5/17/2016
Inside Line Promotions
Rilat Making First Trip of Season to Montana for GoMuddy.com NSL 360 Big Horn Doubleheader
(Photo by Malcolm White Photography)
Inside Line Promotions – FORT WORTH, Texas (May 17, 2016) – Travis Rilat will make his season debut driving for Richard Saumure this weekend in Montana at the inaugural GoMuddy.com National Sprint League 360 Big Horn Region event.
Electric City Speedway in Great Falls will host the doubleheader with races on Friday and Saturday.
“The No. 39 car seems to be pretty fast everywhere we go,” Rilat said. “I’ve never been to Electric City, but hopefully we’ll keep our Montana streak alive.”
Rilat and Saumure competed in a trio of doubleheaders in Montana last season with the duo scoring a victory during each weekend with top-five finishes in the other race each time. The team’s average finish in the six races was 1.83.
Rilat is coming off a rough time in his own sprint car during the Texas World Dirt Track Championships last weekend at Texas Motor Speedway Dirt Track.
The Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour doubleheader began on Friday with Rilat finishing fifth in a heat race after a close call racing with a competitor.
“The first night we had a decent run going in the heat,” he said. “We were up to fourth from sixth and had the third-place car trap us in the infield. That put us finishing fifth in the heat.”
Rilat then advanced from seventh to sixth in a heat race and he won a B Main after starting on the outside of the front row.
“The track rubbered up in the B Main and I was able to find the rubber before the leader,” he said. “In the feature the track was rubbered up and they shortened the race to 20 laps. We just started in the back and finished in the back. There wasn’t much we could do.”
Rilat ended with an 18th-place result.
The weekend concluded on Saturday. Rilat advanced from sixth to third place in a heat race before he lined up fifth in a qualifier.
“We were burning up a set of tires every time we hit the track,” he said. “We dug around and found a set of used tires in the trailer for the qualifier. The tires never did get ahold of the track. We just backed up.”
Rilat’s eighth-place result sent him to a B Main, which he won to transfer into the main event.
“The track was rubbered up again,” he said. “We probably could have done a little better, but early in the race we got in with another driver who hit our left rear and we about turned over. By the time that was all done we dropped near last.”
Rilat rebounded to post a 14th-place finish.
QUICK RESULTS –
May 13 – Texas Motor Speedway Dirt Track in Fort Worth, Texas – Heat race: 5 (6); Qualifier: 6 (7); B Main: 1 (2); Feature: 18 (18).
May 14 – Texas Motor Speedway Dirt Track in Fort Worth, Texas – Heat race: 3 (6); Qualifier: 8 (5); B Main: 1 (4); Feature: 14 (18).
SEASON STATS –
17 races, 1 win, 4 top fives, 8 top 10s, 11 top 15s, 15 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Friday and Saturday at Electric City Speedway in Great Falls, Mont., with the GoMuddy.com National Sprint League 360 Big Horn Region
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,” 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 Worfe Chevrolet, Shop the BOSS, MDS Boring & Drilling, Weld Wheels, KSE Racing Products, Schoenfeld Headers, Simpson Race Products, Hoosier Racing Tires, HRP Wings, Goodrich, Penske Racing Shocks and All Star Auto Reconditioning.
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
