Craig in action at Knoxville (Chuck Stowe Images/Finish Line Photo)
(Bill W) June 21, 2016 – It was another busy week for the TKS Motorsports #2KS team and driver, Craig Dollansky. A crash with the World of Outlaws in Knoxville on June 11, had the team scrambling to get their backup ready. A twelfth place finish with the WoO last Thursday in Sauk Rapids, Minnesota was followed by a rainout at Jackson Motorplex in Minnesota Friday, an eighth place NSL finish at Knoxville Raceway in Iowa Saturday, and a fifth place NSL finish in Mason City, Iowa on Sunday. This week, the team takes on the WoO again at Jackson Friday, before another NSL showdown at Knoxville Saturday.
The event last Thursday with the WoO at Granite City Speedway in Sauk Rapids was delayed a night by rain. “It was good to go there and have Aggressive Hydraulics and Gail Dielman there with us,” says TKS Motorsports crew chief and owner, Troy Renfro. “They are great partners for our team. It was a racy short track. We were running tenth and kind of got on the wrong end of a double-file restart. We ended up finishing twelfth.”
With a storm packing eighth mile per hour winds heading for Jackson Friday, racers and fans scrambled. “It was a real nail-biter coming home, I can tell you that,” says Troy. “The drivers didn’t get to do anything Friday night, but the people driving the trucks and trailers home did, I can guarantee you that!”
Saturday at Knoxville, the team timed in 15th quick in the 27-car field. “We’ve been really working on our qualifying at Knoxville,” says Troy. “We went a bit of a different route, and it backfired on us. We had destroyed our primary car the week before, and we’re using our backup car. We hadn’t used it at Knoxville, and though it’s the same car, it doesn’t like the same things the other car does. It just didn’t feel the same to Craig.”
Troy and the team tweaked on the car and made some improvements. “Things were a lot better in the heat,” he says. “We went conservative in the feature, because we didn’t want to get too tight. We were just too good too early. We went from eighth to third, and then the car freed up and we backed up to finish eighth.”
Sunday was a day of reflection for Troy, as the team made their way to Mason City Motor Speedway. “Sunday was a good day for me personally,” he says. “It was Father’s Day. Parker drove and I was able to kick back for a couple of hours. I was able to relax. I thought about my Dad. It was a good day. He was a racer, and it was good to have a race on that day.”
The track was new to most in attendance. “I’d never been to Mason City and neither had Craig,” says Troy. “I don’t know the promoter or anyone up there, but I’ll tell you what, they had a good crowd, people were excited we were there, there were a lot of people coming down afterwards, and for such a big place it was really racy. It’s a great facility. Listening to some people there, it’s a lot nicer than it used to be.”
Both Craig and Troy put their heads together about a setup for the big half-mile. “Craig stopped there on the way down to Knoxville,” says Troy. “He compared it to Lebanon Valley (New York). When I got there, I really agreed with him, and that’s what we based our setups on. We were pretty good. We got held up a couple of different times, but we were able to come out with a top five. The track is big and fast, but it’s still very racy. Our concern was it was so big and fast that it wouldn’t be, but it was.”
Troy was reflective about Sunday’s event and the day in general. “All in all, Sunday was a very good day for me. My in-laws were there; my family was there. It was just a good Father’s Day. We’ve had a tough couple of weeks, but Sunday was a good day. I was happy.”
Partnering with TKS Motorsports
TKS Motorsports is always open to new perspective partners! Whether you’d like to partner with the team for the full season, or put your company’s name on the nose wing for a night of your choice, contact Troy at tsrenfro8725@gmail.com!
TKS Motorsports would like to thank Casey's General Stores, Des Moines Industrial Products (DMIP), Aggressive Hydraulics, 1 Way Technologies, AL Driveline, AO Designs, All Star Performance, ATL Racing Fuel Cells, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Butlerbuilt Professional Seat Systems, Fibreworks Composites, FK Rod Ends, Hoosier, Indy Race Parts, KSE Racing Products, Mag Tech Ignition, Maxim Racing Chassis, Schoenfeld Headers, Schroeder Torsion Bars, Tony Moro Collision Center, Tony Moro Powdercoating & Sandblasting, Vahlco Wheels, Webb Family Farms, Wilwood, Winters Performance Products and Gail Dielman.
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Photo: Craig in action at Knoxville (Chuck Stowe Images/Finish Line Photo)
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