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Rilat Unable to Overcome Wild Flip During Opening Round of Ronald Laney Memorial

(Photo by Al Steinberg)

Inside Line Promotions – TAMPA, Fla. (Feb. 25, 2015) – To say the opening race weekend of the season in the United States was a rough outing for Travis Rilat would be an understatement.

Rilat, who kicked off the year by winning the Tyson Perez Memorial in Australia in early February, tackled East Bay Raceway Park last weekend for the Ronald Laney Memorial with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour.

Unfortunately, Rilat battled attrition all weekend during the event that featured more than 65 competitors.

The racing started last Thursday with Rilat finishing second in a heat race, which lined him up on the outside of the front row of a B Main. Rilat battled for the lead early and after getting a huge run around the cushion in turns one and two, he collided with the leader and the wall exiting turn two. The impact forced a wild flip for Rilat, who was unable to resume action that night.

“I’ve been in that position hundreds of times,” he said. “I could have lifted, but I didn’t think the leader was going to slide all the way up. It was a racing deal where we were going for the lead and trying to transfer into the feature and we got caught up in a crash.”

The team returned to East Bay Raceway Park on Friday for another round of preliminary action. However, mechanical issues derailed Rilat during his heat race and relegated him to the back of a B Main. He then finished 11th in the consolation race to miss a transfer.

The weekend concluded on Saturday, when Rilat charged from eighth to fifth place during a qualifier to open the finale. That placed him in a B Main, where he maneuvered from 11th to seventh place to be only two positions short of a transfer.

“We’ve had a lot of success throughout the years at East Bay and unfortunately last weekend didn’t work out in our favor,” he said. “I’m excited to compete this weekend at Bubba Raceway Park and hopefully we can put together a pair of strong nights to be in contention for a win or two.”

Rilat will compete this Friday and Saturday at Bubba Raceway Park in Ocala, Fla., with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour.

QUICK RESULTS –

Feb. 19 – East Bay Raceway Park in Tampa, Fla. – Heat race: 2 (1); B Main: DNF (2).

Feb. 20 – East Bay Raceway Park in Tampa, Fla. – Heat race: DNF (3); B Main: 11 (11).

Feb. 21 – East Bay Raceway Park in Tampa, Fla. – Qualifier: 5 (8); B Main: 7 (11).

SEASON STATS –

4 races, 1 win, 1 top five, 1 top 10, 1 top 15, 1 top 20

UP NEXT –

Friday and Saturday at Bubba Raceway Park in Ocala, Fla., with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour

MEDIA LINKS –

Website: http://www.TravisRilat.com

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

VIDEO –

Here is a link to watch highlights of Rilat’s victory at the Tyson Perez Memorial in Australia on Feb. 7: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPYKg2nfSNw

SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Triple X Race Components

Based in Burlington, Wash., Triple X Race Components offers top-of-the-line sprint car, midget and micro sprint parts and chassis. For more information, visit http://www.xxxraceco.com.

“Triple X has been a great partner for the last few years,” Rilat said. “I always feel very comfortable and very safe racing a Triple X chassis.”

Rilat would also like to thank Shark Racing Engines, Shop the BOSS, Weld Wheels, KSE Racing Products, Schoenfeld Headers, Simpson Race Products, Hoosier Racing Tire, HRP Wings, Goodrich, Penske Racing Shocks, All Star Auto Reconditioning, MDS Boring & Drilling and everyone who has partnered with his No. 29 Triple X.

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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