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Keoni Texeira – Building for 2015!
(Eric Arnold) November 6, 2014 - Keoni Texeira completed his rookie season in the Knoxville Raceway 305 sprint car class with an eighth place finish in points. The driver of the Mark Christopher #50 also finished second in the 305 Rookie points at Knoxville, with Kevin Hetrick taking top honors. Keoni finished the Knoxville season strong with his second top five finish of 2014 and winning his first heat race at the famed half-mile. The heat race win came on August 2nd in front of a huge crowd as the 305 class raced in conjunction with the finals of the 360 Knoxville Nationals.
“We are pleased with our first full season racing at Knoxville and around Iowa,” said Keoni. “We learned a lot and we were able to race the whole year with one car and one engine, so not tearing up equipment helped. I am looking forward to 2015 and having a new chassis and engine combination that will hopefully make us more competitive for wins next year.”
Outside of Knoxville, Keoni was excited for the opportunity to race at other tracks and gain more experience behind the wheel of a sprint car. “I’ve only drove a sprint car 15 nights at Knoxville the past two seasons and with all the rain outs we had this year it was good to race at other tracks and get some valuable seat time.” Some of those extra races were 360 cubic inch events where he knew he was at a horsepower disadvantage.
On July 3rd Keoni competed at the Double X Speedway in California, MO at an ASCS Warrior Region 360 event. He started eighth in his heat race, finished fifth, and was able to make the top 16 in passing points to qualify for the A-Main where he finished a respectable 16th against a field of 30 cars.
July 25th he made the tow to Des Moines to race at the Iowa State Fairgrounds and finished 5th against a field of 14 cars that night.
After wrapping up his Knoxville season, Keoni ventured to 34 Raceway in Burlington a couple of times. On September 6th he raced in their weekly 305 class where he started 8th and finished 3rd in his heat race. In the feature the track was difficult to pass and he ran a solid 6th place.
September 27th he once again elected to race against a field of 360 cars when the Sprint Invaders Series was at 34 Raceway. Keoni finished 4th in his heat race and16th in the feature against a field of 32 cars on this night. “It was nice to be able to get one more race in there at the end of the season,” said Keoni. “This just goes to show we have a good car on these short tracks to be able to compete and that gives me confidence as a driver going into next season.”
In October the MC Racing team was able to purchase a J&J Chassis from Skip Jackson that has never been on a race track. It is a nice upgrade from their 10 year old J&J they used in all of 2014. “We have high hopes for the 2015 season for our little team. We have a new car, and will have more spare parts to work with,” said Keoni. “I have to thank so many people for giving me the opportunity to race, my car owner Mark Christopher, Brian Standberry, Jeff Woodruff, Skip Jackson, Dusty Zomer, and James Kinder with Midwest Speed Shop, Joe Beaver and his crew, they have all helped out. I’m blessed to be part of a great community.”
Keoni and the MC Racing team would also like to thank their partners: Winchester Ag, Chuck’s Corvette-Hawaii, Amsoil, DJ Safety, MPD, J&J Chassis, and Gaerte Engines for their support.
2014 Knoxville Stats
Qualifying average finish: 5.8.
Average feature finish: 8.3
Top 10 Finishes: 8
Heat race wins: 1
305 Point Standing: 8th
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
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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