Inside Line Promotions – COTTAGE GROVE, Ore. (July 26) – When it rains, it pours.
Literally and figuratively for Tony Bruce Jr., who has endured one of his most aggravating seasons amidst one of the wettest years.
A week after the ASCS National Tour was washed out in Elma, Wash., Bruce Jr. sustained some bad luck and made a couple of driver errors last weekend at the Cottage Grove Speedway in Cottage Grove, Ore.
“You can pretty much sum it up as one of those weekends,” the Liberal, Kan., native said.
It started on Friday when contact at the flag stand on the opening lap of his heat race broke the straps to the Jacob’s ladder. By the time the field had crossed the stripe to complete the lap, Bruce Jr. had fallen to last place with a more than difficult race car.
The result relegated him to start 15th in the B Main, which transferred the top six to the main event. Bruce Jr. finished 10th and declined to use a provisional to start the feature.
“Sometimes you have to know when to call it a night,” he said. “The heat race incident pretty much ruined our night. We were then buried in the B Main and it was tough to make it out.”
Saturday started better – a lot better. Bruce Jr.’s pill draw earned him the pole of his heat race and he led all 10 laps for the victory, which locked him into the main event.
“I knew we had a good car,” he said. “I know how to get around short tracks. I knew we’d be pretty good.”
Bruce Jr. started 11th and was battling in the top 10 until he hit the rough cushion at the wrong angle between turns one and two with 12 laps remaining.
“I made one little mistake, hit the hole and bounced off the race track,” he said. “I guess I just hit it perfectly wrong.”
After restarting last, Bruce Jr. was competing for a position in the top 15 when he spun out in turn three with three laps remaining. Since it was his second caution, he was forced to the pits with a 23rd-place finish.
“I was just kinda frustrated and going for it, went into turn three a little too hard and spun it out,” he said. “That’s the first time I think I’ve ever had that rule pulled on me. It was one of those weekends when everything that could go wrong did.”
Bruce Jr. ranks ninth in the ASCS National Tour standings.
He will race on Friday and Saturday at Placerville Speedway in Placerville, Calif., which will wrap up the ASCS National Tour’s West Coast swing.
QUICK RESULTS –
July 22 – Cottage Grove Speedway in Cottage Grove, Ore. – Heat race: 8 (3); B Main: 10 (15).
July 23 – Cottage Grove Speedway in Cottage Grove, Ore. – Heat race: 1 (1); Feature: 23 (11).
SEASON STATS –
30 races, 26 features, 1 win, 4 top fives, 13 top 10s, 20 top 15s, 25 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Friday and Saturday at Placerville Speedway in Placerville, Calif., with the ASCS National Tour
FAVORITE NUMBER –
10: Laps led to claim the ASCS National Tour heat race on Saturday at the Cottage Grove Speedway in Cottage Grove, Ore.
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS –
Website: www.tonybrucejr.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/tonybrucejr
ON THE AIR –
Bruce Jr. was a featured guest on the ASCS Show by Racinboys on May 24. Check out the link below for his interview, which starts at approximately 44:20 into the show.
http://www.meridix.com/mbp/general/index.php?liveid=Racinboys&recordid=19159
He was also on the April 26 edition. Click on the link below to listen to Bruce Jr.’s interview, which begins around the 52:25 mark.
http://www.meridix.com/mbp/general/index.php?liveid=Racinboys&recordid=18733
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.