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TBJ loses top 10 with late engine issue

Inside Line Promotions – GRAIN VALLEY, Mo. (Oct. 11) – Tony Bruce Jr. pulled off the track and straight to his pit five laps early.

“I could tell the engine was down a cylinder,” he said. “What a bummer.”

The Liberal, Kan., native had overcome a slow start to the ASCS Warrior Region finale at Valley Speedway in Grain Valley, Mo., last Friday only to have an engine issue plague his finish.

In his heat race, Bruce Jr. finished where he started – fifth – and was relegated to start third in the B Main. While most of the drivers had shifted to the top for the consolation race, Bruce Jr. stuck to the bottom.

He pulled into second place within a handful of laps and took the lead in the final circuits of the B Main, which he held on for his 10th consolation victory of the season.

“We tightened the car up a bit from the heat race and it started rolling the corners better early in that B Main,” he said. “We made a couple of minor changes for the feature and I thought we were set up pretty well.”

Bruce Jr., who started the feature in 17th, stayed on the bottom of the dry track from the first green flag. He got caught in a cluster on the opening lap, but was able to get by a half-dozen cars in the first five laps to pull into the top 15.

Bruce Jr. continued to pick off positions until he was in ninth by the midpoint of the 25-lap feature. A restart with approximately eight laps remaining bunched the field up, but Bruce Jr. was soon troubled by an engine issue. He pulled into the pits when the problem became evident, giving up a top 10 and officially being scored 16th.

“That’s a frustrating part of the sport,” he said.

Bruce Jr. is scheduled to compete Thursday through Saturday at Lone Star Speedway in Kilgore, Texas, with the ASCS National Tour. He currently ranks ninth in the standings.

For live updates of Bruce Jr. and the rest of the competition throughout the weekend, check out www.insidelinepromotions.com.

QUICK RESULTS –

Oct. 7 – Valley Speedway in Grain Valley, Mo. – Heat race: 5 (5); B Main: 1 (3); Feature: 16 (17).

SEASON STATS –

48 races, 42 features, 1 win, 5 top fives, 18 top 10s, 28 top 15s, 39 top 20s

UP NEXT –

Thursday through Saturday at Lone Star Speedway in Kilgore, Texas, with the ASCS National Tour

FAVORITE NUMBER –

9: Position Bruce Jr. was in when engine issues forced him to the pits late in last Friday’s ASCS Warrior Region feature at Valley Speedway in Grain Valley, Mo.

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS –

Website: www.tonybrucejr.com

Twitter: www.twitter.com/tonybrucejr

ON THE AIR –

Bruce Jr. was a featured guest on the ASCS Show by Racinboys on May 24. Check out the link below for his interview, which starts at approximately 44:20 into the show.

http://www.meridix.com/mbp/general/index.php?liveid=Racinboys&recordid=19159

He was also on the April 26 edition. Click on the link below to listen to Bruce Jr.’s interview, which begins around the 52:25 mark.

http://www.meridix.com/mbp/general/index.php?liveid=Racinboys&recordid=18733

SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – The Oil Medics

Located in Fort Worth, Texas, The Oil Medics services diesel trucks and distributes racing oil for sprint car engines and rear ends. For more information, visit www.theoilmedics.com.

“Bill and the entire Jewell family has been more than just a great sponsor, but also great friends,” Bruce Jr. said. “They specialize in truck maintenance and fuel economy, which has saved us hundreds of dollars the past two years in diesel fuel.”

Bruce Jr. would like to thank his sponsors, including TBJ Promotions, Travelwizer.com, Ticketmob.com, LRB Manufacturing, Hoosier and Smiley’s Racing Products 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.

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