ASCoT: Rilat joins with Hard Eight Racing

Rilat Joins Forces with Hard Eight Racing in O'Reilly ASCoT Title Pursuit

TULSA, Okla. (February 21, 2006) -- Forney, TX, hotshoe Travis Rilat will sport a new look in his chase for a second O'Reilly American Sprint Car Series National Tour presented by Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores championship, as he has joined forces with Tulsa's Hard Eight Racing.

Rilat will be teamed with ASCoT Rookie of the Year candidate Abe Sherwood, who is set to pilot the Kantor Oil Company/Hard Eight Racing No. 44J this season.

According to John Kantor, owner of Sherwood's mount and Rilat's latest sponsor, "As of Monday, February 20, Travis Rilat of TSR Motorsports has joined forces with the Hard Eight Racing team and will be racing under the Hard Eight Racing colors for the 2006 season on the ASCS National Tour."

Rilat will retain the familiar No. 29, along with long-time sponsors F&Construction, Haulmark and Ten Hagen Excavating among others.

"Aside from the addition of Hard Eight Racing, everything else with the team will remain the same," Rilat explained. "We'll have the same sponsors and same number, we're redoing the cars right now so that they'll be basically identical to Abe's No. 44J."

Rilat continued, "We're after the ASCoT championship this year, that's what we're out here for. And with this extra help from Hard Eight Racing, I think that'll improve our odds quite a bit."

Rilat kicked off the 2006 ASCoT season on the right foot by topping the series opening night of East Bay Raceway Park's "King of the 360's" in Tampa on January 26, which marked the 28-year-old racer's 19th career ASCS National Tour victory.After a strong runner-up showing in the second East Bay preliminary, an accident in the $10,000 to win finale derailed an otherwise strong start to the season.

"We had a great start going then that last night kinda set us back a little bit, but we're still gonna be alright," Rilat stated.

Rilat still escaped the East Bay triple ranked sixth in points, with fellow championship contenders Tim Montgomery (ranked fourth) and Nick Smith (ranked fifth) squarely in his sights entering the series next events at Baton Rouge Raceway on March 10 and Houston Raceway Park on March 11.

Rilat and Sherwood, who has finished among the top ten in NCRA 360-ci points on six occasions, join a talent-laden field of drivers expected to vie for the 2006 O'Reilly ASCoT title that also includes Montgomery, Smith, two-time and defending champion Gary Wright, 2001 ASCS National Champion Zach Chappell, Darren Stewart, Jake Peters, Dustin Daggett, Tony Bruce, Jr., Sam Hafertepe, Jr., Jerrod Hull, Jesse Hockett, Joey Montgomery, Doc Sloan, Cody Branchcomb, Trey Robb, Sean McClelland, Andy Shouse, Mike Chadd, Jan Howard, Chuck Swenson and James Mosher.

In its 15th year of sanctioning Sprint Car racing in the United States, the American Sprint Car Series will present approximately 175 nights of racing in 2006 including the National Tour and its Regional Tours (Gulf South, Mid-South, Midwest, Northern Plains, Rocky Mountain, Sooner, Southern and Sprints on Dirt).

Additional information regarding the American Sprint Car Series is available at www.ascsracing.com.

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