9/11/2018
Inside Line Promotions
Price Qualifies for Gold Cup Race of Champions Feature With the World of Outlaws
(Photo by Wildlight Motorsports Photography)
Inside Line Promotions – CHICO, Calif. (Sept. 11, 2018) – Robbie Price qualified for the main event in the finale of the Gold Cup Race of Champions last Saturday at Silver Dollar Speedway for the first time in his career. The event, which featured a stout field of 40-plus cars, was sanctioned by the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series.
In heat race action, Price battled nine-time World of Outlaws champion Donny Schatz tooth and nail for the final transfer spot. Schatz snagged the position on the final lap. Price proceeded to power his way from seventh to second in the Last Chance Showdown to earn a transfer spot into the 40-lap main event.
Bad luck cost Price a lap early in the race, as he got off the throttle when a couple of cars got out of shape. He was expecting a caution to come out, but the caution flag was never waved and he got lapped in the process, which put him at a disadvantage for the remainder of the race. Price wound up completing 38 of the 40 laps and he was scored 22nd at the finish line.
“With the limited 410 experience I had, to make the Gold Cup was a great accomplishment,” he said. “I tried running the Gold Cup a couple of years ago and I barely made the B Main. We raced really well in the heat race and made some changes to the car as well as watching the track. We learned a bit from the previous two nights and I felt a lot more confident behind the wheel after having that seat time.”
On the World of Outlaws opening night of the Gold Cup, Price missed advancing from the C Main to the Last Chance Showdown by just one spot as he had a torrid battle with Willie Croft for the final transfer position. The native of Cobble Hill, B.C., also fought a fuel problem in the heat race.
“We were decent in the heat race, but I ran into the stumble issue again,” he said. “That was the first time I was ‘fueling’ the 410 by myself and I missed the fuel system. It just kind of sputtered a bit in the heat race. I changed some things for the C Main and we were pretty good and went from fifth to third right away. I tried a ‘Hail Mary’ type slide job on Willie (Croft) on the last lap and almost got the spot.”
Price also competed at Silver Dollar Speedway on Thursday in a 360ci sprint car event. He timed in 12th fastest in the 46-car field. Price started and finished second in the second heat race. In the 30-lap main event, he lined up 11th and was scored 17th after contact knocked the nose wing off, at which time Price elected to pull off the track.
“I hadn’t been to Chico in a few years and I wanted to see how close my notes were,” he explained. “We qualified good and were very good in the heat race. We just missed the setup a lot in the feature. We tried some things I hadn’t tried before to see if they would work. We just got too tight and were battling ourselves more than anyone else. I ran eight races in nine days and had a lot of DNFs, which was the most I’ve had in a lot of years and that really frustrated me.”
The four-race stretch began for Price at Willamette Speedway in Lebanon, Ore., last Wednesday with the World of Outlaws. Price timed in 20th quickest and he finished sixth in the second heat race, which lined him up 17th for the 30-lap feature. In the main event, he had an off-track excursion and rather than jeopardize any of the leaders by re-entering the track he elected to pull into the infield.
“I went out really late in qualifying, which didn’t help us too much,” he said. “We were all right in the heat race. We got going pretty decent in the main event, but unfortunately shot down in the infield after some contact. The smartest decision was to call it a night.”
Price’s next race is to be determined.
QUICK RESULTS –
Sept. 5 – Willamette Speedway in Lebanon, Ore. – Qualifying: 20; Heat race: 6 (7); Feature: 22 (17).
Sept. 6 – Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, Calif. – Qualifying: 12; Heat race: 2 (2); Feature: 17 (11).
Sept. 7 – Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, Calif. – Qualifying: 18; Heat race: 9 (9); C Main: 3 (5).
Sept. 8 – Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, Calif. – Qualifying: 12; Heat race: 6 (6); B Main: 2 (7); Feature: 22 (22)
SEASON STATS
38 races, 2 wins, 6 top fives, 14 top 10s, 18 top 15s, 26 top 20s
UP NEXT –
TBD
MEDIA LINKS –
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/RPrice21
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rpracing21/
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – CARSTAR Leduc
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“Brad and Dale Melin have been involved in racing for a while and have partnered up with me to race this year," Price said. “I really appreciate their support.”
Price would also like to thank Millstone Heating & Sheet Metal, Shark Racing Engines, Triple X Race Co., Strong Crane Service and Wildlight Motorsports Photography 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