Inside Line Promotions – LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (April 18) – Let’s make this clear … Tony Bruce Jr. isn’t looking for good luck. He’s just hoping not to have so much bad luck.
The Tulsa, Okla., resident overcame another challenging weekend with the ASCS National Tour, capping the event with a ninth-place finish on Saturday at I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Ark.
“To be honest, we just need some things to go our way and we’ll start reeling off wins,” he said. “It’s more or less, no bad luck.”
Bruce Jr. drove from 24th to ninth in the 35-lap feature on the high-banked, 1/4th-mile oval to highlight an otherwise rough weekend.
It began on Friday when Bruce Jr. finished sixth in his heat race on a one-groove track. The lack of passing dissipated as the night wore on and Bruce Jr. rallied in the B Main, winning from seventh place to capture a transfer into the feature.
He started 18th in the main event and worked his way up to sixth – only two positions out of being locked into Saturday’s feature – before the roll pin on the magneto broke with five laps remaining.
“That’s basically the way the year’s been,” said Bruce Jr., who was credited with finishing 18th. “It’s getting frustrating knowing we have a really fast race car, but nothing to show for it.”
Saturday didn’t start off much better. In fact, it didn’t go well until the feature.
After finishing third in his heat race, Bruce Jr. was relegated to a B Main. As he was challenging for second place midway through the race, the runner up got sideways off turn four and Bruce Jr. had nowhere to go.
The contact forced his car to flip, which destroyed the top and nose wings, broke the front end and bent the right front torsion tube, among other things.
“I never even saw him,” Bruce Jr. said. “I was still wide open when he came across my nose.”
The crew was able to repair most of the damage – except the torsion tube – and Bruce Jr. utilized a provisional to start last in the feature. He then earned the Hard Charger Award while recording his first top 10 with the ASCS National Tour of the season.
Bruce Jr., who is ninth in the ASCS National Tour points, is scheduled to race on Saturday at Salina Highbanks Speedway in Salina, Okla., with the World of Outlaws.
QUICK RESULTS –
April 15 – I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Ark. – Heat race: 6 (5); B Main: 1 (7); Feature: 18 (18).
April 16 – I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Ark. – Heat race: 3 (1); B Main: 14 (4); Feature: 9 (24).
SEASON STATS –
10 races, 10 features, 0 wins, 0 top fives, 3 top 10s, 7 top 15s, 10 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Saturday at Salina Highbanks Speedway in Salina, Okla., with the World of Outlaws
FAVORITE NUMBER –
15: Cars passed by Bruce Jr. in the 35-lap feature Saturday at I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Ark., to race from last to ninth.
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS –
Website: www.tonybrucejr.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/tonybrucejr
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Ticketmob.com
Ticketmob.com is a website devoted to providing tickets to any event, ranging from concerts to sporting events. Co-owned by Tony Bruce Jr., Ticketmob.com is also one of the few websites that can buy tickets. For more information, visit www.ticketmob.com.
“The cool thing about Ticketmob.com is that even if it’s a sold-out show, we’ve got a place you can sell tickets as well,” Bruce Jr. said. “You can still get tickets on Ticketmob.com. We sell tickets and we buy tickets. We’re one of the few websites that offers the ability to buy tickets to a sold-out show.”
Bruce Jr. would like to thank his sponsors, including The Oil Medics, TBJ Promotions, Travelwizer.com, LRB Manufacturing, Hoosier and Smiley’s Racing Products 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.