Racing News (7480)
Racing News from around the World
INDIANAPOLIS— After a long caution for rain and fresher tires, it was Dalton Sargeant who was victorious at Lucas Oil Raceway in the Sioux Chief 200.
“I was just begging there that we would be able to go back green. Just a great call by crew chief Chad Bryant. Just couldn’t be more thankful for the hard work these guys are putting in. We will see if we can keep this streak alive,” said Sargeant post race.
This is Sargeant’s third win of 2017. This is the second year in a row that the No. 77 has made its way to victory lane at Lucas Oil Raceway.
Michael Self finished second after a hard fought battle with Sargeant. Chad Finley finished third after pitting for fresh tires on the final caution of the night.
Austin Theriault, Sheldon Creed, Gus Dean, Zane Smith, Bret Holmes, Shane Lee, and Christian Eckes rounded out the top-10.
Next up for the ARCA Racing Series is a trip to Pocono Raceway next weekend for the ModSpace 150 on Friday afternoon. The race will be broadcasted on Fox Sports 1 at 4:00 p.m. EDT.
Riccardo Agostini and Trent Hindman Win from Pole in Second Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America Race at Watkins Glen International
21 Jul 2017 Written by Adam SinclairRiccardo Agostini and Trent Hindman finally claimed their first victory of the season in the Super Trofeo North America race at Watkins Glen International. Hindman brought the No. 1 Prestige Performance entry, representing Lamborghini Paramus, home to the checkered flag, holding off a late-race charge from Austin Versteeg who closed to finish just .541 seconds behind the race winner.
Cameron Lawrence Captures Trans Am Win at Brainerd International Raceway
21 Jul 2017 Written by Adam SinclairCameron Lawrence secured his first career Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli TA class victory in the Ryan Companies Independence Day Classic at Brainerd International Raceway (BIR). The victory completed a weekend that saw Lawrence compete in three separate races: the Continental Tire 120 at Watkins Glen, the TA2 class Ryan Companies Muscle Car Challenge, where he finished fifth, and the Ryan Companies Independence Day Classic, ending his weekend atop the podium.
Lawrence, a two-time TA2 champion and winner of 20 Trans Am races, captured the win in only his second TA class appearance, his first appearance having been cut short due to mechanical failure at Indianapolis Motor Speedway just as the green flag flew. Today, with poor luck a thing of the past, Lawrence brought home the No. 6 Derhaag Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette first overall in the 100-mile, 40-lap TA, TA3 and TA4 multi-class field.
“It was a weekend of threes, but this one was definitely a first for me in the TA class,” said Lawrence. “I’m definitely worn out and exhausted and looking forward to getting home and getting some sleep but what more can you ask for. Just getting to run three races in a weekend is rare and a great opportunity; but we’ve had some bad luck this year, as has the Derhaag team, and this is the best possible way to end today. I’m so glad we could put a win together for Derhaag Motorsports.”
Lawrence, who missed qualifying due to his obligations at Watkins Glen, started the day in eighth position in the nine-car field, consistently working his way up the field, securing fourth position on the fifth lap before the race’s only full-course caution came out on lap nine with the No. 00 of James Pesek stuck off course in turn 12.
After green racing resumed on lap 12, Lawrence would move into third over Amy Ruman, in the No. 23 McNichols Company Chevrolet, on lap 16, then second over polesitter Vinnie Allegretta, in the No. 41 TA Sights Sounds Chevrolet Corvette, commencing pursuit of the No. 98 Buoniconti Fund Ford Mustang of Ernie Francis, Jr.
Francis held a comfortable lead but would suffer a stuck throttle with only three laps remaining, causing the No. 98 to spin. Francis, the winner of four straight TA class competitions, would fall back to third, leaving Cameron Lawrence to take the lead—completing an improbable victory for a driver for whom the start of the race marked his first time in the car all weekend.
“It was really tough,” said Cameron. “Luckily enough I drove the same chassis in the June Sprints in 2014 when we were fortunate enough to win both races. I had plenty of laps in the TA2 race and that helped me get my markers and references down and get familiar with the track again. It’s been a while— I didn’t even race here last year, so it’s been two years since I’ve even seen this track. So it was difficult, but starting in the back, you learn a lot from everybody. There are plenty of good drivers in TA; so watching Amy, Vinnie and Ernie helped me. It was patient day for us; it doesn’t always work out that way with the midrace caution. There were guys racing hard, making a few mistakes and some bad luck; it all fell our way today. You don’t get these all that often in racing; you have to appreciate them when you do.”
For his efforts working his way up through the TA class field Cameron Lawrence was also awarded the COOLSHIRT Systems Cool Move of the Race.
Pole sitter Vinnie Allegretta would finish second, while Francis would recover to secure a third place finish— easily retaining his lead atop the TA class championship with 166 points to Allegretta’s 135. Francis would also set the fast lap of the race, a 1:28.775 lap around the 2.5-mile competition course.
BIR track owner Jed Copham, in the No. 44 BC Race Cars/ Tesar Engines Chevrolet Corvette, would finish second, his career best finish in his fourth Trans Am start, all of which have been at BIR. Amy Ruman, the two-time defending TA class champion, would finish fifth to retain third in the points with 112.
In TA3, Tim Kezman, in the No. 4 Fall-Line/Calypso Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, secured his first victory of the 2017 season and fourth of his career. Kezman’s first win was the start of a Fall-Line Motorsport sweep of the podium, with points leader Mark Boden finishing second in the No. 46 Fall-Line/ Calypso Porsche 911 GT3 and Tom Herb, in the No. 16 Fall-Line/ Calypso Porsche 911 GT3, finishing third.
Kezman, who started in second position, withstood early pressure from Randy Kinsland, in the No. 11 Kinsland Racing Chevrolet Corvette, before overtaking Boden on the 22nd lap for the lead— a position he would not relinquish for the remaining 18 laps.
“It was a good race,” said Kezman. “Randy (Kinsland) put a ton of pressure on us for the majority of the time before the yellow. After the yellow, we were able to gap him for a bit. Then it was Mark (Boden) and I running away for some time, but you could tell his car was starting to give out. This is a hard place to pass; I don’t think he expected me to overtake him between 12 and 13 under the bridge—but he’s my teammate, I knew I could trust him and I stuck in there and the move worked. It was a great day for us here at Brainerd.”
For their top three sweep of the TA3 class the Fall-Line crew was awarded the PitBoxes.com Crew of the Race, while Crew Chief Tom Burek was awarded the Traq Gear Crew Chief of the Weekend.
“The Fall-Line guys are just phenomenal,” said Kezman. “The guys at the shop, the guys here at the track, Nathan McBride our engineer, everybody. Tom Herb and Mark, my co-drivers—it’s a good group of guys and everybody does a heck of a job.”
The Lux Performance duo of Cindi Lux, in the No. 45 Lux Performance Group Dodge Viper ACRX, and Dirk Leuenberger, in the No. 35 Lux Performance Group Dodge Viper ACRX, would finish fourth and fifth, respectively, with both improving on their starting positions.
JR Pesek, in the No. 10 Rennsport KC Ford Mustang, would secure his career first TA4, and Trans Am, victory after starting second and racing back and forth with his son, James Pesek, in the No. 00 Rennsport KC Ford Mustang, throughout the early laps, swapping the lead multiple times. However, James Pesek’s off into the gravel trap in turn 12 left JR to coast to victory.
The Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli held a separate TA2 class Ryan Companies Muscle Car Challenge earlier in the day at Brainerd International Raceway, with Tony Buffomante securing a victory. Full results from that competition can be found at www.gotransam.com
The Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli will next take to the track at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for Round 7 of the 2017 Trans Am Championship on August 12th.
All results provisional until posted final.
Broadcast:
Ryan Companies Independence Day Classic (TA, TA3, TA4) – Jul 22, 12:00pm ET
Ryan Companies Muscle Car Challenge (TA2) – Aug 05, 12:00pm ET
PCA Club Racing Driver Leary Focuses on Driver's Education Class Aimed at Helping Future Drivers
21 Jul 2017 Written by Adam SinclairAlthough Brian Leary is a newcomer to Porsche Club of America (PCA) Club Racing, he's an expert when it comes to volunteering and coaching in PCA's High Performance Driver's Education (DE) program.
The Littleton, Colorado resident participated in the first RMR DE event at High Plains Raceway (HPR) when it opened in 2009, and became an instructor at the track in 2011. Kathy Fricke and Earnshaw continued to mentor Leary and soon enough, he accepted the role as the Enduro Chair for the RMR PCA club race. He then took over as the club race event chair in 2013 for the Rocky Mountain PCA region Zone 9.
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| Leary at High Plains Raceway with his 2014 Cayman S DE car | |
During his time as the RMR Club Race Chair, Leary worked to enhance the annual event by focusing on improving the overall event experience and increasing driver safety. He created an event website for the participants and scheduled a "Brats, Brews and Blues" party on Friday night for the drivers which included a live band. He even created a spreadsheet with a month-by-month checklist on how to prepare for a club race that is now used by other regions too.
Leary most recently competed in his first-ever sprint race at PCA's Rumble at the Oak Tree event at VIRginia International Raceway (VIR) and was supported by Autometrics Motorsports. The rookie club racer ran in the White group and placed second in the GT4 class in both sprints.
As Leary gets closer to retirement, he said he's ready to move on and get even more involved with PCA.
"My plan is to get more focused on the racing side of PCA and all the things that are happening in the region and see where it goes from there," Leary said. Leary would like to see every region have a DE 101 class at some point.
PCA Competitors Enjoy First-Class Racing, Service at Exclusive Automotive Country Club at 2017 Riesentöter Stuttgart Challenge
21 Jul 2017 Written by Adam SinclairPorsche Club of America (PCA) Club Racing competitors enjoyed fast, competitive racing in perfect racing conditions Saturday and Sunday at the Porsche of Conshohocken Presents the 2017 Riesentöter Stuttgart Challenge at Monticello Motor Club.
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| The beautiful Monticello Motor Club track |
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Uglum racing in his No. 711 Speedsport Tuning entry (Photo: Chris Szczypala) | |
Competitor registration opened July 19 for the Sports Car Club of America® 2017 National Championship Runoffs® being held this year for the very first time at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In just 24 hours, 763 driver entries were registered -- crushing the 413 entries made in 24 hours for last year's 2016 Runoffs at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
Mike Cobb, SCCA President/CEO, noted that SCCA® Club racers have been working all year to meet Runoffs qualification requirements through participation in the Hoosier Racing Tire SCCA Super Tour and SCCA U.S. Majors Tour, as well as SCCA divisional and regional events.
"We knew the 2017 Runoffs at Indianapolis Motor Speedway was going to be a huge event," Cobb said. "But to have more than 760 entries on the first day of registration exceeded even our expectations.
"There has been tremendous buzz about this year's Runoffs since the SCCA announced back in 2015 that the event was going to make its first-ever visit to Indianapolis Motor Speedway," Cobb continued. "The SCCA firmly believes the Runoffs offers up the absolute best three days of amateur racing in the United States, if not the world. Wednesday's opening of registration was quite a milestone in what promises to be a historic event in Indianapolis."
The winner-take-all SCCA® National Championship Runoffs® will consist of 19-lap or 40-min. races September 29-October 1 on a 15-turn, 2.592-mile road course at the legendary Speedway. National Champions will be crowned in all 28 Runoffs-eligible SCCA car classes. Each class will have a 20-minute qualifying session each day -- Monday through Thursday -- to set starting grids.
The 2017 Runoffs course layout consists of ten right-hand and five left-hand turns, as well as a main straight 3,700 feet in length. The configuration includes portions of the track previously utilized by Formula One for the U.S. Grand Prix and currently used by the Verizon IndyCar Series for the Grand Prix of Indianapolis.
Spectator passes for the 54th SCCA National Championship Runoffs at Indianapolis Motor Speedway are on sale now through the Speedway's website. Four-day admission passes, providing access Thursday through Sunday, can be purchased for $60 per person. Single-day admission for Thursday is $15, and single-day passes are $25 for Friday, Saturday or Sunday. Additionally, Tower Terrace Suite Club passes are available for the event, which provide entry to a suite in Tower Terrace with views of the Main Straightaway. The back balcony provides infield views and a picturesque view of the Indianapolis skyline. A cash bar will be available in the suite and light snacks supplied each day. Four-day Club passes, providing access Thursday through Sunday, can be purchased for $225 per person. Single-day Club passes are $75 for Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday.
The Sports Car Club of America®, Inc., founded in 1944, is a 67,500-member motorsports organization that incorporates all facets of autocross, rally and road racing at both Club and professional levels. With headquarters in Topeka, Kansas, the SCCA annually sanctions over 2,000 events through its 116 Regions and subsidiary divisions. Much of the SCCA's activities are made possible with support from the following Official Partners: Chevrolet, the Official Truck of the SCCA; Hawk Performance, the Official Brake Products of SCCA; Mobil 1, the Official Oil of SCCA; Sunoco, the Official Fuel of SCCA; and Tire Rack, the Official Tire Retailer of SCCA. To learn more, please visit www.scca.com.
Bisceglia Teams with Bogle, RCH/Yoshimura/Suzuki Factory Racing for Spring Creek, Remainder of Pro Motocross Championship
21 Jul 2017 Written by Adam SinclairRCH/Yoshimura/Suzuki Factory Racing will pair 2013 AMA Horizon Award winner and former 250 Class standout Matt Bisceglia with Justin Bogle at this weekend’s Lucas Oil Pro Motocross La Crescent Wine & Spirit Spring Creek National in Millville, Minn.
Bisceglia, a native of Weatherford, Texas, will also campaign the No. 43 Suzuki RM-Z450 for the remainder of the outdoor season in place of Broc Tickle who was injured two races ago at RedBud, forcing him to miss the final six races of the year.
The 22-year-old rider made seven 450 Class starts in 2016 for Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing where he finished eighth three times while earning four top 10s.
“Obviously, I’m bummed for Broc,” said Bisceglia. “I never want to see anyone get hurt, especially someone I know and consider a friend. At the same time, it’s definitely a good opportunity for me. I raced the RM-Z450 last summer so it’s something I’m familiar with. The last time I raced outdoors was on a 450 so when the opportunity came up, I was more than happy to say yes and be able to work with these guys and ride a Suzuki for the rest of the summer. I’m really excited for it.“
Meanwhile, Bogle comes into Round 8 sixth in the championship tally following a 10th-place overall result two weeks ago at Southwick. Bogle trails fifth-place Dean Wilson by 15 points with five races remaining on the 2017 calendar.
In three previous professional Spring Creek starts, all coming in the 250 Class, Bogle calls a sixth-place overall finish a career best. The Cushing, Okla., rider was sidelined for last year’s annual visit to southeastern Minnesota after an injury at Southwick left him unable to compete for the remainder of the 2016 season.
“Spring Creek is an amazing race track,” commented Bogle. “I haven’t had the success there that I’d like to so it definitely feels like I have some unfinished business this weekend. We had an ok race at Southwick and I spent the time off working hard trying to pull everything back together for the final five rounds. I feel good so I think we’ll be fine. As much as we’re all bummed for Broc, it’s going to be a lot of fun to have Matt racing with us. We know each other really well and have spent a bunch of time together. We were teammates in the past so it’s good to have him on a Suzuki with RCH for the rest of the season.”
“I’m excited,” added Bisceglia. “We were teammates for a year or two back in our Honda days. Beyond that, he was from Oklahoma and I was from Texas. We grew up together and raced each other a lot before we turned pro. It will be cool. Justin and I get along so I’m looking forward to racing out of the same tent with him this weekend and the rest of the summer.”
After suffering a broken leg in a practice crash at Glen Helen in February, Bisceglia has spent the last several months on the outside looking in, all the while recovering and preparing for his return.
“I’ve been hurt for a while so I haven’t raced yet this summer,” explained Bisceglia. “I was planning on coming back this weekend regardless and then obviously I got the call to ride the RM-Z450 for RCH. My fitness feels good. I’ve been doing long motos during the week but obviously nothing compares to race pace. Throughout the injuries and everything else I’ve dealt with this year, I’ve done my best to stay in shape off the bike no matter what I’m doing. That’s definitely helped with all that. It’s a big confidence booster knowing that I’m on a bike that is capable of winning races and being under the tent with a team that can win. That does a lot for your confidence. I’m confident in the bike, too, so I’m excited to get some time on it and then show up and see what we can do at Millville.”
In 2006, RCH co-owner Ricky Carmichael added his famous signature to the legendary Minnesota racetrack when he became the first and last competitor in AMA history to lap the entire field.
Since then, Carmichael’s 2006 assault on the competition – under extremely sloppy conditions – has gone down in the annals of Pro Motocross as one of the single greatest accomplishments the sport has ever seen.
“That was a great race for me in the mud,” explained Carmichael. “To this day, it’s still hard to believe that I actually did it and what a significant accomplishment it was. But, looking back on it now, it was something special.
“Millville is always a fun race. It was a favorite for me because the dirt is very similar to my place so, personally, it made me very comfortable. The Martins (Spring Creek Motorsports Park track promoters) always do a great job with track prep and with making small changes each year to add a new twist. It’s never the same old thing. The fans are always incredible so it really makes it a fun weekend for the riders and teams.”
The first moto from the La Crescent Wine & Spirit Spring Creek National will be televised live on MAVTV Sat., July 22 at 2 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, 11 a.m. Pacific. Coverage for the second moto will be televised later that day on a tape-delayed basis on NBCSN beginning at 11 p.m. EDT, 8 p.m. Pacific.
All motos can be streamed live on the NBC Sports Gold app. NBC, NBCSN and MAVTV will combine to provide extensive television coverage over the course of the 12-round season. Capping off each round of the championship will be exclusive one-hour highlight shows on NBCSN, each airing within a handful of days of every National.
Gus Dean ready to put GREE; Win-Tron Racing back in top-five at LOR
21 Jul 2017 Written by Steven B. WilsonSqueezing out his eighth consecutive top-10 finish of the season two weeks ago at Iowa Speedway, SCOTT Rookie of the Year leader Gus Dean (@gusdean) returns to Lucas Oil Raceway (LOR) looking to earn his fifth top-five run in Friday night’s Sioux Chief PowerPEX 200.
In his ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards debut at Iowa, Dean qualified his No. 32 GREE Cooling Products Toyota 11th but quickly hustled towards the front.
Racing inside the top-five with the checkered flag quickly approaching, Dean experienced a flat tire under green flag conditions sending the GREE Racing driver to pit road for a new tire. The setback plummeted him through the running order to 15th and two laps off the pace.
Over the final 40 laps of the race, however, Dean rallied to earn one of his lost laps back and climbed the running to 10th when the checkered flag flew.
Hoping the bad luck is behind him, the Win-Tron Racing development driver sets his sights on Lucas Oil Raceway hoping to earn his ninth consecutive top-10 finish.
“We’ve had some really fast No. 32 GREE Toyota Camrys the last couple of races, unfortunately, we don’t have the results to really show for it,” said Dean. “At Madison, we had a car capable of winning, but tire strategy worked against us. At Iowa, just cut down a tire and ran out of time to recover for a better finish.
“Through the bumps in the road, we’ve kept our eye on the prize and that’s bringing good enough cars to the race track where we can contend for wins. With a little luck, I think our first win is not too far off the horizon.”
The 22-year-old driver returns to Lucas Oil Raceway looking to better his ninth-place result last July.
Dean qualified his GREE car 15th and despite being spun early in the race, he recovered to post his third top-10 finish during the 2016 season.
“I learned a lot about Lucas Oil last year,” said Dean. “It originally was not a race on my schedule, but the opportunity came about to race and we did. I learned that you really need to have the car rotating off the corner so you can carry the speed on the straightaways.
“Todd (Myers, crew chief) has a good feel on where he wants to be for the race and we’ve spent a lot of time in the shop working to make our cars faster for the second half of the season. I’m really encouraged and can’t wait to see what kind of results we can put together.”
During the week off from competition, Dean spent time with his teammate Justin Fontaine and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver Austin Wayne Self. On July 12, the three drivers bonded during a day of fun at Carowinds Amusement Park in Charlotte.
“We spend a lot of time together at the race track, so it was nice to get away from that scenery and just hang out and not really talk about racing – but discuss everyday stuff,” added Dean. “It was cool. I learned a lot more about Justin and Austin and we had a lot of fun. Definitely a good team-building moment.”
For the fifth time this season, Dean will carry the GREE onboard camera offering an exclusive look from aboard his Kevin Cywinski-owned machine.
In 17 career ARCA Racing Series starts, Dean captured his first career victory in his second ever start at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway after starting second in Apr. 2016. Overall, Dean has five top-five and 11 top-10 finishes and has led 37 laps in ARCA competition.
The Sioux Chief PowerPEX 200 (200 laps / 137 miles) is the 11th of 20 races on the 2017 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards schedule. Practice begins Fri., July 21 with an hour and forty-five-minute practice session planned from 12:15 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. General Tire pole qualifying is set for later in the day at 5:00 p.m. The race is set to take the green flag later shortly after 9:00 p.m. The event will be broadcasted live on FOX Sports 1 (FS1), while ARCARacing.com will stream live timing and scoring throughout the week’s activities. All times are local (ET).
Gus Dean PR
NCWTS Race from Eldora on FOX Business Network Scores Viewership Increase
21 Jul 2017 Written by Steven B. WilsonThe NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race from NASCAR champion Tony Stewart’s dirt track at Eldora Speedway aired on FOX Business Network on Wednesday night, and the 9:30-11:45 PM ET race window averaged 660,000 viewers, up 2% from last year’s race on FS1 (644,000), according to Nielsen Media Research.
On FOX Sports GO, the telecast had an average minute audience of 4,304, an increase of 361% from last year’s Eldora race. It is the third-best streaming performance of an NCWTS race this season, behind Daytona and Atlanta.
Earlier in the day, Eldora Qualifying on FS1 scored 258,000 viewers, 11% above last year’s qualifying session (233,000).
The next NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race of the season is Saturday, July 29 (1:00 PM ET) from Pocono, airing on the FOX broadcast network.
FOX Sports PR
Austin Cindric Back with Cunningham Motorsports for Lucas Oil Raceway
21 Jul 2017 Written by Steven B. WilsonCurrent NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver Austin Cindric will return to Cunningham Motorsports this weekend for the Sioux Chief PowerPEX 200 at Lucas Oil Raceway (LOR). The 18-year-old will return to the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards for the first time in 2017, driving the No. 99 PIRTEK Ford Fusion this Friday night.
“When I looked at the ARCA schedule and looked at some races we might want to do if it worked with our schedule, I circled LOR (Lucas Oil Raceway) right away,” said Cindric. “I think we’re right on par with the other cars and I’d expect us to be fighting up front with the leaders and fighting to win. Last year we had really strong runs in the ARCA races we ran and hopefully we can come out this year and get the No. 99 PIRTEK Ford Fusion into victory lane.”
That success Cindric saw last season spanned over four races and included a win at Kentucky Speedway, two second-place finishes (at Pocono Raceway and Kansas Speedway) and a pole award. Being able to come and run a few races in the series has proved helpful to Cindric, who is still learning and soaking up any and all information he can get.
“I don’t have a lot of short track experience, so I knew this race would be one of the most beneficial ones to be able to run this year,” said Cindric. “It’s a fun race because there’s so many different lanes you can use. I’ve learned a ton on how to drive stock cars thanks to my time in ARCA. It’s a great environment to be able to learn and still have competitive teams and drivers run at the same time, so I’m really excited to see what we can do here on Friday.”
Even though he has raced at LOR before, it was with an open-wheel series, which is an entirely different beast than stock cars. To get reacquainted with the track, the No. 99 team tested at the track last Sunday throughout the day and into the night.
“I thought about if I was going to be able to use anything from those two races I ran in 2013 and 2014 to the race now, but I don’t think I’ll be able to so the test was extremely important,” said Cindric. “Being able to test at the same time as the race is a crew chief’s dream. Being able to go out and do long runs is really helpful and we can directly correlate what we learned during the test to the race with what we want to do to the car.”
Coming off of a busy few days at Eldora Speedway, when he finished 10th in the NCWTS race, Cindric will move right over to Indianapolis for Friday night’s race. The Sioux Chief PowerPEX 200 will kick off with practice from 12:15-2 p.m. followed by General Tire Pole Qualifying at 5. The 200-lap feature is slated for a 9 p.m. start and will air live on FS1. All times are local (Eastern).
Keep up with Cunningham Motorsports on Facebook and Instagram (@CunninghamRace) and on Twitter (@Cunningham_Race). Head to www.cunninghamrace.com for more news. You can follow Austin on social media as well. Follow Austin on Facebook (@Austin.Cindric) and on Twitter and Instagram (@AustinCindric).
Cunningham Motorsports PR
ARCA rookie Justin Fontaine set to take on Lucas Oil Raceway
20 Jul 2017 Written by Steven B. WilsonFor the seventh time this season, ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards newcomer Justin Fontaine (@driverFontaine) is set to tackle a new track as the series makes it annual stop at Lucas Oil Raceway Park (LORP), site of Friday night’s Sioux Chief PowerPEX 200.
For Fontaine with the support of AM Racing and their development team Win-Tron Racing, they head to Lucas Oil Raceway looking to bounce back from a disappointing finish at Iowa Speedway where a mechanical failure robbed them of a top-10 finish.
At Iowa, Fontaine showed that he had a car capable of earning him his career-best finish in his sixth race, but 65 laps into the Fans with Benefits 150, a gear failure sent him to the garage and out of the race.
Still, Fontaine and crew chief Bill Henderson were encouraged by their performance.
“We’re going in the right direction,” said Fontaine. “I can’t thank the AM Racing, Win-Tron Racing and ProMATIC team enough for giving me good race cars. It’s unfortunate that we had a mechanical failure, but we’ve put that behind us and we’re focused on Lucas Oil Friday night and Pocono next weekend.”
Despite the Iowa finish, comfortable seems to be the norm for Fontaine, a native of Asheville, N.C.
In the past three races, the driver of the No. 33 ProMATIC Toyota has improved his qualifying game earning his best career-start of eighth two weeks ago at Iowa Speedway. Previously, it was a 10th at Madison International Speedway. Before then, it was a 12th at Michigan International Speedway.
“Our qualifying efforts have been solid,” added Fontaine. “I think we still have some work to do to get better – but we’re making progress every week and we’re able to find more speed from practice. Now, we just need to complete the circle.”
Even though Fontaine has never been to Lucas Oil Raceway, the 19-year-old is relying on his prior short track experience to play dividends.
“Yeah, I’ve never been to Lucas Oil, but I’ve been studying the track by watching old races and looking at photos and stuff,” Fontaine added. “Gus (Dean), my teammate has been to Lucas Oil before so I’m hoping if I have any questions – I can pick his brain and see if there’s something he can help me with.”
No matter what Friday night brings, Fontaine hopes the outcome brings him momentum he can carry in the second half of the ARCA season.
“You know after the Daytona crash that kept me out for a couple months, I’m just blessed to be able to go to the track and race every weekend,” he said. “I go to the race track every weekend thinking we have a chance to have a good finish. Under the right circumstances and a good handling No. 33 ProMATIC Toyota, I think we can win. We just have to keep digging.”
Currently 14th in the series’ standings (+2 positions from Iowa), Fontaine has a career best finish of 11th twice at Elko (Minn.) Speedway and Madison (Wisc.) international Speedway respectively.
While sticking with a heavy ARCA schedule for now, Fontaine’s focus is expected to turn towards the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series where he’ll compete in a limited schedule this summer in an AM Racing entry.
The Sioux Chief PowerPEX 200 (200 laps / 137 miles) is the 11th of 20 races on the 2017 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards schedule. Practice begins Fri., July 21 with an hour and forty-five-minute practice session planned from 12:15 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. General Tire pole qualifying is set for later in the day at 5:00 p.m. The race is set to take the green flag later shortly after 9:00 p.m. The event will be broadcasted live on FOX Sports 1 (FS1), while ARCARacing.com will stream live timing and scoring throughout the week’s activities. All times are local (ET).
To learn more information on AM Racing please visit amracingteam.com.
For more on Justin Fontaine, please like his Facebook page (Justin Fontaine) or follow him on Twitter @driverFontaine.
AM/Win-Tron Racing PR
