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(Photo by High Fly-N Photos)

Inside Line Promotions – WHEATLAND, Mo. (Sept. 26, 2017) – A top-five finish highlighted the 7th annual Jesse Hockett/Daniel McMillin Memorial for Tony Bruce Jr.

He and the Smith Family No. 86 sprint car improved throughout the two Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour preliminary nights at Lucas Oil Speedway, beginning on Thursday with Bruce Jr. finishing third in a heat race and fifth in a qualifier before winning a B Main to garner a transfer into the main event. Unfortunately, Bruce Jr. discovered a mechanical problem when he fired the engine to start the A Main.

“We had a push rod that came out so we had a bent valve in the motor,” he said. “That happened when I was starting the car for the A Main. That pretty much ruined our night. We had to change the engine so we had to pull down the spare car for Friday and Saturday night.”

The change didn’t hamper Bruce Jr., who won a heat race before he advanced from fifth to third place in a qualifier on Friday. That lined him up fifth for the main event.

“We were really good,” he said. “I was fortunate to start on the front row of the heat race. When you have as many good cars as you have there you’re starting next to a good driver and we started next to Jonathan Cornell. We were able to get the jump and win the heat. We moved forward and finished third in the qualifier. That put us in the third row for the A Main.

“It was a solid night. We ran around fifth the entire race. The track was reworked and pretty heavy at the beginning. We never were able to make up ground and I ended up getting one spot at the end.”

Bruce Jr. scored a fourth-place result, which ranked him 10th in overall points – only two positions shy of locking into Saturday’s A Main. He won a qualifier to finish the task and start the main event on the outside of the fifth row.

“We hung around 10th the whole race,” he said. “I’d pass a car and then get passed by a car. We really maintained 10th almost the entire time except the last restart when we had a tire going down. I had blistered it pretty bad and we fell back two spots. It was a disappointing ending, but when you look at the grand scheme of things we had great speed in the car.”

Bruce Jr., who ended 12th, will compete this Saturday at I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Ark., for the Ralph Henson Memorial with the ASCS Mid-South Region. It will be his first visit of the season to the quarter-mile oval and is a tune-up for the Short Track Nationals next month.

QUICK RESULTS –

Sept. 21 – Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Mo. – Heat race: 3 (1); Qualifier: 5 (8); B Main: 1 (2); Feature: 23 (17).

Sept. 22 – Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Mo. – Heat race: 1 (2); Qualifier: 3 (5); Feature: 4 (5).

Sept. 23 – Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Mo. – Qualifier: 1 (1); Feature: 12 (10).

SEASON STATS –

22 races, 0 wins, 8 top fives, 14 top 10s, 20 top 15s, 21 top 20s

UP NEXT –

Saturday at I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Ark., for the Ralph Henson Memorial with the ASCS Mid-South Region

MEDIA LINKS –

Website: http://www.TonyBruceJr.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TonyBruceJr

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“It’s an honor to be associated with Scott Brown and Lubbock Wrecker Service,” Bruce Jr. said. “They have been involved with racing for a long time and we are fortunate to have them on our team.”

Bruce Jr. would also like to thank Briley Trucking, Wheeler Metals, The Oil Medics, Hinchman Racewear, Eagle Motorsports, Smiley’s Racing Products, SWE, Maxwell Industries, Moss Racing Engines, FK Rod Ends, ButlerBuilt Professional Seat Systems, Factory Kahne Shocks, DriverWebsites.com, RacinBoys.com, Wilwood, Schoenfeld Headers, Hoosier Racing 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, Pressure Tek, Tiger Towing (Dave and Paula Debates), Sorrels Auto and Truck Parts (Mitchell Sorrels), Melvin Plumbing (Billy Melvin), Engler Machine & Tool, Inc., Maxim Chassis, Wulff Pumps, Miller Auto Supply and Jeff Smith Racing Engines for their continued 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.