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Rilat Close to Gold Cup Victory During Epic Battle at Castrol Raceway

(Photo by Justin Brester)

Inside Line Promotions – EDMONTON, Alberta, Canada (July 25, 2017) – Travis Rilat was on pace to claim his third Jim Albert Memorial Gold Cup title in the last six years last Saturday before a late-race incident ended the night early.

After Friday’s opening round of the Northwest Challenge Series doubleheader at Castrol Raceway was rained out, Rilat led the Richard Saumure owned team to the sixth quickest qualifying time to start Saturday’s finale.

The duo then won a heat race after starting on the outside of the front row. That locked them into the feature redraw, in which Rilat pulled the No. 2 to line up on the outside of the front row for the main event.

“We maintained for the first few laps before I was able to take the lead,” he said. “We led most of the race before traffic played a huge role, which it often does in short track racing.”

Traffic allowed his competitors to close in and Rilat was shuffled to third place late in the race. The top handful of racers were within striking distance of the win and Rilat was aiming to regain the top spot when he got into the wall, which resulted in a crash with three laps remaining.

“We had a good car and it was a great battle up front,” he said. “There were a few of us duking it out in the closing laps. We were going for the win and just caught the wall enough to end our night early.”

Rilat was unable to restart the race and he was credited with a 19th-place result.

He and Saumure will return to action this Friday and Saturday at Skagit Speedway in Alger, Wash., for the Bob’s Burgers & Brew Summer Nationals with the Northwest Challenge Series. They have earned eight podium finishes and 19 top 10s during 28 races at the track since the start of the 2013 season.

QUICK RESULTS –

July 22 – Castrol Raceway in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada – Qualifying: 6; Heat race: 1 (2); Feature: 19 (2).

SEASON STATS –

19 races, 2 wins, 6 top fives, 9 top 10s, 12 top 15s, 15 top 20s

UP NEXT –

Friday and Saturday at Skagit Speedway in Alger, Wash., for the Bob’s Burgers & Brew Summer Nationals with the Northwest Challenge Series

MEDIA LINKS –

Website: http://www.TravisRilat.com

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 more than two decades. 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 a few years ago,” 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 Carlan Services, Xtreme Oilfield Technologies, 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 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.

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