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Dover Battles to Overcome Qualifying Struggle at Knoxville Nationals

(Photo by Paul Arch)

Inside Line Promotions – KNOXVILLE, Iowa (Aug. 17, 2021) – Jack Dover was in scramble mode last week prior to the NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey’s General Stores hosted by Knoxville Raceway.

“We thought we had an engine lined up and it fell through so we had to push to find another opportunity,” he said. “I want to say thank you to Tobin and Colin Smith. I got ahold of them and they agreed to let me rent it. It’s the same type of Speedway Engines engine that I use. Also, thank you to the team at Speedway Engines for getting the motor done so we could race.”

Dover’s preliminary night started with the 46th quickest qualifying time, which buried him for the remainder of the night on Thursday. He advanced from 10th to ninth in a heat race, won the C Main and placed 21st in the B Main.

“You can’t go there and qualify bad and expect to have a good weekend,” he said. “We were kind of behind the eight ball. We were struggling with the fuel system. We got it figured out after time trails on Friday and it seemed like a night and day difference.”

Dover qualified 22nd in his group to open Friday’s Hard Knox Night. He followed with a run from eighth to fifth place in a heat race and from 13th to ninth in a B Main.

The event concluded on Saturday when Dover won the D Main before finishing 19th in the C Main.

“Every time we raced we moved forward or at least held our own,” he said. “We weren’t the best out there, but I felt like if we could time trial better we could have been at the back of the A Main or front of the B Main.

“You can’t go there unprepared. We should have had a motor with us and had it tuned before we went there. You can’t race against guys that race 90 times a year and think you’re going to beat them without having everything line up perfectly.”

Dover also competed at Knoxville Raceway two weekends ago during the 31st annual My Place Hotels 360 Knoxville Nationals presented by Great Southern Bank. Although he qualified 25th quickest, Dover rebounded nicely by winning a heat race and rallying from 18th to 11th in the A Main to garner the Hard Charger Award for passing the most drivers on Aug. 5.

“Qualifying is so critical at the 360 and 410 Knoxville Nationals,” he said. “We put ourselves in a hole by qualifying where we did. I was certainly pleased with how we raced in the heat race and the feature as it went non-stop, but when you miss it a little in qualifying it’s tough to overcome.”

Once preliminary points were calculated Dover ranked 32nd, which started him 12th in the B Main on Aug. 7. He moved into the top 10, but exited the track early with a problem.

Dover plans on returning to action this Saturday at Off Road Speedway in Norfolk, Neb., with the Midwest Sprint Touring Series and Sunday at Huset’s Speedway in Brandon, S.D., with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series.

QUICK RESULTS –

Aug. 5 – Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa – Qualifying: 25; Heat race: 1 (2); Feature: 11 (18).

Aug. 7 – Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa – B Main: DNF (12).

Aug. 12 – Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa – Qualifying: 46; Heat race: 9 (10); C Main: 1 (6); B Main: 21 (21).

Aug. 13 – Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa – Qualifying: 22; Heat race: 5 (8); B Main: 9 (13).

Aug. 14 – Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa – D Main: 1 (2); C Main: 19 (19).

SEASON STATS –

40 races, 4 wins, 18 top fives, 25 top 10s, 30 top 15s, 30 top 20s

UP NEXT –

Saturday at Off Road Speedway in Norfolk, Neb., with the Midwest Sprint Touring Series and Sunday at Huset’s Speedway in Brandon, S.D., with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series

MEDIA LINKS –

Website: http://www.JackDoverRacing.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JackDoverRacing

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jackdoverracing?fref=ts

SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Backlund Plumbing

Backlund Plumbing started in Omaha, Neb., in 1932, and over the years has grown to be one of the largest and most respected plumbing companies in Nebraska. The business has a full staff of professional licensed plumbers and customer service representatives as well as a fleet of fully equipped residential and commercial plumbing trucks and a 10,000 square foot warehouse. The one thing that has stayed consistent is customer satisfaction. Backlund is known for honesty, quality and reliability, and is one of the few companies that still stands behind its work with a full “customer satisfaction guarantee.” For more information, visit http://www.BacklundPlumbing.com.

“Chris Roseland with Backlund Plumbing has been a great friend of mine for the last few years,” Dover said. “He’s always there for me and puts me in his race car several times each season. We really appreciate his support and friendship.”

Dover would also like to thank Carpet Land, Liquid Trucking, Certified Transmission, Husker Diesel, True Trucking, West Omaha Irrigation and Lawns, Langfeldt Overhead Doors, Speedway Engines, Thorpe’s Body Shop, Speedway Graphics, SSS Motorsports, Spike Chassis, Sway Away, ButlerBuilt Professional Seat Systems, Keizer Aluminum Wheels, Schoenfeld Headers, K&N Filters, FK Rod Ends, DMI, Vortex Wings, Speedway Motors and Industrial Plating 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.

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