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Inside Line Promotions - ALGER, Wash. (July 8, 2013) - Travis Rilat continued his hot streak last week as he picked up another victory and a trio of top-fives across the Northwest in Richard Saumure's car.

After claiming the ASCS Northwest Region Speedweek opener a week ago Friday, Rilat started the Oregon portion of Speedweek on Monday at Southern Oregon Speedway in White City. He advanced from fourth to third in his heat race, which started him 14th in the main event.

Rilat moved into the top 10 when misfortune found him near the midpoint of the 30-lap feature. Another driver spun in front of Rilat, who had nowhere to go and crashed.

"I think he ran into the car in front of him and got it completely sideways in front of me," Rilat said. "I ran into him. It straightened him out and I spun around and a couple of cars ran into me."

The team changed the front radius rods, but Rilat returned to the pits soon after with an 18th-place finish.

"The car wasn't handling and we weren't going anywhere, so there was no need to tear up anymore equipment," he said.

Rilat and the team headed to Coos Bay Speedway in Coos Bay on Tuesday, when he made a late pass to secure a third-place finish in his heat race. After starting fifth that gave him enough points to advance to the feature redraw, where Rilat pulled the No. 7 to start on the inside of the fourth row.

"We usually always set the thing up for late in the race," he said. "Any time the track gets slicker it seems to get better."

After fading toward the back of the top 10 early, Rilat maneuvered his way toward the front in the closing laps and outlasted overall Speedweek champion Roger Crockett for a fourth-place finish.

The positive momentum continued on Wednesday at Willamette Speedway in Lebanon, where Rilat led all eight laps of his heat race to garner his eighth heat win of the season. That put him in the redraw and the No. 2 was drawn, starting Rilat on the outside of the front row.

He led from the green flag to the checkered and was only challenged for lead once - on a late restart when Shane Stewart tried a slide job in turns one and two.

"The car was working really good," Rilat said. "That was my kind of track. Any time we can start on the front row it's going to be pretty good. It's tough to win from the back, but when you start up front you're supposed to win.

"Shane, on that last restart he tried to do a slider. I had gotten in the slick on the start and just didn't take off. It allowed him to do that slide job. We had the best car there and I was able to drive around him. Those are the nights that keep you coming back."

Rilat picked up his second win of the season and second in a five-race span.

With Thursday an off-day for the Fourth of July, Rilat and the team headed to Cottage Grove Speedway in Cottage Grove for a weekend doubleheader to wrap up Speedweek beginning Friday. However, a questionable call by an official in his heat race ended with the team loading up and leaving the track early.

"We didn't agree with the official's decision," Rilat said. "Due to that and the poor track conditions we decided to load up and get out."

Despite leaving that race early and skipping the finale on Saturday, Rilat finished 10th in the Speedweek standings.

The team headed to Skagit Speedway in Alger, Wash., on Saturday for the Midseason Championship event, where the teams not competing for points qualified and were lined up in the feature behind the drivers in the hunt for the championship.

"It was tough," he said. "All we did was run hot laps, time trials and a feature. The 360 feature was the first feature and the track was extremely heavy. It was tough to do any kind of passing."

Rilat qualified third quickest and lined up 11th in the feature.

"I just got a car at a time," he said. "You couldn't really get many at one time because the track was pretty narrow. If the track would have blown off and got slick it would have been a ton better. When it's heavy like that everybody is pretty equal."

Rilat maneuvered to a third-place finish to earn the Hard Charger Award. It marked his sixth podium of the season.

Rilat will return to action in Saumure's car on Friday and Saturday at Grays Harbor Raceway in Elma, Wash., with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour.

QUICK RESULTS -

July 1 - Southern Oregon Speedway in White City, Ore. - Heat race: 3 (4); Feature: 18 (14).

July 2 - Coos Bay Speedway in Coos Bay, Ore. - Heat race: 3 (5); Feature: 4 (7).

July 3 - Willamette Speedway in Lebanon, Ore. - Heat race: 1 (2); Feature: 1 (2).

July 5 - Cottage Grove Speedway in Cottage Grove, Ore. - Heat race: 5 (1); B Main: DNS (4).

July 6 - Skagit Speedway in Alger, Wash. - Qualifying: 3; Feature: 3 (11).

SEASON STATS -

20 races, 2 wins, 9 top fives, 14 top 10s, 15 top 15s, 19 top 20s

UP NEXT -

Friday and Saturday at Grays Harbor Raceway in Elma, Wash., with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour

MEDIA LINKS -

Website: http://www.TravisRilat.us

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/TravisRilat29

SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT - Shark Racing Engines

Located in Sedro-Woolley, Wash., Shark Racing Engines has been building high-performance racing engines for almost 25 years. For more information, visit http://www.SharkRacingEngines.com.

"It's kind of funny how I met (Shark owner) Marc Huson when I went up there to Washington for an ASCS National Tour race and Triple X Race Co. was next door," Rilat said. "I was wandering around talking on my cell phone and saw a sprint car next door. I walked over, looked around and introduced myself.

"He's been a great friend. He was instrumental with a support group for me and my family when I was in the hospital up there. He and his wife helped us out in a hard time. As far as his engine skills go, he's one of the best in the country. There's only a handful of great engine builders across the country and I consider him one of the best."

Rilat would also like to thank Xtreme Oilfield Technology, Carlan Services, Northern Provincial Pipelines, Matt's Oilfield Services, 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.