Inside Line Promotions – ARDMORE, Okla. (June 16, 2020) – Robbie Price battled Mother Nature and inexperience as he recently made his first 410ci sprint car starts of the 2020 season during five nights of racing with the Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1.
Price competed at Red Dirt Raceway in Meeker, Okla.; at 81 Speedway in Park City, Kan.; at Lawton Speedway in Lawton, Okla.; at Devil’s Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, Texas; and at Southern Oklahoma Speedway during a nine-day stretch that saw Mother Nature cancel three other nights of racing. His best finish was a 17th-place outing at Red Dirt Raceway on June 5.
“It was not really good from the aspect of results, but I learned a lot out there,” he said. “You always want to run well, but sometimes the knowledge you gain is just as valuable.”
After rain postponed the opening event at Lawton Speedway on June 4, Price rolled into Red Dirt Raceway the following day excited to race. He began the night in time trials by laying down a fastest lap of 11.979 seconds, good enough for 14th quickest out of 28 cars in attendance.
He then started fifth in a heat race and dropped one position, securing the 17th starting position in the feature. Price struggled to make up ground from deep in the pack and he finished where he started.
“Red Dirt was definitely the best night we had and I think we might have had a top-10 car honestly,” he said. “I tried to run the top, which wasn’t the right thing to do and it cost us dearly.”
Sandwiched between two weather related cancellations at Outlaw Motor Speedway in Oktaha, Okla., Price also picked up finishes of 23rd at 81 Speedway on June 7 and back-to-back 21st-place results at Lawton Speedway on June 8 and at Devil’s Bowl Speedway last Wednesday.
Price closed out the stretch with a 24th-place outing at Southern Oklahoma Speedway last Thursday after breaking a lifter during a heat race. With it being his only 410ci motor, Price parked the race car early instead of testing fate and he chalked it up as another learning experience.
“I honestly don’t know if my head was in it the way it needed to be,” he said. “It was such a grind just getting to and from the track that I don’t know that I truly ever was focused on what I needed to do from a driver standpoint.
“And then I was trying to get my car tuned right and trying be smart with equipment. It’s no excuse as it’s part of being successful at this game, but I just don’t know that I was really prepared for the grind.”
Price will return to his 360ci sprint car this Saturday at Lawton Speedway to compete with the ASCS Sooner Region. He is looking forward to using the valuable knowledge he gained from the 410 sprint car action and applying it to the 360.
“I’ve said it over and over, but we obviously didn’t have the results we wanted in the 410,” he said. “But I do believe we learned a lot about the car and I believe our notebook is a little better because of it. I’m excited to get back in the 360 and see if we can’t put all that experience to good use.”
QUICK RESULTS –
June 5 – Red Dirt Raceway in Meeker, Okla. – Qualifying: 14; Heat race: 6 (5); Feature: 17 (17).
June 7 – 81 Speedway in Park City, Kan. – Qualifying: 22; Heat race: 7 (8); B Main: 4 (4); Feature: 23 (22).
June 8 – Lawton Speedway in Lawton, Okla. – Qualifying: 21; Heat race: 6 (7); Feature: 21 (19).
June 10 – Devil’s Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, Texas – Qualifying: 23; Heat race: 8 (8); Feature: 21 (24).
June 11 – Southern Oklahoma Speedway in Ardmore, Okla. – Qualifying: 24; Heat race: DNS (8); Feature: 24 (24).
14 races, 0 wins, 0 top fives, 2 top 10s, 3 top 15s, 7 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Saturday at Lawton Speedway in Lawton, Okla., with the ASCS Sooner Region
MEDIA LINKS –
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SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Wildlight Motorsports Photography
Wildlight Motorsports Photography takes images throughout events in Western Canada and on the West Coast. For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/
“Don is a really good guy who takes great photos,” Price said. “I really appreciate his help throughout the last few years. He’s turned into a good friend.”
Price would like to thank Millstone Heating & Sheet Metal, Shockwave Motorsports, Beaufort Self Storage Ltd., Shark Racing Engines, Triple X Race Components, Highline Performance and Champion Brands 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.