(Photo by B Young Photography)
Inside Line Promotions – WHEATLAND, Mo. (Sept. 22, 2021) – Jordon Mallett highlighted the 11th annual Jesse Hockett/Daniel McMillin Memorial held at Lucas Oil Speedway last weekend with a top-10 result and a Hard Charger Award.
Although he wasn’t able to qualify for the A Main during the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour event opener on Thursday, Mallett rebounded with finishes of 10th on Friday and 18th on Saturday during the crown jewel event that showcased more than 60 drivers.
“Honestly it was kind of a weekend I want to forget about,” he said. “I look forward to this show every year and this one might have been the toughest weekend we have had as a team all season.”
Mallett kicked off the trio of races on Thursday with a sixth-place run in a heat race and an eighth-place finish in a qualifier. He followed that up with a rally from eighth to third in a B Main to end one spot shy of making the main event.
“We felt really good in hot laps and then we were just really off in the heat race,” he said. “We searched around and I thought we fixed it for the qualifier, but we were not any better. We ended up finding we had a bad torsion bar when looking around and we were actually really good in the B Main, but we just caught things too late to be able to capitalize on the speed we actually had.”
Friday night saw Mallett finish sixth in a heat race and then pass four cars in a qualifier to place fourth. He started on the pole of a B Main and finished second to secure the 22nd starting position in the feature. Mallett persevered as he was able to pass a dozen cars to come home with a 10th-place outing, which earned the Hard Charger Award for gaining the most positions.
“It almost seemed like the same story on a different night and we just couldn’t capitalize in the heat or qualifier,” he said. “We ended up getting in through the B Main and showed we had one of the best cars there. I just wish we had a better starting spot and could have maybe contended for a podium instead of having to come from the back.”
The event wrapped up on Saturday with Mallett finishing third in a Last Chance Qualifier and second in a B Main to transfer into the rear of the main event. He gained a trio of positions to end 18th.
“After Thursday night’s issues we knew we were buried pretty deep and that killed us as we really expected to lock right into the show and obviously that didn’t happen,” he said. “We got ourselves into the feature, but we just had the car way too snug to really make up any ground and it was a disappointing end to the weekend.”
While the result was short of his expectations on Saturday night, Mallett found solace in the fact that he qualified for the feature with nearly 70 drivers vying for a spot into the coveted A Main.
“We can say we’re one of the best 24 cars or so there, but it’s still a tough pill to swallow when you expect to be a top-five car and are not,” he said. ” Getting in the show is definitely an accomplishment, but I like top fives and top 10s and we didn’t do that. We’ll take our medicine, move on and be better the next time out.”
QUICK RESULTS –
Sept. 16 – Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Mo. – Heat race: 6 (7); Qualifier: 8 (8); B Main: 3 (8).
Sept. 17 – Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Mo. – Heat race: 6 (5); Qualifier: 4 (8); B Main: 2 (3); Feature: 10 (22).
Sept. 18 – Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Mo. – Last Chance Qualifier: 3 (3); B Main: 2 (1); Feature: 18 (21).
UP NEXT –
TBD
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://jordonmallett.myracepass.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jmmotorsports14
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jordonmallettmotorsports
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Dynotech Race Engines
Dynotech Race Engines is an engine building and performance shop, based in Memphis, Tenn., operated by Ricky Stenhouse Sr.
“Ever since I have started working with Ricky (Stenhouse Sr.) he has really helped us step our program up,” Mallett said. “He builds extremely good and reliable engines, which speak for themselves. Ricky has helped me get a good grasp on how to keep up with my engine program and the maintenance program. He’s become a really good friend and mentor. He always has our back.”
Mallett would like to thank Water for Christ, Triple X Race Cars, Porter Commercial Refrigeration, DHR Suspension, Racing Optics, Red River Rack Company, KSE Racing Products, FK Rod Ends, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Sinco, Inc., D&K Farms, Autometer, Callies Racing Products, Dickerson Marine Services, Hero Graphics, Hilborn Fuel Injection, ISC Racers Tape, K&N Engineering, Lone Star Super Gas (Sunoco), Schoenfeld Headers, Simpson Race Products, Smiley’s Racing Products, MetTec Titanium, MotorState Distributing and Superior Bearing and Supply 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.
