Inside Line Promotions
BELLEVILLE, Ill. (Oct. 1, 2013) – Andrew Felker overcame an electrical issue and passed 26 cars in the main events to record his 18th top five of the season last Saturday.
After advancing from sixth to fourth place early in his heat race during the POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget Series race at Belle-Clair Speedway, his engine cut out.
“I had a wire break in half on the ignition,” he said. “I think we’d been battling with that the last couple of weekends.”
Felker went to the pits with a last-place finish, which relegated him to the back of the B Main. However, after starting 14th in the consolation, Felker rallied to pick up the runner-up position and transfer to the rear of the feature.
“The first couple of laps I played it patient getting through the squirrels,” he said of the B Main. “I got up top and worked our way up to second.”
He used a similar strategy for the main event, which almost turned disastrous in the opening laps.
“I played it patient the first couple of laps,” he said. “They had a big pileup in (turns) one and two. I was in the middle of a three wide and somehow made it through it. We got pinched between everyone. We had the belly pan up in the air and I thought we were going over. The back end was in the air, too. Somehow it landed and kept it fired.”
Felker survived the melee and rallied toward a podium finish.
“I ended up third at the line, but someone did a 360 (spin) and when someone does a 360, POWRi does a rule that they throw a yellow. (Zach) Daum had already crossed the line. Everybody else got scored the lap before.”
That credited Felker with a fourth-place result.
He is set to compete Thursday through Saturday at Tri-City Speedway in Pontoon Beach, Ill., for the Gold Crown Midget Nationals with the POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget Series and the Honda USAC National Dirt Midget Series. The preliminary nights both pay $3,000 to win with the finale at $10,000 to win on Saturday.
“I haven’t had any good finishes there lately,” Felker said. “With the money on the line and points how they are, I will go out and try to win at all costs.”
QUICK RESULTS –
Sept. 28 – Belle-Clair Speedway in Belleville, Ill. – Heat race: 8 (6); B Main: 2 (14); Feature: 4 (18).
SEASON STATS –
43 races, 1 win, 18 top fives, 32 top 10s, 38 top 15s, 41 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Thursday through Saturday at Tri-City Speedway in Pontoon Beach, Ill., for the Gold Crown Midget Nationals with the POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget Series and the Honda USAC National Dirt Midget Series
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.AndrewFelkerRacing.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/
VIDEO –
Here is a link to XSANTV’s in-car footage of Felker finishing second at Jacksonville Speedway in Jacksonville, Ill., on April 26: http://youtu.be/tSwLTs5L1Zk
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – CSI Shocks
Located in Brownsburg, Ind., CSI Shocks, a.k.a. Competition Suspension, is a leader in the shock industry within short-track racing. Since its inception in 2009, drivers using CSI Shocks have won more than 500 races. For more information, visit http://www.CSIshocks.com.
“Since we’ve gone to the CSI Shocks program it has stepped things up with our program,” Felker said. “Since they came out with the RS-X2 this year, it’s been a key to our success all year.”
Felker would also like to thank Auto Xpress, 66 Truck & Foreign Salvage, Fontana Automotive, MelMark Pipe & Supply, Schluckebier Farms, Pro Powder Coating, All-Pro Auto Interiors, Aggressive Graphics, Momo’s Racing Engines, KBR Performance, Weld Wheels, KMK Enterprises, Heath II, Wilwood, Maxim Racewear and Leading Edge Composites for their continued support.