Inside Line Promotions – LAS CRUCES, N.M. (Nov. 15) – It was hard to top last year’s performance, but Jack Dover had similar expectations when he arrived in New Mexico.
After eighth- and fifth-place finishes with the ASCS National Tour at Southern New Mexico Speedway in Las Cruces, N.M., last weekend, Dover was satisfied.
“Obviously I wanted to win like I did last year,” he said. “It was a pretty good weekend. Especially after how our first night started so far back.”
The 21-year-old Springfield, Neb., native drew a 56 in the pill draw, which lined him up seventh in an eight-lap heat race on the 5/16-mile dirt oval. When a car in front of him dropped out prior to the start, Dover moved up a row to fifth. He then finished third, which didn’t give him enough points to lock into the feature.
“I figured we would have been in the A Main, but clear in the back,” he said. “But we missed it by one spot. That ended up helping us a lot. I was able to go out and run the track.
“I noticed when I was out there it was blowing off and getting slicker. I knew the track was changing, but all the other drivers who were locked in didn’t know. I tightened the car up a little more for the feature.”
After starting on the pole of the first B Main, Dover won the consolation race to advance to the main event, which he started 17th. The track remained fairly locked down and Dover was one of the few drivers able to pass in the 25-lap main event.
“I just ran it real hard up top,” he said. “That’s where we passed most of the guys in turns three and four.”
Dover charged from 17th to seventh before a late caution bunched the field up and forced Dover back to eighth because he hadn’t completed a lap since the last pass. A couple of cars moved up the track on the restart and Dover finished eighth, which was four positions out of being locked into Saturday’s feature redraw.
“That caution really hurt us,” he said. “I think I would have transferred to be honest.”
Another high draw forced Dover to start seventh in his heat race on Saturday. He worked his way to finish second, which gave him the fourth-most points and lined him up eighth in the 30-lap race.
“They reworked the track so I knew it was going to be bad after the first 10 laps so I tightened my car up,” he said. “I knew I had to do something in the first 10 laps. Once rubber started, I knew it was going to be follow the leader.”
Dover picked up a trio of positions in the first third of the race before the track began to rubber up just before the midpoint of the race. It was locked down with rubber the final dozen laps and Dover finished fifth.
It was his 33rd top-five finish this season and eighth with the ASCS National Tour.
Dover wraps up this season on Friday and Saturday at USA Raceway in Tucson, Ariz., for the 44th annual Western World Championships with the ASCS National Tour. He’s had great success at the 3/8-mile track, where he has recorded a top 10 in the last six races with a pair of runner-up finishes. In fact, Dover has an average feature finish of 5.17 in six ASCS National Tour events at USA Raceway.
“I like Tucson because it’s pretty much just floor it all the way around,” he said.
For live updates on Dover and the rest of the competition all weekend, check out www.insidelinepromotions.com.
QUICK RESULTS –
Nov. 11 – Southern New Mexico Speedway in Las Cruces, N.M. – Heat race: 3 (5); B Main: 1 (1); Feature: 8 (17).
Nov. 12 – Southern New Mexico Speedway in Las Cruces, N.M. – Heat race: 2 (7); Feature: 5 (8).
SEASON STATS –
51 races, 45 features, 9 wins, 33 top fives, 39 top 10s, 41 top 15s, 42 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Friday and Saturday at USA Raceway in Tucson, Ariz., with the ASCS National Tour for the 44th annual Western World Championships
FAVORITE NUMBER –
2: Finish last year in his preliminary night at the Western World Championships.
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.jackdoverracing.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/JackDoverRacing
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/jackdoverracing
ON THE AIR –
Dover was a featured guest on the ASCS Show with Racinboys on Sept. 6 after winning the LOS 360 Nationals. His segment starts around the 3:30 mark into the episode.
http://www.meridix.com/mbp/general/index.php?liveid=Racinboys&recordid=20826
He was also on the ASCS Show with Racinboys on Aug. 30. His interview starts approximately four minutes into the show.
http://www.meridix.com/mbp/general/index.php?liveid=Racinboys&recordid=20614
He was also on the ASCS Show with Racinboys on June 14 after his win at the Eagle Nationals. His interview begins around 18:40.
http://www.meridix.com/mbp/general/index.php?liveid=Racinboys&recordid=19427
Dover’s first interview of the season on the ASCS Show with Racinboys was on June 7. Check out the link below for his interview, which begins around the 6:50 mark.
http://www.meridix.com/mbp/general/index.php?liveid=Racinboys&recordid=19351
Here’s a link to some on-board video of Dover winning his heat race at Knoxville Raceway on June 4:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWFqplMGokk&feature=channel_video_title
Check out this video of Dover’s feature win and heat race victory at U.S. 36 Raceway in Osborn, Mo., on Aug. 26:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaDEszvNAtM
Here is an interview with Dover after he won the LOS 360 Nationals at Lake Ozark Speedway in Eldon, Mo., on Sept. 4:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tJbn2gfsWM
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Trail Performance Coatings, Inc.
Located in Papillion, Neb., Trail Performance Coatings, Inc., is an industry leader in powder coating. For more information, visit www.trailperformance.com.
“Trail Performance Coatings, Inc., has always made my sprint car stand out,” Dover said.
Dover would also like to thank Thorpe’s Body Shop, Home Pride Companies, Inc., Certified Transmission, Shaver Engines, Eagle Motorsports, Inc., The Oil Medics and ButlerBuilt for their continued support.
INSIDE LINE PROMOTIONS –
Inside Line Promotions specializes in affordable public relations, media management and merchandising services for sprint car teams. ILP Founder Shawn Miller leverages professional journalism with new media technologies and social networking to improve your exposure and your sponsors’ return on investment.
To meet the media relations needs of your team, contact Shawn at 541-510-3663 or sprintcarreporter@yahoo.com. For more information on Inside Line Promotions, visit www.insidelinepromotions.com.
- Shawn Miller on Nov 15, 2011
- Article Date: 11/15/2011 by Shawn Miller - Inside Line Promotions