Disappointing End to a Nearly Perfect Weekend for Craig Goess at Michigan; Finishes Sixth After Topping Practice, Qualifying and Leading 74 Laps

Craig Goess

Brooklyn, MI (June 11, 2010) Riding momentum from his first career ARCA Racing Series victory last Saturday at Pocono Raceway, Craig Goess was looking to complete a perfect weekend at Michigan International Speedway. The No. 81 Toyota of Greenville N.C. swept practice and qualifying Thursday, and led 74 of 100 laps before finishing sixth in the Racing For Wildlife 200.

First, Goess dominated practice. He came into the Thursday morning session with a desire to continue his success, hitting the top of the boards right away. He finished practice quickest of 42 cars, with a speed of 184.568 mph (39.010 seconds).

Next, Goess continued his week of firsts and earned his first pole award. He impressed the field, laying down a lap of 38.490 seconds (187.062 mph).

When the green flag waved with Goess on the pole, there was no looking back for the No. 81. Within the first two laps, Goess had a commanding lead, developing a one-second advantage on the second place car. Even with his comfortable lead, Goess radioed to his crew strategizing how he could extend his lead. "Let me know if there is anything I'm doing entering or exiting the turns that I can do better or need to continue doing," said Goess.

By the time the first caution came out on lap 27, Goess' lead was up to more than five seconds. Pit road opened, and the No. 81 came down to the first pit stall for four tires, fuel and a half-turn on the track bar. After the successful stop, the green flag dropped on lap 35, and Goess once again got off to a great restart, getting out front and creating distance from the field around the two-mile track.

Johnny Allen, crew chief of the No. 81, was impressed with Goess' speed. "It is really incredible how fast you are," radioed Allen. "Keep doing what you are doing."

Deciding the best strategy to keep the lead, the No. 81 came down pit road for a green-flag pit stop on lap 75. The ESR crew worked hard to get the first-place No. 81 back on the track as quick as possible. With a stroke of bad luck, Chase Mattioli spun off Turn 4, and the caution came out with Goess still in the pit box. After leading the first 74 laps, the unfortunate caution put the dominating No. 81 a lap down.

Disheartened, but determined to make up for the bad luck, Goess lined up for the restart one lap down, but on the front row. The green flag dropped again on lap 81, and Goess got out in front and hoped for a caution. "Hit your marks," said Lorin Rainer, spotter for Goess. "That's all you can do."

Even a lap down, Goess continued to lead the field in speed. As he pushed around the track trying to stay ahead of the leaders, the laps ticked by without a caution.

The No. 81 crossed the finish line sixth, the last car on the lead lap. Mikey Kile, who finished second behind Goess last week at Pocono, won the race.

"We ran away from everybody all day," said Goess. "You can't come back from being a lap down. What will help me sleep tonight is that we were the dominant car all day. It was a solid weekend for us."

Goess and the No. 81 Greenville Toyota of N.C. team will head to Iowa Speedway on July 10 for the next ARCA Racing Series event. SPEED will provide live television coverage, with live audio on ARCARacing.com.

Brazilian Finishes 12th in First Visit to Michigan with ARCA Racing Series; Kicks-Off Double Duty Weekend

Brooklyn, MI (June 11, 2010) In Nelson Piquet Jr.'s debut at Michigan International Speedway, the Brazilian-born driver finished 12th in the Racing for Wildlife 200 in the ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards.

The weekend proved to be busy for Piquet as he was competing in the ARCA Racing Series event and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, which raced Saturday afternoon.

Piquet kicked off his eventful weekend with ARCA Racing Series practice Thursday morning. The No. 6 Qualcomm-Eddie Sharp Racing Development Toyota had the 13th quickest in the two-hour session with a time of 39.608 seconds (181.781 mph). Later Thursday, Piquet qualified with a lap time of 39.041 seconds (184.422 mph), positioning him to start fifth for Friday's race.

Continuing his transition from open wheel to stock car racing, Piquet looked forward to the 100-lap race around the 2-mile Michigan oval. ESR teammate Craig Goess started from the pole position and took a commanding lead from the green flag. Not far behind, Piquet looked to score his first top-five finish in the ARCA Racing Series, during the 200-mile race.

Piquet took the green flag in the fifth position and battled an ill-handling car, dropping to the seventh position for the first green-flag run. Elated when a caution was called on lap 27 for debris on the track, the No. 6 team took the opportunity to change four tires, add fuel and make track bar adjustments when pit road opened on lap 31. The team hoped the changes would help the car's tight condition.

The next green-flag run proved fruitful, as Piquet worked his way to the front of the field. By lap 41, just six laps into the run, Piquet battled the No. 60 Toyota of Patrick Sheltra for the fifth position. While battling with Sheltra, Piquet radioed to the crew that the car was getting loose. The No. 6 car picked up the pace working past lap traffic and passed the No. 60 Toyota by lap 48. Once in the top-five, the former Formula-One driver had his sights on the fourth-place car of Steve Arpin. Five short laps later, Piquet utilized lap-traffic to pass Arpin three-wide for the fourth position.

By lap 56, the No. 6 Toyota started to tighten up, but Piquet assured the team it was not pushing too much, as he gained on the third place car of Clay Rogers. Coming into turn three on lap 62, the ARCA rookie drove hard into the corner, passing Rogers for third. As he came out of turn four, Piquet brushed the wall while completing the pass and radioed to the crew that the car was becoming tighter. The Brazilian driver was comfortable with how the car was driving and was making up time on the second-place car, until lap 65 when he began to worry that the car was becoming too tight.

The team elected to pit under green on lap 72, hoping an early stop to make adjustments would allow Piquet to catch up to the second-place car. As the crew changed left-side tires, the car fell off the jack, before all the tires could be changed. The team moved quickly to react to the troubles and hoped that the field would finish pit stops and a caution would allow Piquet to make up the positions lost. Unfortunately, a yellow flag was waved on lap 77 for the No. 17 of Chase Mattioli, as he spun coming in for a green-flag stop. The untimely yellow caught the No. 6 Toyota one lap down and destroyed the teams' hope of a top-five finish.

The final green flag waved on lap 82, with Piquet in the ninth position. Piquet continued to battle a tight car in the last 18 laps, finishing the race one lap down in the 12th position.

Although Piquet was looking for a solid top-five finish, the stockcar rookie was glad to have 200-miles of experience to help prepare him for the NCWTS race on Saturday. "In general, the set-up wasn't there. The car was too tight, which was disappointing. Thankfully, we will have a second chance tomorrow to leave the track with more success. I will enter the race tomorrow in a hungrier mood to win the race. In terms of experience, it was good. I learned a little bit more today."

Piquet's next scheduled ARCA Racing Series event is with Eddie Sharp Racing at Pocono Raceway on July 31, 2010. The ARCA Racing Series will head to Iowa Speedway on July 10 for the next ARCA Racing Series event. SPEED will provide live television coverage, with live audio on ARCARacing.com.

MICHIGAN QUALIFYING

Craig Goess, Jr. Continues Week of Firsts; Starts From Front Row at Michigan

Craig Goess

Brooklyn, MI (June 10, 2010) Coming off his first ARCA Racing Series victory Saturday at Pocono Raceway, Craig Goess continued his success Thursday by earning the pole position for the Racing For Wildlife 200 at Michigan International Speedway.

In the No. 81 Eddie Sharp Racing Toyota of Greenville N.C., Goess laid down a quick lap of 38.49 seconds (187.062 mph), turning the 2-mile track quickest of 42 drivers.

"We knew we had a pretty fast car when we tested in May, and we were toward the top of the board all day today," said Goess.

Goess also topped the boards during practice Thursday morning, with a time of 39.010 seconds (184.568 mph).

In six days, Goess earned his first win at Pocono Saturday, topped the charts in practice Thursday morning and won his first pole award Thursday afternoon.


"The first pole is awesome, especially after the win we had last week." Goess explained. "We are at a big track with the companion race here this weekend, which is fun to have so many eyes on us. I really look forward to tomorrow."

The team tested at MIS in May, and Goess showed his quickness when he topped the morning session of the ARCA Racing Series open test, and finished third quickest overall.

MICHIGAN PREVIEW

Craig Goess, Jr. ARCA Racing Series Advance

Craig Goess

Brooklyn, MI (June 8, 2010) Craig Goess and the Eddie Sharp Racing No. 81 Greenville Toyota of N.C. Toyota will take the track in the Racing For Wildlife 200 at Michigan International Speedway on Friday, June 11, 2010. Coming off his first ARCA Racing Series victory at Pocono Raceway, Goess hopes to keep the momentum from the win going as the team rolls into the Irish Hills of Brooklyn, Mich., this weekend.

Pocono Victory - The No. 81 ESR Greenville Toyota of N.C. team had a good feeling going into last week's race at Pocono. As excitement built throughout the weekend, so did the momentum towards victory. Lining up third, Goess did not waste any time moving to the front of the pack. Behind leader Mikey Kile for much of the race, Goess' determination to bring home the win outweighed anything else. Strategic calls from crew chief Johnny Allen and clean pit stops from the No. 81 team helped Goess gain the lead on lap 68. He held the lead until the checkered flag on lap 80.

Added to Team Record Books: Goess' victory at Pocono served as the fifth ESR driver to steer a car to victory lane in the ARCA Racing Series. In the 17th team win, Goess added his name to the ESR record books. Justin Lofton, now racing in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, won the 2009 ARCA Racing Series championship and swept up seven wins over 2008 and 2009. Scott Speed, current NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver, won four races in 2008. Michael McDowell, driving this season in NSCS and the NASCAR Nationwide Series, won four races in 2007. Ken Butler III won the first race for ESR at Toledo Speedway in 2007.

Testing at MIS: Goess topped the charts two weeks ago at the morning session of the ARCA Racing Series open test at Michigan International Speedway. He led the field of 28 participating cars, turning the 2-mile track in 39.475 seconds (182.394 mph). After the afternoon session, Goess finished the day with the third-quickest overall time behind Mikey Kile and current ARCA point leader Patrick Sheltra.

Success at Michigan: In Goess' only start at Michigan, he finished in the 10th position. ESR has also found success at MIS over the years. In 2008, ESR drivers stole the show as Scott Speed won the pole and Lofton won the race, capturing the race record for ARCA at MIS with a average lap speed of 150.596 mph. In 2009, Lofton earned the pole award.

Guest on Pit Pass USA: Goess is a guest on Pit Pass USA with Larry Henry on Tuesday, June 8, 2010 at 8 p.m. Henry is the Public Address announcer at MIS and serves in other announcing capacities in various sports. The show will be broadcast on the PowerUp Motorsports Channel at www.powerupchannel.com.

In the Points: The win at Pocono moved Goess up two spots in the ARCA Racing Series point standings to the fifth position. He is now 40 points behind Steve Arpin in the fourth position and140 points out of first place.

QUOTES: Craig Goess Jr. on racing at MIS

"We had a really great test at Michigan a few weeks ago. The car that we will be running is a great car. We ran it at Texas back in April where we led a lot of laps, and it felt really good there. We have a few new things that we want to try that we ran out of time to try out during the test, so we know what we need to work on there. If we can get the car to where we know it can be, hopefully we will be back in victory lane again on Friday night.

TRACK FACTS
MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
Location	Brooklyn, Michigan
Address	12626 US 12, Brooklyn MI
Phone:	(517) 592-6666
Length	2-mile paved oval
Banking	18 degrees banking
First ARCA Race	1980

MICHIGAN PREVIEW

Nelson Piquet, Jr. ARCA Racing Series Advance

Nelson Piquet

Brooklyn, MI (June 8, 2010) Nelson Piquet Jr. and the Eddie Sharp Racing No. 6 Toyota will take the track for the Racing for Wildlife 200 at Michigan International Speedway on Friday, June 11 2010 at 5:15 p.m. EST. Piquet looks to continue his transition into stock car racing from his open-wheel roots. This will be his first start at Michigan International Speedway.

Last ARCA Race: Texas: Piquet competed at Texas Motor Speedway on April 18 in the No. 6 ESR Toyota Camry. The starting grid, chosen by the 2009 season standings of owner points, placed Piquet on the pole. Last season, the No. 6 was driven by 2009 ARCA Racing Series Champion Justin Lofton. From the drop of the green flag, the Brazilian driver battled the field. He remained in the top-five for much of the race, before falling to tenth. On an exciting green-white-checker finish, Piquet muscled his way to cross the finish line in ninth place.

Driving with ESR: Piquet will drive with ESR this weekend at MIS in the No. 6 Toyota Camry. He continues his relationship with the team after debuting in the series at Daytona in February and running at TMS in April. After this weekend, Piquet is scheduled to race again with ESR at Pocono Raceway on July 31.

Double-Duty: Along with the ARCA Racing Series race on Friday, Piquet will compete in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race Saturday at MIS. This will be his fourth start in the NCWTS, and he will be driving the No. 15 Billy Ballew Motorsports truck.

Experience on the Spotter Stand: Mike Calinoff will be on the spotter's stand for the No. 6 ESR Toyota. Calinoff, spotter for NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Matt Kenseth, and NASCAR Nationwide Series driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr., will serve triple-duty this weekend during the companion races. This weekend, Calinoff will spot for Piquet during the NCWTS and ARCA races and Kenseth on Sunday.

Michigan Test: Piquet traveled to MIS on May 25 to take part in the ARCA Racing Series open test with the ESR team. In the two testing sessions that day, Piquet finished eighth quickest overall, laying down a fast lap of 39.804 seconds (180.886 mph). Piquet's ESR teammate Craig Goess finished third-quickest overall during the test.

ESR Success at MIS: ESR has found success at MIS over the years. In 2008, ESR drivers stole the show as Scott Speed won the pole and Lofton won the race, capturing the race record for ARCA at MIS with an average lap speed of 150.596 mph. In 2009, Lofton earned the pole award.

QUOTES: Nelson Piquet Jr. on racing at MIS

"I am looking forward to an exciting ARCA Racing Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck doubleheader weekend at MIS as I continue to learn and develop my career in the U.S. Eddie Sharp Racing continues to show their capability and success on the track, coming off a big win at Pocono, and I hope to ride that momentum into Michigan. I've never raced at Michigan, so it's going to be a good weekend to learn the track. I'm working with a lot of talented people who are really helping to speed up my learning curve. This weekend is another step in that direction."

EVENT SCHEDULE
THURSDAY, JUNE 10th
10 AM:-Noon:	ARCA RE/MAX Series Practice
3:00 PM:	Pole Qualifying (All Positions / 2 laps)
FRIDAY, JUNE 11th
5:15 PM:	Racing for Wildlife 200 (100 laps / 200 miles)

SPEED Broadcast: The Racing for Wildlife 200 will be the fifth of 10 races on the ARCA Racing Series schedule to be broadcast on the SPEED Channel. The live race coverage begins at 5 p.m. EST. Live streaming audio will be also featured on the ARCA Racing Network at www.arcaracing.com with scoring and timing at 5 p.m. EST.