8/9/2021
Inside Line Promotions
Price Returns From Month-Long Layoff to Win Marvin Smith Memorial Grove Classic Opener
Inside Line Promotions – COTTAGE GROVE, Ore. (Aug. 9, 2021) – Robbie Price piloted the Blake Cook owned No. 22x to a victory Friday during the opening night of the Marvin Smith Memorial Grove Classic at Cottage Grove Speedway.
Not only was the win Price’s first of the season and the first behind the wheel of the Cook Racing 360ci sprint car, it came in his first race back behind the wheel since suffering a concussion during a wreck in early July.
“It was a really good weekend for us to get out and win and run well after about a month layoff,” he said. “It really hurt me to sit and not run some of these bigger races, but I needed to put my health and mind first. Blake gave me a call and I felt good so we decided to go racing and it paid off.”
Price kicked off the two-race weekend on Friday by timing in eighth quickest overall. He then finished where he started – third – in a heat race to lock himself into the A Main. Price, who lined up on the outside of the fourth row in the feature, steadily worked his way forward. A pair of unfortunate incidents for the leaders helped set Price up to inherit the lead and he never looked back to capture the win and the $2,500 prize that came with it.
“Honestly we were just a bit too tight all night, but come feature-time we had the car running pretty good,” he said. “The leaders had some issues and we were in the right place at the right time and we just had to not screw it up from there.”
Price locked into Saturday night’s finale as a result of Friday’s win. He participated in a dash to determine his starting spot for the feature and finished fourth. Price ran as high as third in the feature before he got over the cushion in turns three and four to fall back to 10th. He was able to rebound to gain four positions and come home with a sixth-place finish.
“We made a few changes to the car for Saturday and I definitely think we had a car capable of finishing on the podium,” he said. “I don’t know if we were going to win or anything, but I just missed my mark and put us behind the eight ball there in the feature. We got a few spots back to salvage the night, but ultimately the driver just made an error and that’s on me.”
Price is unsure of his next racing plan, but is grateful to Cook and all of his sponsors for giving him the opportunity to race in a competitive ride for a few nights.
“I’ve really got to thank Blake Cook for giving me a call and trusting me behind the wheel of his car,” he said. “It’s been a bit of a down year for us and it’s definitely a confidence booster to know guys want you to drive their car. I need to give a big shoutout to Absolute Plumbing, Cook’s Contracting, CSR Builders, Cottage Grove Inn and everybody involved with Blake’s deal for giving me a car capable of winning. It means a lot.”
QUICK RESULTS –
Aug. 6 – Cottage Grove Speedway in Cottage Grove, Ore. – Qualifying: 9; Heat race: 3 (3); Feature: 1 (8).
Aug. 7 – Cottage Grove Speedway in Cottage Grove, Ore. – Dash: 4 (6); Feature: 6 (4).
SEASON STATS –
24 races, 1 win, 3 top fives, 8 top 10s, 13 top 15s, 17 top 20s
UP NEXT –
TBD
MEDIA LINKS –
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/RPrice21
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rpracing21/
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Shark Racing Engines
Shark Racing Engines, which is based in Sedro-Woolley, Wash., builds Sportsman, 360 and 410 sprint car engines and has been building high-performance engines in the Pacific Northwest for the past 25-plus years. For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/pg/Huson73/about/?ref=page_internal.
“Shark Racing Engines has been with us for a few years now and they give us great engines,” Price said. “We just put a fresh Shark Racing Engine in the car here recently and I’m looking forward to putting them in Victory Lane hopefully more in 2021.”
Price would also like to thank Millstone Heating & Sheet Metal, Shockwave Motorsports, Wildlight Motorsports Photography, Beaufort Self Storage Ltd., Triple X Race Components, Highline Performance and Champion Brands for their continued support.
INSIDE LINE PROMOTIONS –
Inside Line Promotions specializes in affordable public relations and media management for motor sports drivers, teams, sponsors, tracks, series, events, organizations and manufacturers. ILP Founder Shawn Miller leverages professional journalism with new media technologies and social networking to improve your exposure and the return on investment for your sponsors.
To meet the media relations needs of your program by joining Team ILP, contact Shawn at 541-510-3663 or Shawn@InsideLinePromotions.com. For more information on Inside Line Promotions, visit http://www.InsideLinePromotions.com.
Article Credit: Inside Line Promotions
Submitted By: Shawn Miller
