10/8/2013
Andrew Felker
Felker Finishes Second in POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget Series Standings
Inside Line Promotions – PONTOON BEACH, Ill. (Oct. 8, 2013) – The Gold Crown Midget Nationals didn’t go as planned for Andrew Felker.
He was unable to record a top 10 during the POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget Series and the Honda USAC National Dirt Midget Series tripleheader at Tri-City Speedway last weekend.
“It was bad luck nonstop last weekend,” he said. “We had a really fast car all weekend. We just never could put it all together for the A Main. It was definitely disappointing, but we’ve got to put it behind us and look forward to this weekend.”
The event started on Thursday with Felker finishing second in his heat race after starting on the pole.
“The track was really hooked up and he beat me into turn one,” Felker said. “The track was wide open, follow the leader.”
That started Felker on the outside of the seventh row in the 25-lap feature.
“I fell back to 15th or 16th at the first caution,” he said. “Then me and Christopher Bell were battling each other and picked off a bunch of cars. I was mainly running the top in turns one and two and the bottom in (turns) three and four. (Bell) showed me the line one time so I hopped down there and we used it to work through the field.”
With only a handful of laps remaining, Felker was competing for a top five when disaster struck.
“We were trading sliders for fifth and Tanner Thorson jumped the cushion and spun down the track and collected us and took us out of the race,” he said.
The collision ended Felker’s night with a 16th-place result.
The following night began better with Felker advancing from third place to win his heat race. That locked him into the dash, which he finished fifth to start the main event on the inside of the third row.
“We kinda gambled on setup and it bit us,” he said. “We ran third and fourth for the first few laps of the feature. Once the track slicked off the car became a handful. It kinda made the car radical.”
Felker held on for a 14th-place finish.
After Saturday’s finale was postponed to Sunday because of weather, Felker started the event in a B Main. With 10 cars transferring out of the consolation, he maintained a top five and earned a bid into the main event despite brake problems.
“We lost brakes and everyone was riding up around the wall around the track,” he said. “We held on not to put it in the fence without the brakes.”
Felker started the 50-lap race on the outside of the eighth row.
“We put a hard tire on because it was 50 laps,” he said. “For what the tire wear was the first two nights, it really didn’t wear tires at all. A softer tire would have worked better.
“We got stuck a lap down pretty early in the race. I think Christopher Bell lapped up to seventh in the first 25 laps. I think my car got going too late.”
Felker ended the weekend 13th and wound up finishing second in the POWRi championship standings.
He is scheduled to compete this Friday and Saturday at I-44 Riverside Speedway in Oklahoma City, Okla., for the inaugural Twister Nationals.
QUICK RESULTS –
Oct. 3 – Tri-City Speedway in Pontoon Beach, Ill. – Heat race: 2 (1); Feature: 16 (14).
Oct. 4 – Tri-City Speedway in Pontoon Beach, Ill. – Heat race: 1 (3); Dash: 5 (4); Feature: 14 (5).
Oct. 6 – Tri-City Speedway in Pontoon Beach, Ill. – B Main: 5 (4); Feature: 13 (16).
SEASON STATS –
46 races, 1 win, 18 top fives, 32 top 10s, 40 top 15s, 44 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Friday and Saturday at I-44 Riverside Speedway in Oklahoma City, Okla., for the inaugural Twister Nationals
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.AndrewFelkerRacing.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AndrewFelker11a
VIDEO –
Here is a link to XSANTV’s in-car footage of Felker finishing second at Jacksonville Speedway in Jacksonville, Ill., on April 26: http://youtu.be/tSwLTs5L1Zk
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Momo’s Racing Engines
Located in Tulsa, Okla., Momo’s Racing Engines rebuilds micro sprint engines. For more information, visit http://www.MomosRacingEngines.com.
“I’ve been with Momo’s Racing Engines for 10 years,” Felker said. “I would definitely never run another micro without a Momo’s engine in it. I’d like to thank them for their support and help over the past 10 years with my career.”
Felker would also like to thank Auto Xpress, 66 Truck & Foreign Salvage, Fontana Automotive, MelMark Pipe & Supply, CSI Shocks, Schluckebier Farms, Pro Powder Coating, All-Pro Auto Interiors, Aggressive Graphics, KBR Performance, Weld Wheels, KMK Enterprises, Heath II, Wilwood, Maxim Racewear and Leading Edge Composites 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 http://www.insidelinepromotions.com.
Article Credit: Inside Line Promotions
Submitted By: Shawn Miller
