If it wasn’t for bad luck so far this season, Robert Bruce wouldn’t have any at all.
So far in Dominion Raceway’s inaugural season, the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series driver has had quite the bumpy road. For a season that looked promising, Robert Bruce and the No. 29 crew have had, in Bruce’s own words a “frustrating start to the season.”
After seven races so far this season, Bruce has only one top ten finish, a fifth place finish at the most recent event, the Goodwill Family Night at the Races. This finish is promising for Bruce, who acquired a new sponsor shortly before the start of the season.
“We really want show Papa Johns and Jones Utilities that we can finish up front,” but Bruce knows in order to finish up front, you must first finish. “The first race, the night the lights went out, we had a fourth place car but we got into it with Eddie Johnson and had to go to the back.”
This is the exact kind of luck Bruce hopes to avoid for the balance of the season, as he and crew look to rebound.
When you see Robert Bruce, you see an approachable driver, a driver who will talk to any fan walking by and seems to always be smiling, despite the bad luck so far this season. Regardless of what happens, no matter if is the aforementioned collision with Johnson after the lights went out or perhaps the week after that when Bruce blew an engine and didn’t get to qualify, the crew fixed that motor only to come back the next week and blow that one out also.
“It’s been frustrating with the motor program but have a great motor now, from KT Engine Development,” Bruce remarked. “They are doing a great job now and the motor has been running smooth these last few weeks.”
As far as the possibility of a track title is concerned, Bruce says, “This new Dominion Raceway is a great facility, it’s a short distance from my shop and just a great place to race.”
Bruce is optimistic for the future, saying, “We will get through this and come out better, I am blessed to be able to do this at a track this beautiful, we will turn it around before the season ends.”
Looking forward, Bruce realizes how the top ten finish can affect the team’s morale going forward, “It’s huge, we got to finish a race, we got to figure out what the car needs and what different setups can do and what we need to do to get better. We have to finish races in order to be able to evaluate our progress.”
