(Photo by Scott Frazier)
Inside Line Promotions – FORT WORTH, Texas (Sept. 17, 2014) – Brandon Hanks endured a roller-coaster weekend during the Port-A-Cool U.S. Dirt Track Championship.
Hanks made the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour main event both nights last weekend during his debut at Texas Motor Speedway, but he couldn’t find the luck needed to crack the top 10.
“Friday night it was one lane,” he said. “It had a pretty good cushion and the track was super slick until you got to the cushion. We couldn’t do anything. The only way you could pass somebody was to put a pretty dirty slide job on somebody. If I couldn’t get by them clean I just didn’t do it.”
Hanks, who advanced from sixth to fourth place during his heat race, picked up a position in the main event after starting on the outside of the seventh row.
“Every time we had a caution my right rear tire would go lower and lower on air pressure,” he said. “Every time I hit the cushion after the restarts the car got tighter. We managed to hang on and get 13th.”
The weekend concluded on Saturday at the fast track, where Hanks was caught up in an incident at the start of his heat race. After driving from fourth to second place during the opening lap, another driver collided with Hanks.
“I jumped to second off the bat,” he said. “Roger Crockett took the bottom. When we were coming out of turn two I was beside him. As we were going into turn three he hit me and it bent my left rear wheel.”
Hanks was unable to finish his heat race because of the damage and it relegated him to the back of a B Main.
“We were so fast in the B Main it was crazy,” he said. “The top was up against the fence. We tightened that car up a ton and drove it right through the slick. I could really drive in hard through the corner, rotate the center and turn down. It just stuck like glue.”
Hanks maneuvered from his 11th starting position into fourth place before he made a last-lap pass on Crockett for the final transfer position. That lined him up on the outside of the 11th row of the main event.
“The track gained a lot of grip,” he said. “We knew it’d blow off. When we started the feature the car was super tight. We knew it’d get better and we just had to ride it out until it did. Once it did we got faster, but by the time it did the leader had caught us and put us a lap down. As soon as he did we got a caution and I had to restart behind him.”
Hanks finished with a 16th-place result.
He is headed to I-80 Speedway in Greenwood, Neb., this Friday and Saturday for the Midwest Fall Brawl with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour. It will mark his debut at the high-banked track, which is offering a $50,000 bonus for any driver who wins the feature both nights.
“We’ve been to 11 new tracks this year,” he said. “I don’t know anything about that race track. I’ve seen a few pictures. I’m excited to get there.”
QUICK RESULTS –
Sept. 12 – Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas – Heat race: 4 (6); Feature: 13 (14).
Sept. 13 – Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas – Heat race: DNF (4); B Main: 3 (11); Feature: 16 (22).
SEASON STATS –
39 races, 0 wins, 2 top fives, 15 top 10s, 26 top 15s, 30 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Friday and Saturday at I-80 Speedway in Greenwood, Neb., for the Midwest Fall Brawl with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.HanksMotorsports.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Brandon_K_Hanks
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hanks-Motorsports/135263046488177
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – RE Enterprises
Based in Memphis, Tenn., R.E. Enterprises is a one-stop solution for sprint car parts and racing supplies, racing and performance shock services, chassis repairs and fabrication, and custom welding or machining needs. For more information, visit http://www.RacingEclipse.com.
“RE Enterprises has been in my corner since I was racing mini sprints,” Hanks said. “I can’t thank them enough for their support in my racing endeavors as well as with my powder coating business.”
Hanks would also like to thank Performance Powder Coating, D&B Farms, Blue City Neon Signs & Graphics, J&J Auto Racing, Wesmar Racing Engines, Walls Paint and Body Shop, Hinchman Racewear and ButlerBuilt Professional Seat Systems 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 and to join Team ILP, contact Shawn at 541-510-3663 or InsideLinePromotions@gmail.com. For more information on Inside Line Promotions, visit http://www.InsideLinePromotions.com.
- Shawn Miller on Sep 17, 2014
- Article Date: 9/17/2014 by Inside Line Promotions