5/5/2015
Inside Line Promotions
White Lightning Motorsports Grabs Runner-Up Result at Rapid Speedway
(Photo by Doug Johnson)
Inside Line Promotions – BRANDON, S.D. (May 5, 2015) – White Lightning Motorsports almost captured its first triumph of the season last Friday when Jamie Ball led all but the final three laps during the inaugural Midwest Sprint Touring Series event.
Ball opened his first career race at Rapid Speedway in Rock Rapids, Iowa, by advancing from sixth to third place in his heat race. That locked him into the redraw for the main event.
“The top three in each heat race make the redraw,” he said. “They could draw a one, two or three. I got third in the first heat and they drew a three so it put me on the pole for the feature.”
Ball immediately capitalized on the opportunity as he powered to the top spot on the opening lap.
“I was lucky enough they drew the invert to put me on the pole because the track was pretty dusty and slick from the get-go,” he said. “We were pretty confident we could go out and compete for the win. I went out and did my thing, hit my marks and kept to the bottom.
“I led the first 20 laps and there was a yellow flag for a tire that got pushed onto the track. It set up a restart with five laps to go. I held on for two more laps before Lee Grosz found the rubber that had moved up in turns one and two. I did all I could, but wasn’t able to get back by him.”
Ball ended with a runner-up finish, which marked his first podium result of the season.
“It’s definitely nothing to hang our head about,” he said. “I think everybody knows I’m a Knoxville guy and not a short-track guy. Sometimes it’s better to be sitting second than first. I didn’t need to change my line because everything I had been doing had been working. Lee had nothing to lose by going up there and it worked out for him.”
Following Saturday’s rainout at Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa, Ball guided White Lightning Motorsports to Huset’s Speedway on Sunday with the MSTS. It was Ball’s first time competing at the high-banked track.
He maneuvered from seventh to fourth place in a heat race, which was one spot out of making the feature redraw. It lined Ball up on the inside of the seventh row for the main event.
“The track slicked off very uncharacteristically for Huset’s,” he said. “There wasn’t a whole lot of grip anywhere. We struggled being on a new track and for it being as slick as it was. Once again it was nothing to hang our head about.”
Ball ended with a 14th-place result.
He is slated to tackle a busy schedule this week, featuring races on Wednesday at Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa, Iowa, with the Sprint Invaders; on Thursday at Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Kan., for the McCarthy Auto Group KC Klassic with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour; on Friday at Callaway Raceway in Fulton, Mo., with the ASCS Warrior Region; and on Saturday at Knoxville Raceway.
QUICK RESULTS –
JAMIE BALL:
May 1 – Rapid Speedway in Rock Rapids, Iowa – Heat race: 3 (6); Feature: 2 (1).
May 3 – Huset’s Speedway in Brandon, S.D. – Heat race: 4 (7); Feature: 14 (13).
SEASON STATS –
JAMIE BALL – 4 races, 0 wins, 1 top five, 1 top 10, 3 top 15, 4 top 20s
DEVIN KLINE – 0 races, 0 wins, 0 top fives, 0 top 10s, 0 top 15s, 0 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Wednesday at Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa, Iowa, with the Sprint Invaders; Thursday at Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Kan., for the McCarthy Auto Group KC Klassic with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour; Friday at Callaway Raceway in Fulton, Mo., with the ASCS Warrior Region; and Saturday at Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa
MEDIA LINKS –
Jamie Ball Website: http://www.JamieBall.com
Devin Kline Website: http://www.DevinKline.com
Jamie Ball Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/JamieBall5j
Devin Kline Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/DevinKline5j
APPAREL –
White Lightning Motorsports has t-shirts and hoodies available for purchase at their race trailers in the infield of each sprint car event at Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa.
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – JJ Kane Auctioneers
Selling from multiple locations across the United States, JJ Kane Auctioneers specializes in asset recovery and liquidation. They hold absolute auctions year round across the United States. For more information, visit http://www.jjkane.com.
“JJ Kane Auctioneers is a huge part of our race team and has been since the beginning,” Jamie Ball said. “They are also a big part of our family business and we couldn’t do it without them. They are great people as well and we enjoy our business and personal relationships with each and every one of their team members.”
White Lightning Motorsports would also like to thank Matt Jones Trucking, Jerry & Kelly Johnston, Housby, Timberline Tree Service, BCP Weddings, The Hearing Clinic, Iowa State Savings Bank, Ostrich Racing Engines, Sweet Manufacturing, Keizer Aluminum Wheels, FK Rod Ends, Fragola Performance Systems, King Racing Products, BR Motorsports, Hoosier Tire, Bell Helmets, MPD Racing, Driver Websites, Champion Oil, Wingdance Graphics, Shell Shock and Hooker Harness 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.
Article Credit: Inside Line Promotions
Submitted By: Shawn Miller