3/24/2015
Andrew Felker
Andrew Felker Hustles to Two Top Five Finishes in POWRi Season Opener at Port City!
Story by Walker Racing Promotions (TeeJay Crawford Photography)
Tulsa, OK | March 24, 2015 - Focused on earning a second POWRi Midget title, Andrew Felker kicked that championship chase off this weekend at Port City Raceway for the second annual “Turnpike Challenge.” Competing in his first two outdoor events of the 2015 season, the Carl Junction, Missouri native claimed two strong top five finishes as he found plenty of speed within the No. 11A.
“It was good to get the season started off on a high note with leading laps and being in contention for some wins,” said Felker. “I wish we could have capitalized on the opportunities, but that’s racing. I feel like we have made a lot of improvements to our race team over this offseason and we’re looking to carry this weekend into a big season.”
The long season that has Andrew Felker Racing scheduled for 52 events, kicked off on Friday night as the 22-year old returned to what is considered his home track of Port City Raceway in Tulsa, Oklahoma. After failing to race the inaugural “Turnpike Challenge” due to engine struggles and winning the PCR POWRi West in September, Felker was determined to show his threat at the 1/8th mile to the national competition.
Drawing a dead last starting spot in his heat race, Felker roared his Stanton SR11 Mopar powered BOSS Chassis through the field and to the heat victory all the way from eighth. Earning high point honors with his incredible charge, Felker would start on the pole of a qualifier where he would again grab the win and garner the pole position for the feature event.
Rolling out on the pole in his Sixty-Six Truck & Foreign Salvage No. 11A, Felker immediately stormed into the race lead as the green flag dropped. Fending off some early challenges in the 40-lap main event, Felker showed his threat for the victory with an impressive run on the treacherous cushion building atop the high banked 1/8th mile.
As the race approached halfway, a three way battle for the top spot emerged when Felker was attacked by a Keith Kunz Motorsports duo. He would fall to second on lap 19 and soon match slider for slider with Kevin Thomas Jr. as the two gave the fans their money’s worth with an exciting display of racing. Eventually falling back to third, Felker made a late race charge to get back in the runner up spot, but would fall short as he rounded out the podium with a third place run in the POWRi opener.
Returning to Port City on Saturday for the finale of the “Turnpike Challenge,” the 2012 POWRi Midget champion was aiming for another excellent finish to kick the year off. Following another heat race win from second, Felker finished fourth in his qualifier and gained another feature start.
Coming back on the second night with an even faster Auto Xpress, MelMark Pipe & Supply, CSI Shocks No. 11A, Felker had a further and harder charge as he rolled out from 12th. He quickly moved into the top ten and before too long was passing the two-time defending POWRi champion for the fifth position.
As he moved into fourth and began tracking down the frontrunners, cautions started to fall his way as Felker closed in on another podium. He would soon slide past third and take advantage of a mistake to take over the second spot as he continued to methodically work the high side of the track.
The final restart on lap 34 would see Felker restart in second, but trouble soon followed. As the green flag returned and the field approached the flagstand, the No. 11A machine would come out of gear causing the field to stack up at the cone. The 22-year old talent would recover, but not before he would fall back to finish in the fifth spot.
Overall, it was a phenomenal weekend as Felker came storming out of the gates on what is expected to be a strong 2015 season. The former champion showed he will again be a serious threat to claim his second title and win several races along the way this year. Up next for AFR is a POWRi event at Belle-Clair Speedway on Friday, April 10th and his first USAC National Midget race of the season at Kokomo Speedway on Saturday, April 11th.
Feller would like to thank Sixty-Six Truck & Foreign Salvage, Auto Xpress, MelMark Pipe & Supply, Stanton Racing Engines, CSI Shocks, Engler Machine & Tool, Momo’s Racing Engines, BOSS Chassis, Schluckebier Farms, Pro Powder Coating, All-Pro Auto Interiors, Aggressive Graphics, KBR Performance, Weld Wheels, Heath II, Wilwood, Bell Helmets, Rod End Supply, Midwest Sheet Metal, and Butler Built for their continued support.
EVENT RESULTS -
3/20: POWRi National “Turnpike Challenge” at Port City Raceway in Tulsa, OK - Heat Race: 1st (8), Qualifier: 1st (1), A-Main: 3rd (1).
3/21: POWRi National “Turnpike Challenge” at Port City Raceway in Tulsa, OK - Heat Race: 1st (2), Qualifier: 4th (4), A-Main: 5th (12).
UPCOMING EVENTS -
4/10: POWRi National at Belle-Clair Speedway in Belleville, Illinois.
4/11: USAC National at Kokomo Speedway in Kokomo, Indiana.
SEASON STATS -
Feature Starts (3), Feature Wins (0), Top Five’s (2), Top Ten’s (2), Heat Wins (3).
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT –
Competition Suspension was founded in 2009. We saw a big gap in the industry. We set out to build reasonably priced quality shocks, utilizing the same technologies we were use to working with in the upper levels of motorsports.We built our first set of CSI Shocks for Nic Fass in April of 2009, he won his first race out. Since that time our philosophy has never changed. Build the best shocks in the industry; we don’t cut corners on anything. Since our inception CSI has become the shock of choice for many of todays top professionals. We have won over 2,500 races and many track, regional, and national champions around the world.
MEDIA LINKS -
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AndrewFelker11a
Twitter: https://twitter.com/andrewfelker11a
Instagram: http://instagram.com/andrewfelker11a
Website: http://www.andrewfelkerracing.com/
WALKER RACING PROMOTIONS –
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For more information e-mail walkerracingpromotions@gmail.com, call us at (918) 760-5275, like Walker Racing Promotions on Facebook, follow @Team_WRP on Twitter, follow @team_wrp on Instagram, or visit our website at www.walkerracingpromotion.com.
Article Credit: Walker Racing Promotions
