Inside Line Promotions
– EDMONTON, Alberta, Canada (July 6, 2015) – Travis Rilat added another international victory last weekend during the 61 st annual Gold Cup at Castrol Raceway.
Rilat piloted Richard Saumure’s No. 39c to heat race, dash and feature victories on Friday to kick off the doubleheader at the 3/8-mile oval.
“This was our third weekend to race this year and we’ve had good runs every night in that car,” he said. “It’s their home track so we were excited to earn a win.”
Rilat opened the weekend by qualifying second quickest on Friday. He then powered from sixth to quickly take the lead during a heat race.
“We had everything go our way,” he said. “We went out early to qualify and was second quick. I got a good break on the start of the heat race and went through the middle and took the lead going into turn one. Then I drew the pole of the dash.”
That was a fortunate draw as rain created a delay and heavy track conditions for the remainder of the night. Rilat capitalized on starting on the inside of the front row for the dash, which he won to garner the pole position for the 25-lap main event.
“The track was pretty heavy and it was a little narrow for the feature,” he said. “It was definitely helpful to start up front.”
Rilat led the distance to capture his second victory of the season and his first since early February, when he won the Tyson Perez Memorial in Australia.
The team returned to Castrol Raceway on Saturday looking for a weekend sweep. Rilat kicked off the event by timing in seventh quickest during qualifying before maneuvering from fourth to second place during a heat race. That earned him a spot in the dash, where he advanced from fifth to fourth place to start the main event on the outside of the second row.
Unfortunately, the top four cars were involved in a crash only a few laps into the race.
“Casey Adams was leading and he ran over Kelly Miller,” he said. “It was like the Daytona crash. The top four were right there together and we had just got into lapped traffic when it happened. We were just getting warmed up and getting going. I think we had the car to beat.”
Instead, Rilat was unable to finish the race following the wreck and he was credited with a 19th-place result.
Rilat will take this weekend off before returning to his own sprint car on July 17 at Golden Triangle Raceway Park in Beaumont, Texas, and July 18 at Battleground Speedway in Highlands, Texas, with the ASCS Gulf South Region.
QUICK RESULTS –
July 3 – Castrol Raceway in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada – Qualifying: 2; Heat race: 1 (6); Dash: 1 (1); Feature: 1 (1).
July 4 – Castrol Raceway in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada – Qualifying: 7; Heat race: 2 (4); Dash; 4 (5); Feature: 19 (4).
SEASON STATS –
17 races, 2 wins, 10 top fives, 11 top 10s, 11 top 15s, 13 top 20s
UP NEXT –
July 17 at Golden Triangle Raceway Park in Beaumont, Texas, and July 18 at Battleground Speedway in Highlands, Texas, with the ASCS Gulf South Region
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.TravisRilat.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/TravisRilat29
VIDEO –
Here is a link to watch highlights of Rilat’s victory at the Tyson Perez Memorial in Australia on Feb. 7: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPYKg2nfSNw
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Shark Racing Engines
Located in Sedro-Woolley, Wash., Shark Racing Engines has been building high-performance racing engines for more than two decades. For more information, visit http://www.SharkRacingEngines.com.
“It’s kind of funny how I met (Shark owner) Marc Huson when I went up there to Washington for an ASCS National Tour race and Triple X Race Co. was next door,” Rilat said. “I was wandering around talking on my cell phone and saw a sprint car next door. I walked over, looked around and introduced myself.
“He’s been a great friend. He was instrumental with a support group for me and my family when I was in the hospital up there. He and his wife helped us out in a hard time. As far as his engine skills go, he’s one of the best in the country. There’s only a handful of great engine builders across the country and I consider him one of the best.”
Rilat would also like to thank Xtreme Oilfield Technology, Carlan Services, Northern Provincial Pipelines, Matt’s Oilfield Services, TriJet Manufacturing Services, Northern Lights Welding, Camex VP, Rob Wright Building Supplies, Scott Safety, Max Fuel, Jaron Water Hauling, Maxim, Factory Kahne, HRP, Ti22, Weld Wheels, Ben Cook Racing and Smiley’s Racing Products among others for their continued support on Richard Saumure’s No. 39c Maxim.
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 by joining Team ILP, contact Shawn at 541-510-3663 or Shawn@InsideLinePromotions.com. For more information on Inside Line Promotions, visit http://www.InsideLinePromotions.com.