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Rilat Stymied by Mechanical Woes During 360 Knoxville Nationals Qualifying

(Photo by Paul Arch)

Inside Line Promotions – OSKALOOSA, Iowa (Aug. 8, 2018) – The first goal for Travis Rilat was accomplished last Friday during the 28th annual 360 Knoxville Nationals presented by Great Southern Bank.

The BDS Motorsports driver drew a good number to go out early in qualifying for his preliminary night at Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa, where 48 of the more than 90 competitors competed that evening.

“Traditionally the earlier you go out for qualifying the better because the track slows down a bit,” Rilat said. “You’re first goal is to draw one of those early spots and we did that. Unfortunately, a mechanical problem came at the wrong time and it was like we were qualifying with a parachute on us.”

Rilat timed in 36th quickest, which missed a spot into the heat race inversion. He advanced a position to place seventh in a heat race. That relegated him toward the rear of the B Main and he exited the race early.

The event wrapped up on Saturday at Knoxville Raceway, where Rilat charged from 12th to a third-place result during the D Main. He then maneuvered from 19th to 13th in the C Main.

“We had a great race car, but just started too far back,” he said. “Qualifying can set you up for success or can bury you during the 360 Knoxville Nationals and this year we had a mechanical problem at the worst time.”

Rilat returned to action on Tuesday at Southern Iowa Speedway for the Sage Fruit Ultimate ASCS Challenge presented by Searsboro Telephone Company with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour presented by SawBlade.com. A sixth-place heat race result followed by a DNF in the B Main forced Rilat to take a promotor’s provisional to tag the rear of the field in the main event.

“We made some progress so it was good to end on a positive note,” he said. “It’s tough on a big track like that to really march forward, but we took what we could get.”

Rilat maneuvered from 25th to a 17th-place finish, which was the third-most cars passed.

He will take this weekend off before competing Aug. 18 at Hamilton County Speedway in Webster City, Iowa, and Aug. 19 at Missouri State Fair Speedway in Sedalia, Mo., with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour presented by SawBlade.com.

QUICK RESULTS –

Aug. 3 – Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa – Qualifying: 36; Heat race: 7 (8); B Main: DNF (13).

Aug. 4 – Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa – D Main: 3 (12); C Main: 13 (19).

Aug. 7 – Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa, Iowa – Heat race: 6 (3); B Main: DNF (8); Feature: 17 (25).

SEASON STATS –

32 races, 0 wins, 8 top fives, 18 top 10s, 23 top 15s, 24 top 20s

UP NEXT –

Aug. 18 at Hamilton County Speedway in Webster City, Iowa, and Aug. 19 at Missouri State Fair Speedway in Sedalia, Mo., with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour presented by SawBlade.com

MEDIA LINKS –

Website: http://www.TravisRilat.com

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/TravisRilat29

SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – The BOSS

Located in Dallas, The BOSS offers a large selection of hardwood flooring products below closeout prices for retail customers. For more information, visit http://www.ShoptheBOSS.com.

“The BOSS was created by Richard Bell, who has been a really good friend,” Rilat said. “He’s got a pretty unique deal going on. It’s been exciting to see him grow his business and we’re appreciative of his support in our racing endeavors.”

Rilat would also like to thank BDS Motorsports, Frio Chevrolet, The BOSS, MDS Boring & Drilling, Shark Racing Engines, CnB Chubby, Joe’s Kleen Products, Simpson Race Products, KSE Racing Products, Schoenfeld Headers, Champion Brands, Hoosier Racing Tires, HRP Wings, Goodrich, All Star Auto Reconditioning, All Pro Cylinder Heads, Astro Titanium, AutoMeter, Batts Farms, Birch Corp Financial, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Carlan Services, Car Star Collision and Service (from Leduc, Alberta, Canada), Clark Construction, Diversified Machine Inc., Dyer Rods, Eagle Motorsports, FK Rod Ends, Fuel Safe, Gee and Gee Racing, Gillund Enterprises, Global Power Services, Hepfner Racing Products, Hoosier Tire Midwest, Impact Coatings, The Joie of Seating, Justice Brothers, Kinsler Fuel Injection, KSE Racing Products, Kustom Sprintcar Supplies, Lanktree Holdings, Millstone, Moroso Products, NGK Spark Plugs, Outerwears, Over The Top Marketing and Promotions, Pat Beck Motorsports, Pit Stop Liquors, Quick Racing Products, Randy’s Lawncare/Maintenance – Newton, Iowa, Sander Engineering, SCE Gaskets, Schoenfeld Headers, Sebastian Sandblasting and Powdercoating, Shane Liebig, Shaver Specialty Race Engines, Speedway Motors, Strong Crane Service, Super Shox, Total Seal Piston Rings, Ultra-Lite Brakes and Zephyr Pro40 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.

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