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Rilat Caught Up in Crash while Leading Trophy Cup Finale

(Photo by Malcolm White Photography)

Inside Line Promotions – TULARE, Calif. (Oct. 19, 2015) – Travis Rilat exited the 22nd annual Trophy Cup battered and bruised last weekend at Thunderbowl Raceway.

Rilat, who was driving for Richard Saumure, got upside down twice during the marquee event, including while leading the finale on Saturday night.

“I’m licking my wounds,” he joked. “I was feeling kind of down on myself, but I don’t think there were too many people who got out of there unscathed. There weren’t many cars that didn’t get upside down. At least we went out having a fast car.”

The tripleheader began on Friday afternoon after rain postponed the opening night. Rilat qualified 26th quickest and he won a heat race to lock himself into the main event, where he lined up on the outside of the 11th row.

“We just didn’t have a good qualifying run like we needed to put ourselves in contention to start the main event,” he said. “We were able to gain a few positions.”

Rilat rallied from 22nd to post a 15th-place result.

The second night of action began that evening with Rilat timing in 19th quickest during qualifying. That lined him up on the inside of the second row for a heat race.

“I got up to second and on the second lap I went into turn three and caught the cushion wrong,” he said. “I ended up getting hung in the fence like a bird.”

Rilat was unable to finish the heat race after the wild crash and he didn’t start the C Main because of the damage to his sprint car.

The team returned to Thunderbowl Raceway on Saturday for the finale. Rilat finished a heat race where he started – fourth – which was good enough to line him up on the outside of the front row for the B Main.

“I led the first 20 laps before I was passed on a late restart,” he said. “I ended up finishing third, which locked me into the main event.”

Rilat quickly powered into the lead during the 50-lap feature, which was fully inverted. He held a sizeable advantage before a caution on Lap 9 bunched the field together.

“I was leading that B Main and got a slide job put on me on a restart,” he said. “I was worried about that happening again so I drove it in a little deeper than I should have. The cushion was pretty crazy. You had to cheat it a bit to stay off it. It had one spot in turns one and two 18 inches high. It was enough to trip over.”

Rilat did just that on the restart as he hit the cushion at the wrong angle in turns one and two. Rilat’s right rear tire smacked the cushion too hard, which swung the front of his car to the right and into the wall.

The damage was too significant to continue and he was credited with a 23rd-place result.

Rilat will take this weekend off before returning to his sprint car Oct. 28-31 at I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Ark., for the 28th annual Comp Cams Short Track Nationals with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour.

QUICK RESULTS –

Oct. 16 – Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, Calif. (Round 1) – Qualifying: 26; Heat race: 1 (1); Feature: 15 (22).

Oct. 16 – Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, Calif. (Round 2) – Qualifying: 19; Heat race: DNF (3); C Main: DNS (9).

Oct. 17 – Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, Calif. – Heat race: 4 (4); B Main: 3 (2); Feature: DNF (3).

SEASON STATS –

36 races, 6 wins, 19 top fives, 20 top 10s, 23 top 15s, 29 top 20s

UP NEXT –

Oct. 28-31 at I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Ark., for the 28th annual Comp Cams Short Track Nationals with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour

MEDIA LINKS –

Website: http://www.TravisRilat.com

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

VIDEO –

Here is a link to watch highlights of Rilat’s victory at the Tyson Perez Memorial in Australia on Feb. 7: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPYKg2nfSNw

SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Xtreme Oilfield Technology

Located in St. Paul, Alberta, Canada, Xtreme Oilfield Technology began in 2000 by providing general and specialized tank cleaning (door pulls), fluid transfers, well loads and rig work. Xtreme Oilfield Technology has expanded to include body vac units, flushby units, combinations units (vacuum/steamer), water trucks and hydro vac units, and offers equipment rental. For more information, visit http://www.XtremeOilfield.ca.

“The people with Xtreme Oilfield Technology are very cool people to hang out with and we really appreciate their partnership,” Rilat said.

Rilat would also like to thank Carlan Services, Shark Racing Engines, Northern Provincial Pipelines, Matt’s Oilfield Services, TriJet Manufacturing Services, Northern Lights Welding, Camex VP, Rob Wright Building Supplies, Scott Safety, Max Fuel, Jaron Water Hauling, Maxim, Factory Kahne, HRP, Ti22, Weld Wheels, Ben Cook Racing and Smiley’s Racing Products among others for their continued support on Richard Saumure’s No. 39c Maxim.

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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