KIRILA GRABS FOURTH-PLACE FINISH IN MONOLITH 100 PLM EVENT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JEFFERSON, GA (April 18, 2010) – Gene Kirila made the most of his 2010 racing season debut wheeling his way to a fourth-place finish in the Monolith Companies 100 Pro Late Model event at Gresham Motorsports Park Saturday.
The 17-year old Hermitage, PA native - who drove a David Stremme-owned American Speed Association Late Model last season – was also making his first-ever appearance in the No. 11 Gresham Motorsports entry Saturday.
“My goal before the race was a Top-10 finish,” said Kirila after the race. “To be in the Top-5 would have been – and is – excellent. To finish in fourth place here in our first race together is great. I didn’t realize how long I’ve been out of the car and how hard it is to get that back until they dropped the green flag.”
Kirila was cautious in the early practices and qualifying as he worked his way back into form on the high-speed GMP half-mile oval.
“Gresham Motorsports Park is a really fast track,” said Kirila. “It has a lot of grip. It isn’t about how hard it is to drive the track here. It’s about getting used to the high speed and how hard you can drive the car into the corner. It’s a very, very quick track.”
Kirila’s time of 16.725 seconds in qualifying was good enough to grid him seventh as the cars took the green flag for the 100-lap test. Early on, the young driver was content just to ride and allow the race to come to him.
Kirila, who ran outside the Top-10 for much of the first half of the event, found his groove in the latter stages of the race. Now running his fastest laps of the event, Kirila patiently moved his way back though the field pushing his No. 11 Gresham Motorsports racer into contention for a Top-5 finish.
“I was tentative at the start,” said Kirila. “It’s been eight months since I have been in a car – that’s a long time for me. I had to blow the rust off. It was more of a mental thing. Physically, I was ready. It’s hard to get back in a rhythm. There are the quick shifts on restarts, knowing where your car is at performance wise and knowing where are the best places to pass on the racetrack. It was a little tough getting back into a ‘racing mode.’ Once I got going, it was a lot better. We eventually got to turning some quick laps and that allowed me to work my way back up through the field.”
At the checkered flag, it was Chase Elliott, Johnny Henderson, Nick Potts, Kirila and Kevin Stephens completing the Top-5 with David Odell, James Nealis, Shawn Simpson, Beau Slocumb and Joel Anderson rounding out the Top-10 finishers.
“The car was a little loose in the beginning of the race,” Kirila stated. “We adjusted that with the brakes and as the race progressed, the car got where it needed to be. I also got better as the race went on. I made some mistakes in the beginning. By the end of the race, I started to pick up the pace. Both the car and I got better as the race went on.”
Kirila won’t have a long layoff until his next event as he will quickly return to action in a 100-lap Pro Late Model race this Saturday, April 24, at Montgomery Motorspeedway in Montgomery, AL. The green flag is set for 7 p.m.
To learn more about Gene Kirila, please log on to www.kirilaracing.com.
For information about sponsorship/partnering with Gene Kirila and his Gresham Motorsports Pro and Super Late Model Stock Car efforts, please contact Tony Gresham at tgresham@greshaminc.com.