Inside Line Promotions
BILLINGS, Mont. (July 9, 2019) – Jordon Mallett used a weekend off from the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour to sharpen his driving skills as he picked up his first career ASCS sanctioned victory last Saturday at Big Sky Speedway during an ASCS Frontier Region event.
Mallett became the 33rd driver to win with the Montana-based regional tour.
After starting the night drawing the sixth starting position in a heat race, Mallett raced his way to the lead to claim the eight-lap heat race victory.
“The car was really good,” he said. “Even in hot laps, I knew if we just let the track come to us we were going to have a good car. I just tried to be smart and let the car do the work and we showed muscle right away.”
Mallett drew the third starting position for the feature event and quickly moved into second on the first circuit. Using the middle of the speedway, Mallett took the lead from Trever Kirkland on Lap 5 and opened up a sizeable advantage on fellow Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour regular Harli White, who followed into second.
“I knew pretty early that we had a car capable of winning the race and I just tried to bide my time and let the leader take us into traffic,” Mallett said. “But I saw the third-place car show their nose and I figured it was time to go before I let the opportunity slip away and we were able to open up a pretty big lead.”
Coming to the white flag, White passed Mallett for the lead before approaching a lapped car. Mallett took the low side of the track while White used the outside of the speedway.
In a drag race to the checkered flag, Mallett got to the finish line mere inches ahead of White for his first victory of the season. The race was his first visit to the speedway and should prove beneficial as the ASCS National Tour will visit Big Sky Speedway July 19-20 for a two-day show.
“Sometimes when you get too far ahead you are almost a sitting duck because you can get complacent,” he said. “Right before the feature started they watered the top of the speedway and it started coming in late. I heard Harli coming and I kind of moved up and took her line.
“She got by me anyway, but I knew we were really good still. She went high around that lapped car and I drove it in on the bottom and I just did my best to hit my marks. I drove it as hard as I could and ultimately, we were just good enough to get the win.”
Up next for the Arkansas native will be a return to Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour action for the Grizzly Nationals at Gallatin Speedway in Belgrade, Mont., this Friday and Saturday.
With the ASCS Frontier Region drivers joining the field for the weekend, Mallett is looking forward to using the experience gained against the locals to bring home a solid showing and make up some ground in the points. He currently sits ninth – only 54 points behind White – in the championship standings.
“I’ve never been to any of these places,” Mallett said. “We decided to use this to put some notes in the notebook and luckily, we found success and have quite a few positives to take with us. Montana has been good to us so far so I’m looking forward to this swing and I like our chances against a great field of cars.”
QUICK RESULTS –
July 6 – Big Sky Speedway in Billings, Mont. – Heat race: 1 (6); Feature: 1 (3).
SEASON STATS –
21 races, 1 win, 6 top fives, 10 top 10s, 13 top 15s, 15 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Friday and Saturday at Gallatin Speedway in Belgrade, Mont., for the Grizzly Nationals with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://jordonMallett.myracepass.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jmmotorsports14
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jordonMallettmotorsports
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Awakening Events
Awakening Events is a nationwide, full service, live event company that is based in Greenbrier, Ark.
Several of the upcoming events include: Chris Tomlin at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colo., on July 29-30; Spirit of Austin Fest at the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park in Cedar Park, Texas, on Aug. 4; Casting Crowns at the Bellco Theatre in Denver, Colo., on Oct. 3; For King & Country at the Verizon Center in North Little Rock, Ark., on Oct. 6; Michael W. Smith at the Gillioz Theatre in Springfield, Mo., on Oct. 3 and at the Tivoil Theatre in Chattanooga, Tenn., on Oct. 4; and TOBYMAC at the Gillioz Theatre in Springfield, Mo., on Nov. 7 and at the Coronado Performing Arts Center in Rockford, Ill., on Nov. 8.
For more information and a list of upcoming events, visit http://www.AwakeningEvents.com .
Mallett would like to thank Water for Christ, Porter Commercial Refrigeration, DHR Suspension, Racing Optics, Red River Rack Company, KSE Racing Products, FK Rod Ends, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Sinco, Inc., D&K Farms, Autometer, Callies Racing Products, Dynotech Race Engines, Dickerson Marine Services, Hero Graphics, Hilborn Fuel Injection, ISC Racers Tape, K&N Engineering, Lone Star Super Gas (Sunoco), Schoenfeld Headers, Simpson Race Products, Smiley’s Racing Products, and Superior Bearing and Supply for their continued support.