Speed Leaves Pocono with Championship Points Lead
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Scott Speed |
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Long Pond, Penn. (August 3, 2008) – Sweeping the pole positions at Pocono Raceway in 2008, Eddie Sharp Racing’s Scott Speed battled Justin Allgaier for the win in the final laps of Saturday’s Pennsylvania 200. Speed took the checkered flag in the second position but left the 2.5-mile triangular speedway with the ARCA RE/MAX Series championship points lead.
"It was a great day," said Speed. "We had an awesome car all weekend and to come away with such a points lead is really encouraging for the guys. Honestly, I’m happy for him [Justin Allgaier] to win. He had a great run and it was a very good battle at the end."
"Overall we had a great day. I was better on long runs and Justin (Allgaier) was better on short runs, so he got us in the end with the green- white- checkered finish. We did however, have an amazing point’s day, so I am very happy with how things turned out. Now we just have to keep it."
-Scott Speed |
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The Red Bull team unloaded a solid car for Friday’s practice session. Requiring very little adjustment, the No. 2 Red Bull Toyota rolled to the grid for qualifying. Speed laid down a 54.286-second lap (165.789 mph) to capture his third SIM Factory Pole Award of the season.
Following a one-hour rain delay, the green flag dropped for the 80-lap Pennsylvania 200. Reporting a vibration early in the race, the No. 2 team held their breath for the remaining 70 laps. The car was a little tight early in each green flag run, but the handling stabilized each time after about five laps.
The No. 16 (Allgaier) and Speed swapped the lead throughout the course of the race, with the final pass coming at lap 74. During that lap, the Red Bull Toyota passed the No. 16, however the final caution occurred and the field was returned to the its positions in accordance to the last scoring loop. This put Allgaier back in front of Speed.
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No. 2 Red Bull Toyota |
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The race restarted with a green- white- checkered finish. Allgaier and Speed batted for the final two laps; however the victory this time would go to Allgaier for his first superspeedway win.
Speed took the lead in the ARCA RE/MAX Series Championship point chase with his stellar performance at Pocono. Speed leads second place Matt Carter, who moved past Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. this weekend, by 95 points.
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Lofton Has Frustrating Day at Pocono; Finishes 11th
Long Pond, Penn. (August 2, 2008) – Eddie Sharp Racing’s Justin Lofton did not have the weekend at Pocono Raceway that he had anticipated. With strong momentum going into the weekend, the ninth place start and the 11th place finish for the Pennsylvania 200 at Pocono Raceway simply did not meet the No. 20 Lofton Cattle Team’s high expectations.
"It was an unfortunate weekend for us," said Lofton. "We didn’t show our true game. We will regroup this week and head to Nashville and pick up there."
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No. 20 Lofton Cattle Dodge |
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Lofton fought a tight car during qualifying on Friday afternoon, running a 54.881-second lap to qualify the No. 20 Lofton Cattle Dodge in the ninth starting position for Saturday’s race.
Saturday morning teams were greeted by a torrential rainstorm that delayed the race for one-hour. Shortly after 2:00 p.m. ET the green flag flew for the start of the Pennsylvania 200. Lofton reported early that his Charger was tight going into the tricky triangle turns and loose driving out. During each pit stop the team made a variety of adjustments in hopes of freeing up the No. 20 Lofton Cattle Dodge.
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Justin Lofton |
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Lofton continued to wrestle the ill-handling car around the 2.5-mile superspeedway. A solid pit stop on lap 49 moved the No. 20 up five positions into the ninth position; however Lofton was fighting the car to stay in the top 10. Lofton and Crew Chief Wayne Carroll weighed their options over the radio during the lap 60 caution and finally decided to make a risky last pit stop if there was another caution in hopes of securing a better finish.
"Right now I’m coming off the turns in a four-wheel drift," said Lofton. "I’m so tight in that it is so loose off."
On lap 68 a multi-car wreck brought out the sixth caution of the day. The race was red-flagged on lap 69 for almost 15 minutes. The team agreed that with the current handling, the team would be lucky to get a tenth-place finish.
When the red flag was lifted and the race returned to pace-lap speed under the yellow flag, Lofton brought the Lofton Cattle Dodge to pit road on lap 70. The team made aggressive changes and sent Lofton back out to restart on lap 72 in the 20th position.
Unfortunately, the gamble did not pay off. The race did not remain green for the final eight laps. The seventh and final caution of the day came at lap 73. Lofton had already climbed to the 17th position. When the race restarted with a green-white-checkered finish, Lofton put the hammer down and brought the No. 20 Lofton Cattle Dodge in the 11th position.
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Butler Shines with Top 10 at Pocono
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Ken Butler, III |
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Long Pond, Penn. (August 2, 2008) – Ken Butler, III and his Aaron’s Lucky Dog team unloaded at Pocono Raceway, confident they had a strong car and needing a good finish to gain momentum for the second half of the season. Despite a disappointing qualifying effort, KBIII and his team ran a solid race to bring the No. 22 Aaron’s Lucky Dog Toyota home in the seventh position and move back into the Top 10 in ARCA RE/MAX Series championship points.
"I’m really proud of our finish at Pocono," said KBIII. "We’ve been running well but have had some bad luck the past couple of races. This solid finish was much needed for all of us. We knew we were much better than the 19th-place qualifying spot. But my Crew Chief Jonathan [Davis] worked hard to get my car where it was comfortable and we knew that we would definitely be competitive in the race. My guys did a great job this weekend and I really appreciate it!"
The Aaron’s Lucky Dog team was not happy with their qualifying lap of 55.754 seconds. This run put the No. 22 in the 19th starting position for the Pennsylvania 200.
When teams returned to the track on Saturday morning to set up for the afternoon race, they found themselves seeking shelter in haulers and the garage as heavy winds and rain swept through the area. The storms delayed the race events by one hour. At approximately 2:00 p.m. ET the green flag waved for the 80-lap race.
In the opening laps, Butler reported that the Aaron’s Lucky Dog Toyota was a little tight, but very good. KBIII told his team that car was "fast as heck but gets tighter and tighter as the run goes on." When Davis offered to make adjustments, Butler’s only concern was that he didn’t want to be too free at the beginning of the run. Over the course of the team’s two pit stops, minor trackbar adjustments were made along with fuel and fresh tires.
On lap 68 a multi-car wreck, occurring just behind the No. 22 Camry brought out the day’s sixth caution.
"All I saw was smoke behind me and then a car flying through the air," said KBIII. "It was unbelievable!"
The race was red-flagged for almost 15 minutes as safety crews worked to remove the debris from the track. When the race restarted, KBIII was in the eighth position. The seventh and final caution of the day came at lap 73, immediately following the restart. The final laps of the race were run in a green-white-checkered format. KBIII advanced to the seventh position where he would finish the race. Seven appears to be the No. 22 team’s lucky number. Of the five top 10 finishes, four are seventh-place finishes.
"We had a really fast race car that was great on long runs," stated KBIII. "Unfortunately we didn't have those [long green-flag runs] at the end. I'm very happy with our solid finish and this Aaron’s Lucky Dog Dream Machine Toyota. Hats off to my guys! We're looking forward to another great run in Nashville!"
With his weekend at Pocono, KBIII jumped back into the Top 10 in the ARCA RE/MAX Series point standings. Butler is currently in the 10th position with 2405 points, and only ten points out of ninth place.
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