Inside Line Promotions
– MESQUITE, Texas (May 29, 2017) – Ray Allen Kulhanek recorded his first ASCS Gulf South Region feature victory of the season last Friday during the opening night of the 15th annual Memorial Day Classic.
“We’ve been struggling all year and been a tick off every night,” he said. “We made a change to our shock package and ended up switching to Momentum Integras. We didn’t feel good in hot laps at all on Friday. We made some adjustments and are going in the right direction working with Brad Benic. He changed the way I was thinking about how the car was working. That made us look at things different.”
The changes were evident early as Kulhanek charged from sixth to win a heat race on Friday at RPM Speedway in Crandall.
“I had a really good car and ended up winning it,” he said. “It seemed like we were working the bottom better than anyone. We were still just a little tight. Marvin (Pearson) and I put our heads together and talked with Brad a little more. We went back and made the decision of the direction and hope it worked out for the feature.”
The heat race result earned Kulhanek the most combined points and a spot in the feature redraw, in which he pulled the No. 5 to start the main event on the inside of the third row.
“As the long run would go on we’d close back on Channin (Tankersley) for the lead,” he said. “I started changing the way I was running in turns one and two. I found a line that was working a lot better from the center off. We had a restart with about five laps to go. I had a heck of a run and closed in on him. I got the opportunity to slide him in turns three and four. That turned into a three-wide deal. I got lucky to get to the top before anyone else.”
Kulhanek’s late-race pass sealed the deal for his first 360ci winged sprint car triumph of the season. It also gave the team momentum entering Saturday’s show at Devil’s Bowl Speedway.
“I had an issue in hot laps and only got to make a lap and a half and the rear end popped out of gear,” he said. “We came back in and fixed the shifter cable. We didn’t change the car for the heat race. We were able to roll the bottom really, really well. The guys in front of me were missing the bottom or not attempting to run it.”
Kulhanek maneuvered from fifth to second place to again earn the most points. This time he pulled the No. 1 during the feature redraw to start the main event on the pole.
“We took off in the lead,” he said. “I almost completed two laps before the red came out. They said everyone didn’t complete a full lap before a guy flipped. Whoever got out in open air was going to win the race. The guy who flipped started on the outside of me in the main. That put Sam Hafertepe Jr. on the outside of me. Racing with the ASCS National Tour guys, guys like Sam, they are smart and know what to do. We went into turn one and I did the best I could to slide him and get to the top. He peeled off and rolled through the middle and slid me by the exit of turn two. Once he got out to the lead it was sit back and ride because it was really, really tough to pass.”
Kulhanek ended with a second-place result, which marked his seventh top five this season.
Sunday’s weekend finale at Lone Star Speedway in Kilgore, Texas, rained out.
Kulhanek, who owns a 116-point lead in the ASCS Gulf South Region championship standings, will return to action this Friday at Heart O’ Texas Speedway in Waco, Texas, and Saturday at Cotton Bowl Speedway in Paige, Texas, with the series.
QUICK RESULTS –
May 26 – RPM Speedway in Crandall, Texas – Heat race: 1 (6); Feature: 1 (5).
May 27 – Devil’s Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, Texas – Heat race: 2 (5); Feature: 2 (1).
SEASON STATS –
11 races, 2 wins, 7 top fives, 9 top 10s, 10 top 15s, 11 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Friday at Heart O’ Texas Speedway in Waco, Texas, and Saturday at Cotton Bowl Speedway in Paige, Texas, with the ASCS Gulf South Region
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.RayAllenKulhanek.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Kulhanek_Ray
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RayAllenKulhanek/?fref=ts
APPAREL –
Kulhanek will have apparel available for sale at his race trailer throughout the season. For a list of his scheduled events, visit http://www.RayAllenKulhanek.com .
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – J&J Auto Racing
Located in McKenzie, Tenn., J&J Auto Racing has manufactured sprint car chassis and racing parts for more than 40 years. For more information, visit http://www.JandJAutoRacing.com .
“Everyone at J&J Auto Racing are probably some of the nicest people in racing,” Kulhanek said. “I talk to them quite frequently. They are always quick to answer phone calls and will get stuff shipped out to you the same day. And they are definitely the safest cars on the market.”
Kulhanek would also like to thank Big Bass Tour, Texas Rotating Equipment, Alcon Construction, GoPro, Miller’s RV Park, ButlerBuilt Professional Seat Systems, Smiley’s Racing Products, Engler Machine & Tool, Outlaw Wings, Hoosier Racing Tire Southwest, C4 Graphics, Simpson Race Products and Marvin and Peggy Pearson for their 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 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.
*PHOTO BY RON SKINNER PHOTOS*