This message was edited on
May 13, 2014 at
02:08:10 PM by EASports
(Eric Arnold) May 13, 2014 - Keoni Texeira is off to a solid start this year in the Knoxville Raceway 305 sprint car division in the Mark Christopher #50. The driver from Honolulu, Hawaii who now calls Moulton, Iowa home currently sits seventh in points after the first four nights of racing in his bid to win the 305 rookie of the year award.
His season started on April 19th at Knoxville’s 61st season opener by qualifying ninth, finishing fifth in the heat race, and after dodging a crash on the opening lap finished fifth in the feature despite losing the brakes in the car. It was a night to celebrate with Texeira grabbing his first career top five finish at Knoxville! It was a great start to the season!
On April 26th Keoni had his season best qualifying effort finishing third thanks to a new shock package the team tried out. In his heat race he tagged the back stretch fence slightly but held his sixth place position on a narrow one lane track and qualified for the A-Main. In the A-Main the car didn’t handle as well, but he was able to finish tenth.
Week three saw Keoni make his first appearance at the Des Moines Iowa State Fair Speedway where he finished fourth in the feature on a very rough track. On Saturday night it was back to Knoxville Raceway and clicking off another good qualifying effort finishing sixth. After climbing as high as third in the feature Keoni’s tires sealed over after a caution flag and the car handling went away the latter half and he held on for seventh at the checkered flag.
After a quick trip back home to Hawaii this past week, Keoni hustled back on the red eye flight in time to race on Saturday night! Showing no signs of jet lag he laid down another good qualifying lap and finished fourth. After transferring to the feature through his heat race he drew the eighth starting position to the A-Main. Trying a new set up on the car in this race he held his own and finished tenth to make it four top ten finishes on the season, a feat that only two other drivers have accomplished this season so far.
“We are off to a good start so far this season I feel. We have been trying out some new things with the setup to get the car to handle better in the feature, and we seem to make little gains each week, and I’m feeling more confident in these types of cars with each lap. Hopefully we can get on the podium or even win a race before the season is over. I have to thank so many people for giving me the opportunity to race, Mark Christopher, Brian Standberry, Jeff Woodruff, Skip Jackson, Dusty Zomer, and James Kinder with Midwest Speed Shop, they have all embraced me and helped me so much!”
After finishing 8th and 11th in only two feature starts in 2013, Texeira is off to a good start in his sprint car career. Coming from a background of short quarter-mile track and midget type cars, he has been impressive in the transition to a big half-mile driving a car with a big wing and much higher speeds than anything he has raced before. There are four races down and only nine more to go at Knoxville Raceway for the 305 class. Look for the Five-O sprinter to compete for some wins by the end of the season!
Keoni would like to thank MC Racing, Winchester Ag, Chuck’s Corvette-Hawaii, Amsoil, DJ Safety, J&J Chassis, and Gaerte Engines for their support.
2014 Knoxville Stats
Qualifying average finish: 5.5.
Average feature finish: 8.0
305 Point Standing: 7th
305 Rookie of the Year Standing: 2nd.
Social Media with Keoni
For the latest news on Keoni Texeira, and live updates from the track each night be sure to like the Kenoi Texeira Racing Facebook page and follow him on Twitter!
Facebook Link - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Keoni-Texeira-Racing/215117572017274?ref=hl
Twitter: @Keoni__Texeira
You can see and hear about Keoni by watching the Knoxville Raceway Live PPV at www.thecushion.com and on live radio by listening to KNIA 95.3 FM or download the KNIA app for live streaming on your mobile device.
To receive updates or to ask Keoni questions, send an e-mail to [email protected].
EA Media
Eric Arnold
Oskaloosa, IA
Twitter @_EricArnold
e-mail: [email protected]
Eric Arnold
Social Media Manager & Track Historian
Knoxville Raceway
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