September 23, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Mike Knight Not Satisfied With Weekend Runs In
West Virginia & Pennsylvania
RIPLEY, NY – The final results indicate that Mike Knight experienced a decent weekend of dirt Late Model competition.
On Saturday night (Sept. 20), the 21-year-old sensation from Ripley, N.Y., finished sixth in the 50-lap Independent Racing Series (IRS) event at Elkins Motor Speedway in Kerens, W.Va. And on Sunday night (Sept. 21), Knight scored a solid third-place finish in the season-ending 25-lap Super Late Model feature at Eriez Speedway in Hammett, Pa.
But the steely-eyed Knight wasn’t satisfied with either of his runs.
“I’m pretty upset with how the car’s been running,” said Knight, who drives a family-owned Rocket machine. “Ever since Tri-City (Speedway in Franklin, Pa., over Labor Day weekend) we’ve just been fighting it. It just hasn’t been running like I want it to – it’s had no drive, and it hasn’t handled.
“That was the problem again over the weekend, so we have to get back in the shop and figure out what we’re doing wrong.
Making his first-ever visit to Elkins for the two-day ‘Motor Madness in the Mountains’ event that served as the IRS season finale, Knight started fifth in the 50-lap A-Main and ran in the position for almost the entire distance. He was overtaken by Robbie Blair with just a handful of circuits remaining and settled for a sixth-place finish.
“The track was as one-lane as it gets, so I just ran in the same spot the whole race,” said Knight. “But we didn’t run good all night. We were missing something.”
The finish did leave Knight fifth in the final 2008 IRS points standings and second in the Rookie of the Year battle. He competed in 16 of the tour’s 21 events.
After a long overnight haul back from the Mountaineer State, Knight fell short in his quest for a sixth victory in ’08 at his hometrack of Eriez Speedway. He advanced from the eighth starting spot in Sunday night’s feature to place third.
Knight will race close to home this weekend, entering his familiar No. 9K in the third annual United Late Model Series (ULMS) ‘Fall Classic’ at McKean County Raceway in East Smethport, Pa. He’ll compete in the $2,500-to-win Don Hardy Memorial 30 on Friday night (Sept. 26) and the $12,000-to-win Priority Care Race Fans 50 on Saturday night (Sept. 27).
The driver known as ‘Hollywood’ will work overtime on Saturday night, jumping in Jim Clinger’s E-Mod for the open-wheel division’s $2,000-to-win ‘New York/Pennsylvania Border Skirmish’ special. It will mark the second E-Mod start in three weeks for Knight, who nearly won a big-money event for the class on Sept. 16 at Stateline Speedway in Busti, N.Y.
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, Ottaway’s Auto Parts, Ottaway’s Auto Body, Knight Farms, NYPenn Surveying, TeCulver Contracting, Ripley Machine & Tool, Genesis Shocks, Slavic Custom Racing Shirts, Farr MotorSports, MWB Web Designs and American Racing Tires.
For more information on Mike Knight, visit www.mikeknight9k.com.
MKR PR.
