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Mike Knight Racing
RIPLEY, N.Y. (July 16) - Mike Knight's decision to regroup his racing effort with some action on home turf worked out swell last weekend.
The 21-year-old dirt Late Model standout from Ripley, N.Y., scored a feature win on Sunday night (July 13) at Eriez Speedway in Hammett, Pa., and a solid third-place finish on Saturday night (July 12) at Stateline Speedway in Busti, N.Y., getting him back on track.
"It was a real good weekend for us," said Knight, who has been plagued by bad luck while chasing the Independent Racing Series (IRS) schedule for the first half of the 2008 season. "We needed some strong runs to get our program going and we got them at a couple tracks we know."
Knight dominated Sunday night's 25-lap feature at Eriez, flashing around the one-third-mile oval to register a flag-to-flag triumph. He started from the outside pole en route to victory in his second straight appearance at Eriez.
"We changed some stuff for the feature and it worked great," said Knight. "Me and Dave Hess Jr. started on the front row and we got ahead of him right at the start and checked out. I feel like our car was so good, I think we could've won even if we started 10th or whatever."
Knight hopes his two-race win streak at Eriez is a harbinger of good things to come in the track's approaching World of Outlaws Late Model Series event, scheduled for Sun., July 27.
"That's the one we're looking at," said Knight. "We want to be as strong as we can be for that race."
Knight didn't quite nail the setup on Saturday night at Stateline, which hosted a 40-lap special that paid $4,000 to win. He advanced from the fifth starting spot to led one lap early in the event, but he couldn't hang on and settled for a third-place finish in a race won by Chris Hackett.
"I got the lead on the bottom and stayed there when I probably should've moved to the top - that's where Hackett passed me," said Knight. "But our car wasn't right, and I had a right-rear tire going flat for more than half the race. It was just about out of air at the end."
This weekend Knight will remain close to home again, entering Stateline's $5,000-to-win IRS event on Saturday night (July 19) and a regular show on Sunday night (July 20) at Eriez.
An up-and-coming dirt Late Model driver whose breakout 2007 season was highlighted by a points title at Eriez Speedway, Knight has an ambitious schedule of 70-plus races across the region planned with his family-owned team in 2008. His operation carries sponsorship from Arrowhead Wine Cellars, Mobilia Fruit Farm, Ottawaya's Auto Body, Knight Farms, RJB Construction, Chessa' Pizza, NYPenn Surveying, TeCulver Contracting, Genesis Shocks, Slavic Custom Racing Shirts and American Racing Tires.
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