Inside Line Promotions
– WHEATLAND, Mo. (June 22, 2014) – The mindset has changed for Tony Bruce Jr.
“The way we’re looking at it is that we know we’re out of the points deal so we’re going for wins,” he said. “If we have as many DNFS as wins, as long as that number is close to 10 I’ll be happy.”
Bruce Jr. was victorious in impressive fashion last Friday at Outlaw Motorsports Park in Wainwright, Okla., where he charged from 13th to win with a late-race pass. It was his third win of the season and his second with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour.
The victory also highlighted the Bob Westphal Memorial Cup Speedweek for Bruce Jr.
“It was a great night,” he said. “Anytime you can come from 13th to win it is definitely an accomplishment. I passed a few cars on the start and got up top and rode around. I had a couple of restarts and was able to utilize the bottom. We got into fourth with six or seven laps to go and I was like, ‘I think we have a shot to win it as long as we hit the bottom.'”
Bruce Jr. did just that and while most of his competitors stayed on the outside groove, Bruce Jr. powered to the lead with three laps remaining while utilizing the bottom lane.
“We could stick the bottom and nobody else could,” he said. “We had set the car up for the last half of the race. I think our car was a lot tighter than most everybody else was. We’ve been good on big tracks all year long. I would say our struggles so far this season are on the quarter miles. We haven’t been able to get going on them.”
Prior to Outlaw Motorsports Park, Bruce Jr. had struggled on short tracks at Lawton Speedway in Lawton, Okla., last Wednesday and at Creek County Speedway in Sapulpa, Okla., on Thursday.
At Lawton Speedway, Bruce Jr. finished fourth in his heat race and won a B Main. However, the One 8 Motorsports team elected to change the engine prior to the main event and that relegated them to the back.
“We changed engines and unfortunately we did all that work for me to flip on Lap 1,” he said. “I don’t exactly know what happened. I went into turn one and caught a rut and it turned me over. The crew did a good job of getting us back on the race track.”
Despite a beat-up race car, Bruce Jr. competed for approximately half the race before he pulled off the track early with a 17th-place result.
Bruce Jr. also endured a rough night on Thursday at Creek County Speedway, where he placed fourth in his heat race and didn’t finish a B Main. Bruce Jr. elected to use a provisional to start last in the main event.
“In the A Main we got lapped pretty early and second and third place got by us as well,” he said. “I tucked in line. We were just as fast as those guys, but it was one of those deals where on a short track we fell behind early and never got going all night long.”
Bruce Jr. was credited with a 16th-place finish.
Following Friday’s victory, he wrapped up the busy week on Saturday at Lucas Oil Speedway. After charging from fifth to second place in his heat race, Bruce Jr. started the feature on the outside of the second row.
“In turns one and two I felt like we were one of the slowest cars on the race track and in turns three and four I think we were one of the fastest,” he said. “I was trying to push as hard in turns three and four to make up the time I was losing in turns one and two. It grabbed the car and threw it into the fence.”
Bruce Jr. jumped the cushion while running fifth with 11 laps. Contact with the frontstretch wall knocked the front end out of his car and Bruce Jr. was unable to restart the race. He placed 17th.
“A win does help, but I’m not happy with the way the week went,” he said. “We just couldn’t finish a race. We’ve got to get better on the short tracks.”
Bruce Jr. is scheduled to compete this Saturday at Dodge City Raceway Park in Dodge City, Kan., and on Sunday at 81 Speedway in Park City, Kan., for the Steve King Memorial with the ASCS Sooner Region and NCRA.
QUICK RESULTS –
June 18 – Lawton Speedway in Lawton, Okla. – Heat race: 4 (4); B Main: 1 (4); Feature: 17 (22).
June 19 – Creek County Speedway in Sapulpa, Okla. – Heat race: 4 (4); B Main: DNF (4); Feature: 16 (24).
June 20 – Outlaw Motorsports Park in Wainwright, Okla. – Heat race: 4 (5); Feature: 1 (13).
June 21 – Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Mo. – Heat race: 2 (5); Feature: 17 (4).
SEASON STATS –
28 races, 3 wins, 7 top fives, 15 top 10s, 17 top 15s, 26 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Saturday at Dodge City Raceway Park in Dodge City, Kan., and Sunday at 81 Speedway in Park City, Kan., for the Steve King Memorial with the ASCS Sooner Region and NCRA
LIVE COVERAGE –
To keep up to speed with Bruce Jr. at every Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour event, visit http://www.RacinBoys.com for free, live audio. Additionally, RacinBoys will provide live Pay-Per-View video at select races.
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.TonyBruceJr.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/
VIDEO –
Click on the link for a video by Thriller Productions that highlights Bruce Jr.’s Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour triumph at Devil’s Bowl Speedway on March 21: http://vimeo.com/89899519
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – The Oil Medics
Located in Fort Worth, Texas, The Oil Medics services diesel trucks and distributes racing oil for sprint car engines and rear ends. For more information, visit http://www.TheOilMedics.com.
“Bill and the entire Jewell family have been more than just a great sponsor, but also great friends,” Bruce Jr. said. “They specialize in truck maintenance and fuel economy, which has saved us hundreds of dollars the past couple of years in diesel fuel.”
Bruce Jr. would also like to thank Lubbock Wrecker Service, Wheeler Metals, Briley Trucking, Hinchman Racewear, Eagle Motorsports, Smiley’s Racing Products, SWE, Maxwell Industries, Moss Racing Engines, FK Rod Ends, ButlerBuilt Professional Seat Systems, Factory Kahne Shocks, DriverWebsites.com, RacinBoys.com, Wilwood, Schoenfeld Headers, Hoosier Racing Tires, HRP, Kaeding Performance, Schaeffer Oil, Fuel Safe, Bell Helmets, Four Seasons Radiator, Southern Trailer Works, KSE, Brown and Miller Racing Solutions, Weld Wheels, ISC Racers Tape and Pressure Tek for their continued support.
INSIDE LINE PROMOTIONS –
Inside Line Promotions specializes in affordable public relations and media management for motor sports drivers, teams, sponsors, tracks, series, events, organizations and manufacturers. ILP Founder Shawn Miller leverages professional journalism with new media technologies and social networking to improve your exposure and the return on investment for your sponsors.
To meet the media relations needs of your program and to join Team ILP, contact Shawn at 541-510-3663 or InsideLinePromotions@gmail.com