Inside Line Promotions - ELMA, Wash. (July 1, 2013) - The conditions were ripe for Travis Rilat to capture his first victory of the season and he took advantage last Friday in Richard Saumure's car.
Rilat led all 30 laps to claim the ASCS Northwest Region Speedweek opener at Grays Harbor Raceway to kick off a doubleheader at the 3/8-mile oval and to start the seven-race, nine-day spectacle.
"The ingredients were all there for me to win," he said. "The track was to my liking. We drew the pole. I got through traffic well. Everything came together."
While the track was solid for the feature, it was anything but racy up to that point on both nights at Grays Harbor Raceway, Rilat said. He started on the outside of the front row and finished second in his heat race on Friday which was good enough to get him into the feature redraw.
"We were pretty lucky we were able to draw the front row of a heat race," he said. "The track was in poor condition for all of the heat races both nights. There was no track to race on during hot laps or the heat races. It was follow the leader around the bottom."
Rilat, who was the final driver of the eight competitors in the redraw that lined up the first four rows of the feature, picked the No. 1.
"I was the last one to draw and it was my lucky day," he said. "Any time we can start on the front couple of rows we should be able to win wherever we are at. We had a pretty good lead by the end of the race. Lapped traffic was pretty thick. I had several dicey moves to get through traffic."
Track conditions were similar early in the night on Saturday, when Rilat started in the final row of his heat race.
"The second night was the exact opposite," he said.
Rilat advanced from seventh to fifth on the narrow track to earn enough points to advance to the feature, which he started on the inside of the seventh row.
"Starting 13th is a bit of a struggle," he said. "I was running ninth and made a move coming off (turn) four down the straightaway. I passed four cars going into turn one. The car in front of me checked up and I was going to hit him head on. I was trying to avoid that and clipped his right rear tire. If I had another two inches I would have been good."
The contact around Lap 11 sent Rilat up the track toward the wall and he stopped to avoid the crash. Rilat was forced to restart at the back and maneuvered to a ninth-place finish, which was his 11th top 10 this season.
"If we hadn't had that incident I feel like we could have been up front," he said.
Rilat will continue the ASCS Northwest Region Speedweek with five races throughout Oregon this week. Southern Oregon Speedway in White City hosts a race on Monday with Coos Bay Speedway in Coos Bay having a show on Tuesday. Speedweek will compete at Willamette Speedway in Lebanon on Wednesday before a Friday and Saturday doubleheader at Cottage Grove Speedway in Cottage Grove.
QUICK RESULTS -
June 28 - Grays Harbor Raceway in Elma, Wash. - Heat race: 2 (2); Feature: 1 (1).
June 29 - Grays Harbor Raceway in Elma, Wash. - Heat race: 5 (7); Feature: 9 (13).
SEASON STATS -
15 races, 1 win, 6 top fives, 11 top 10s, 12 top 15s, 15 top 20s
UP NEXT -
ASCS Northwest Region Speedweek: Monday at Southern Oregon Speedway in White City, Ore.; Tuesday at Coos Bay Speedway in Coos Bay, Ore.; Wednesday at Willamette Speedway in Lebanon, Ore.; Friday and Saturday at Cottage Grove Speedway in Cottage Grove, Ore.
MEDIA LINKS -
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/TravisRilat29
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT - Carlan Services
Established in 1997, Carlan Services operates an environmental cleanup business that transports contaminated and other materials as well as a variety of other services. For more information, visit http://www.Carlan.com.
"They do so much stuff I can't even keep up," Rilat said. "They are one of the major sponsors and we're grateful for all of the help they provide."
Rilat would also like to thank Xtreme Oilfield Technology, Northern Provincial Pipelines, Matt's Oilfield Services, Shark Racing Engines, TriJet Manufacturing Services, Northern Lights Welding, Camex VP, Rob Wright Building Supplies, Scott Safety, Max Fuel, Jaron Water Hauling, Maxim, Factory Kahne, HRP, Ti22, Weld Wheels, Ben Cook Racing and Smiley's Racing Products among others for their continued support on Richard Saumure's No. 39c Maxim.
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 http://www.insidelinepromotions.com.
Article Credit: Shawn Miller