Inside Line Promotions – LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (Nov. 1) – A two-time Short Track Nationals champion, Tony Bruce Jr. had high expectations going into last weekend’s 24th edition.
Unfortunately for the Liberal, Kan., native, who is one of only three drivers to win back-to-back titles, rain dictated another outcome than what he envisioned at I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Ark.
“More than anything we kind of just got stuck in a tough situation,” he said. “Our heat race on Thursday was right after a rain delay. It was pretty tough to pass on the race track after that. The same thing happened with our qualifier, which was rescheduled for Friday night and we were the first one on the track.”
Bruce Jr. started and finished third in both his heat race and qualifier during preliminary action, which doomed him in points. He won his B Main and drove from 16th to 11th in the feature, which went green to checkered without a caution.
“What we needed was to get a good start and hope for some cautions to bunch us back up,” he said. “We had a good race car, but the track was really fast and it was hard to pass on. We just never had the opportunities to bunch us back up and get a run again.”
That started Bruce Jr. 13th on Saturday in a B Main, which transferred the top seven to the feature. He picked up three positions, but was unable to earn a transfer in the race that again didn’t have a caution.
“I felt like I made a couple of mistakes and that cost us maybe one or two more spots, but that still would have kept us out of the transfer,” he said. “We didn’t have any cautions in the B Main either and that definitely hurt us.
“It’s disappointing not to make the show. The way we analyzed the whole weekend was that not one time did we go backwards. Not one time did we feel that we weren’t fast. It makes it easier knowing that we gave it all we had and just came up short. That’s just part of racing.”
Kyle Larson, who was driving a second car for Bruce Jr., finished 16th in the feature.
Bruce Jr. will compete for Clifford and Don Young this Friday and Saturday at Riverside International Speedway in West Memphis, Ark.
QUICK RESULTS –
Oct. 27 – I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Ark. – Heat race: 3 (3); Qualifier: 3 (3); B Main: 1 (1); Feature: 11 (16).
Oct. 29 – I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Ark. – B Main: 10 (13).
SEASON STATS –
55 races, 47 features, 1 win, 5 top fives, 20 top 10s, 32 top 15s, 44 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Friday and Saturday at Riverside International Speedway in West Memphis, Ark., with the USCS
FAVORITE NUMBER –
9: Best finish this season at Riverside International Speedway in West Memphis, Ark.
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, Maxwell Industries, Steve Watt Enterprises 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.