Eric Bridger ended Friday night’s 305 Knoxville Cup race with a fourth place finish. It was the first night in five races for Bridger that didn’t end with him hoisting a trophy in victory lane, but it would be hard to tell by talking to him.
Eric Bridger chases second championship and more
“[We were] pretty good,” Bridger said. “We drew 8 for the invert and that’s going to happen. We started seventh there and got a pretty good start from there. I just tried to pass as many cars as I could.”
Bridger would finish ahead of Ryan Leavitt, who sits second in the point standings, and extend his points lead a bit.
“We’re leading now, I think we extended it to over 120, so that’s pretty good, “ Bridger said. “Going into the month of July, [I view it as] your one big month and that’s about it. You have two more races in August after that.”
Bridger’s four wins in a row this season helped to bring his total to a whopping eight career victories at the track in 305’s. That mark is three away from tying the record of 11. Although, Bridger’s eyes aren’t focused on the all-time wins record.
Championship Aspirations
“[The wins record] would be nice, but I just want to take care of the championship first and then go from there,” Bridger said. “We’re already pretty much higher up there than I thought we’d ever be, so that’s pretty cool as it is.”
Bridger is the defending Knoxville Cup 305 series champion, so taking care of the championship is no unfamiliar task. However, a move up to the 360 division is a different story.
“We’ll try,” Bridger said. “It’s all going to be about money and sponsorship. The wins help to see what we can do. We’ll just see what happens. There’s always opportunities for different rides, but there coming less and less now a days.”
Bridger emphasized the money aspect of the situation and even mentioned running for his own family’s team next season in the middle division at the track. “[We’ll] see if we can get a couple of sponsorships and run our family car next year,” Bridger said.
The 305’s have Saturday of this week off, but will return to the track next week during Knoxville’s weekly racing series.
“I was pretty happy with how the whole night went, I’m ready for next week,” Bridger said.
