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Inside Line Promotions – KNOXVILLE, Iowa (May 19, 2013) – Tony Bruce Jr. worked his way to a pair of seventh-place finishes over the weekend to extend his top-10 streak to six races.

Bruce Jr. rallied from 17th to seventh on Friday at U.S. 36 Raceway near Cameron, Mo., for the 2nd annual U.S. 36 Nationals Presented by RacinBoys – the inaugural TBJ Promotions event of 2013. He then ran in the top 10 all night Saturday during his season debut at Knoxville Raceway, where Bruce Jr. put together one of his best performances at the famed half mile.

Doing double duty as co-promoter and racer on a humid Friday at U.S. 36 Raceway, Bruce Jr. overcame a fourth-place finish in his Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour heat race to lead all 12 laps en route to the B Main victory for the second straight season at the U.S. 36 Nationals Presented by RacinBoys.

“On our heat race we just didn’t get where we needed to be,” he said. “Fortunately in the B Main, I had a good start, got out front and checked out. I just pretty much had to come from behind. I had a good car and could go where other people couldn’t.”

That trend continued in the 35-lap feature as Bruce Jr. charged from 17th to seventh on a track that favored aggressiveness. With most drivers favoring the bottom groove, Bruce Jr. rode the high line to make most of his passes around the high-banked oval.

“Everybody else pretty much got down on the bottom,” he said. “We’d already set up to (race in the high groove). We made a bar change after the heat race and that really made the car come alive. I figured if we could get some momentum built up on the top side we could pick off some cars.”

He remains in fifth place in the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour standings.

On Saturday, Bruce Jr. and his team made their first visit to Knoxville Raceway, where he qualified third quickest in his first qualifying race of the season.

“Anytime you qualify well at Knoxville it means your stuff is good,” he said. “In August it’s all about qualifying.”

With a six-car invert in each heat race, Bruce Jr. lined up on the outside of the third row in his heat race.

“I didn’t get a real good start and was able to pick off a couple of cars there as the race went on,” he said. “We need to work on our starts at Knoxville and just keep pace with everybody through (turns) one and two.”

A fourth-place result earned Bruce Jr. a spot in the feature, which he started sixth.

“We were running fifth and had a restart at the beginning,” he said. “I think we only had one lap in. On the restart I went in to dive down on the bottom and I went to push the brakes and I didn’t have any. We had a mud clot break the brake line in half on the left front caliper. We didn’t have any brakes from lap one on.”

Bruce Jr. drove a conservative race to finish seventh, earning his ninth top 10 of the season.

“It might not have been the A Main we wanted, but as far as a night went I felt it was one of our better nights at Knoxville,” he said. “We qualified well, ran well in the heats and finished well in the A.”

Bruce Jr. has a trio of Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour events on the schedule this week. On Wednesday, he will compete at Valley Speedway in Grain Valley, Mo., before a trip to I-80 Speedway in Greenwood, Neb., on Thursday. The weekend will wrap up on Saturday at The Great American Dirt Track at Jetmore Motorplex in Jetmore, Kan., for the Steve King Memorial – also the next TBJ Promotions race.

QUICK RESULTS –

May 17 – U.S. 36 Raceway near Cameron, Mo. – Heat race: 4 (3); B Main: 1 (1); Feature: 7 (17).

May 18 – Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa – Qualifying: 3; Heat race: 4 (6); Feature: 7 (6).

SEASON STATS –

16 races, 1 win, 5 top fives, 9 top 10s, 15 top 15s, 6 top 20s

UP NEXT –

Wednesday at Valley Speedway in Grain Valley, Mo., Thursday at I-80 Speedway in Greenwood, Neb., and Saturday at The Great American Dirt Track at Jetmore Motorplex in Jetmore, Kan., for the Steve King Memorial with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS –

Website: http://www.tonybrucejr.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/tonybrucejr

VIDEO –

Here is a link for RacinBoys’ footage of Bruce Jr.’s victory at Boyd Raceway on April 26: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Wx3nrOFTDyg

SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Hinchman Racewear

With more than 80 years in the industry, Hinchman Racewear prides itself on safety, experience, innovation, quality and customer service. For more information on how Hinchman Racewear can protect you, visit HinchmanRacewear.com.

“When looking for safety and innovation, look no further than Hinchman Racewear,” Bruce Jr. said. “With great customer service and a passion for keeping drivers protected, it’s no wonder why they are the leaders in the custom suit industry. I choose Hinchman to keep me safe and I encourage all drivers to do the same.”

Bruce Jr. would also like to thank Lubbock Wrecker Service, The Oil Medics, Wheeler Metals, Eagle Motorsports, Smiley’s Racing Products, SWE, Maxwell Industries, FK Rod Ends, ButlerBuilt Professional Seat Systems, Factory Kahne Shocks, DriverWebsites.com, RacinBoys.com, Wilwood, Schoenfield Headers, Hoosier 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, media management and merchandising services for sprint car teams. ILP Founder Shawn Miller leverages professional journalism with new media technologies and social networking to improve your exposure and your sponsors’ return on investment.

To meet the media relations needs of your team, contact Shawn at 541-510-3663 or sprintcarreporter@yahoo.com. For more information on Inside Line Promotions, visit www.insidelinepromotions.com.