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(Photo by TeeJay Crawford)

Inside Line Promotions – WHEATLAND, Mo. (Sept. 24, 2018) – Tony Bruce Jr. produced arguably his best weekend of the season on one of the biggest stages.

Bruce Jr. guided the Smith Family No. 86 sprint car to a pair of top fives during the 8th annual Jesse Hockett/Daniel McMillin Memorial at Lucas Oil Speedway, which hosted more than 50 drivers during the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour presented by SawBlade.com tripleheader.

“It’s really big,” he said. “We haven’t raced a lot this year. Since Knoxville (last month) we’ve really struggled. When you start to struggle nobody is happy because the ultimate goal is to compete for wins. To come away with two solid finishes is a turn in the right direction.”

The event began on Thursday with Bruce Jr. advancing from fifth to fourth place in a heat race and from eighth to sixth place in a qualifier. A runner-up result in a B Main earned a transfer into the back of the main event and Bruce Jr. rallied from 22nd to a 15th-place finish, which was the second-most cars passed.

“We were decent, but the track didn’t have much for good conditions,” he said. “It was rubber down from the word go.”

Friday was smoother as Bruce Jr. placed second in a heat race and third in a qualifier to garner enough points to lock into the 13th starting position in the A Main.

“We set up to run the bottom mainly because we knew everybody would get around the top,” he said. “That place is usually predominantly around the top. We figured we’d have a clear path down there. It played out how we hoped. At the beginning of the race we maintained and really didn’t go anywhere. About halfway through the race people started to slow down. The goal is to be there at the end and we were.”

Bruce Jr. continued to make progress throughout the late stage of the race as he powered to a runner-up result, which was his best finish of the season. His 11 positions gained was the second most for the second straight night. It also ranked him fourth in preliminary points to line him up on the outside of the second row for Saturday’s A Main.

“I was a little surprised we were starting as far forward as we were,” he said. “We started off too tight and fell back some spots on the initial start. It really made us have to work for our fifth-place finish. I fell back to about ninth at one point. To come back up there with a solid top five, our car really came on during the second half of the race and it was a great ending to the weekend.”

Bruce Jr. rallied late and made a last-lap pass to secure a fifth-place finish, which was his seventh top five of the season.

Bruce Jr. will be off this weekend before competing on Oct. 5-6 at I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Ark., during the 31st annual COMP Cams Short Track Nationals with the ASCS Mid-South Region.

QUICK RESULTS –

Sept. 20 – Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Mo. – Heat race: 4 (5); Qualifier: 6 (8); B Main: 2 (2); Feature: 15 (22).

Sept. 21 – Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Mo. – Heat race: 2 (1); Qualifier: 3 (3); Feature: 2 (13).

Sept. 22 – Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Mo. – Feature: 5 (4).

SEASON STATS –

27 races, 0 wins, 7 top fives, 15 top 10s, 19 top 15s, 21 top 20s

UP NEXT –

Oct. 5-6 at I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Ark., for the 31st annual COMP Cams Short Track Nationals with the ASCS Mid-South Region

MEDIA LINKS –

Website: http://www.TonyBruceJr.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TonyBruceJr

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“It’s an honor to be associated with Scott Brown and Lubbock Wrecker Service,” Bruce Jr. said. “They have been involved with racing for a long time and we are fortunate to have them on our team.”

Bruce Jr. would also like to thank Briley Trucking, Wheeler Metals, The Oil Medics, Eagle Motorsports, Hinchman Racewear, Smiley’s Racing Products, SWE, Maxwell Industries, Moss Racing Engines, FK Rod Ends, ButlerBuilt Professional Seat Systems, Factory Kahne Shocks, DriverWebsites.com, RacinBoys.com, Wilwood, Schoenfeld Headers, Hoosier Racing Tires, HRP, Kaeding Performance, Schaeffer Oil, Fuel Safe, Bell Helmets, Four Seasons Radiator, Southern Trailer Works, KSE, Brown and Miller Racing Solutions, Weld Wheels, ISC Racers Tape, Pressure Tek, Tiger Towing (Dave and Paula Debates), Sorrels Auto and Truck Parts (Mitchell Sorrels), Melvin Plumbing (Billy Melvin), Engler Machine & Tool, Inc., Maxim Chassis, Wulff Pumps, Miller Auto Supply and Jeff Smith Racing Engines 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 by joining Team ILP, contact Shawn at 541-510-3663 or Shawn@InsideLinePromotions.com. For more information on Inside Line Promotions, visit http://www.InsideLinePromotions.com.