Jimmy Jones, TAMPA, FL (March 1st, 2010) – It was a rhythm searching weekend in the Sunshine state for Tony Bruce Jr. and the Bruce Racing team, posting a sixth place finish in Saturday night’s 40-lap Ronald Laney Memorial at the East Bay Raceway Park in Tampa, Florida.
Along the way, Tony also picked up a pair of heat wins and top ten finishes in both preliminary nights of action. Although it wasn’t the start to the season that Tony and the crew had hoped for, posting a top ten finish against a very strong field of drivers at a track where he has struggled was a positive.
“We had some high hopes going in. East Bay is a race track where I've never really been that great. So, anytime that we know we struggle somewhere, I’m more determined on trying to show up and actually get something accomplished. Hopefully I'll do better next time and win a race there,” says Tony.
After losing the practice night due to weather, the team was anxious to get things rolling on Thursday night. Tony drew in high, starting at the back of his heat, but only managed to pass four cars at the start, finishing 7th on a pretty much locked down track.
Tony would win the B main and transfer into the A, starting 17th and raced his way to 8th when the checkered dropped. “I was able to get all the way up to 8 and I think our finish spot showed we had a pretty decent car. I really wasn't completely pleased with 8th, but from where we started, I couldn’t be that disappointed.”
On Friday night things worked better for the Tony and the Team. Starting outside the front row in his heat, Tony was able to put some distance between himself and Gary Wright, winning by a comfortable margin. “Any time you are able to put some distance between yourself and Gary Wright you know you have a pretty good car.”
Tony would start 4th in the A main, but admitted his start wasn’t great. “I just had a terrible start. There wasn’t anything wrong with the car or motor or anything; I just spun the tires on the start. I think we ended up falling all the way back to 9th on the first lap. I managed to get back to fourth by the checkered, but was really disappointed in myself.”
The Team regrouped for Saturday night’s finale, staying positive. Tony ensured the guys that he would be on his game. Once again, Tony won his heat, and felt really good about the car. He lined up in the 11th spot in the A, and passed a few cars at the start, but found himself struggling a bit for about 3 quarters of the race. “I rode around in 11th for pretty much the entire race until I decided to pull my head out and start driving a little bit. Basically, anytime I needed to go high, I went low and when I needed to go low, I went high. It just seemed like I was out of sequence. I guess those things happen when you are not in the car for over 2 months.”
Tony would finish 6th after a mid-race restart allowed him to pass a few cars. He chalked up his weekend to being about getting back into the racing groove. “I’m trying to get back into rhythm and racing mode. I showed moments of brilliance and showed moments of ignorance. But that’s the way it goes in racing sometimes.”
Tony and the Team now turn their focus to a pair of ASCS Gulf South Region stops in the Lonestar State. On Friday night, the team will tackle Beaumont’s Golden Triangle Raceway Park and then travel west to Battleground Speedway near Houston for the Third Annual Gulf Coast Nationals.
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For more information about Tony Bruce Jr. and the Bruce Racing Team, to include bio, latest news, photos, stats and more, visit us on the web at www.tonybrucejr.com
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