captured another second place finish in the 50-lap main event on Wednesday evening, June 29, at the famed 1/5-mile paved oval.
Ross started the evening in the #9 Ford Focus Midget of Nine Racing with a third-place finish in his 10-lap heat race. Because Ross is leading in the USAC Midwest Ford Focus Championship points, he was slotted to start 6th (outside the third row) in the 50-lap feature. As Ross has done in previous Ford Focus events at the Speedrome, he immediately began passing cars on the tight, tricky, flat paved oval and finished a close second behind winner James Robertson.
“Glenn Martin, Krieg Poland and Billy Wease gave me a great car tonight,” said Ross Rankine, adding, “it was fun to race out there. I tried for the win but could not get a good run to get by James Robertson, so running second again was great for the points but I am working hard for a win.”
Ross has extended his lead in the USAC Midwest Ford Focus points standings to 73. Ross and the Nine Racing team will next travel to Morris, Illinois, to race at Grundy County Speedway on Saturday night, July 2.
Nine Racing’s 2011 sponsor lineup includes K&N Engineering, Eibach Springs, Weld Racing, Klotz Synthetic Lubricants, Penske Racing Shocks, Performance Friction Brakes, ASE, Earl’s Performance Plumbing, SSi Decals, PJ1, and Hoosier Racing Tire.