2 CAR RACE REPORT
Engine woes thwart McDowell’s day at Nashville ARCA rookie collects sixth pole of 2007
LEBANON, TN (August 13, 2007) – It seems that Nashville Superspeedway has Michael McDowell’s number.
In April, a cut tire ended McDowell’s night while running in second place in the early goings of the race. While he was hoping to avoid a second-consecutive snake bite, McDowell’s No. 2 Z-Line Designs / Make-A-Wish / Beck Dodge eventually succumbed to an engine failure but not before making waves on the weekend.
McDowell’s lap of 30.126 earned the Phoenix native his sixth ARCA SIM Factory Pole Award of 2007. After leading the field to the green flag, McDowell led the race’s first 33 laps and then settled in behind race leader Bryan Clauson until the bulk of the field began a green flag pit stop cycle. McDowell’s Eddie Sharp Racing team cut the pit window too short and while pitting, the yellow flag fell, trapping McDowell one lap down.
McDowell re-started as the second car off the lead lap but quickly earned his lap back passing leader Clauson just prior to another caution period, putting him at the tail-end of the lead lap in fourteenth place. As the ARCA rookie navigated his way back up through the field, he began to encounter engine trouble which proved to be terminal with three laps to go. McDowell’s stout comeback ended in a nineteenth place finish.
Despite the day’s unfavorable result, McDowell was pleased with the team’s perseverance:
“We had an awesome car today. It was good enough to put us in position to come back from adversity but unfortunately our motor fell flat there at the end,” said McDowell. “Ernie Elliott has given us great motors this year—this is our first motor failure of the season. We’ll go back to the shop and figure out what went wrong and move on from there.”
McDowell remains in second place in the series point standings, 80 points behind leader Frank Kimmel.
Up Next: On Sunday, August 19, Michael McDowell and Eddie Sharp Racing will take to the dirt at the Illinois State Fairgrounds for the first dirt oval race of the 2007 ARCA RE/MAX Series season. |
22 CAR RACE REPORT
Ken Butler, III Comes Home 11th in the Music City
Bad Luck Doesn’t Stop Young Driver From Finishing Solid
MOORESVILLE, NC (August 13, 2007) – Ken Butler III’s return to the ARCA RE/MAX Series was a successful one at Nashville Superspeedway. Despite some obstacles that were thrown his way, Butler and the ESR No. 22 were able to take the misfortune that luck handed them and walk away with an 11th place finish.
“Overall it was a pretty good weekend,” said Butler. “We had some things that happened that we had to rebound from, but we were able to stick it out until the end to come home 11th, which is pretty good. I am still learning how to drive these big tracks, so with all that happened to us; it was a good learning experience.”
For the first part of the race, Butler kept the No. 22 in the top-10 and well into contention after starting the event from the seventh position. After the pit stops, the No. 22 was running in the 7th position while all the cars in front of him were on old tires. KBIII was in a position for a great finish when bad luck found the team as they were caught up in an accident that resulted in damage to the front of the car.
“Up until we got caught in that accident, we had worked really hard to get our car up front,” added Butler. “We struggled with the car being tight at the first part of the race, and then we ended up losing our brakes. We had adjusted during the pit stop and were set to work our way back up to the front when we got caught up in that incident.”
The team worked to get the car repaired during the caution, and they were able to restart the race on the lead lap. Despite the damage, Butler was able to steer the car to just outside of the top-10 as he continued his impressive season in the ARCA RE/MAX Series coming home 11th at Nashville Superspeedway. For more information on the Butler Brothers please visit http://www.butlerbrothersracing.com . |
PRACTICE UPDATE
McDOWELL SECOND IN PRACTICE
Teammate Butler III 18th LEBANON TN (August 10, 2007) - Michael McDowell, in the Z Line Design-Make A Wish-Beck Dodge, was second quickest in practice today for the Nashville ARCA 150.
"We had a really good car, especially on the long runs," said McDowell. "I don't know how good we will be during qualifying but we will definitely be good during the race. We actually made more laps than anyone out there during this long practice session. We were practicing our race runs and trying to see what the tire wear would be so that we can minimize the drop off during the race. We want to be there at the end and I think we will."
SIM Factory Pole Award Qualifying is scheduled to take place at 5:30 p.m. The qualifying session will help determine the starting lineup for Saturday's Toyota 150.
Positions one through 32 will be determined by qualifying speeds, with the rest of the starting field set by provisional positions. Positions 32 through 36 are reserved for car owners based on 2007 ARCA point standings, while positions 37-40 are reserved for "Golden A" eligible teams who competed in 100 percent of the series races in 2006. Position 41 is made available for a past ARCA RE/MAX Series champion. If no past champion is in need of a provisional, the position is made available to a "Golden A" eligible team who competed in 100 percent of series races in 2006.
The Toyota 150 rolls off at 2:30 p.m. Central on Saturday, August 11th. The race will air LIVE on SPEED at 3:30 pm ET.
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RACE PREVIEW
McDOWELL LOOKS FOR THREE-PEAT On the prowl for third win and series point lead
MOORESVILLE, NC (August 7, 2007) – Pat Riley invented the term “Three-Peat,” while he was a coach for the champion Los Angeles Lakers in the late ‘80’s. This Saturday, Michael McDowell looks to put the term that Riley coined to use with a third-straight win in the ARCA RE/MAX Series.
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Trophy collector Michael McDowell |
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Naturally, McDowell’s No. 2 Z-Line Designs / Make-A-Wish / Beck Dodge must fend off a barrage of NASCAR development drivers, hungry ARCA regulars, and one eight-time series champion at this Saturday’s race at the Nashville Superspeedway. The Arizona native is ready:
“I’m pumped,” commented McDowell. “Everyone at Eddie Sharp Racing has been working their tails off. We tested Nashville last month and we love the car we’re bringing. We realize that after winning two-in-a-row, the bulls-eye is on our backs, so we need to make sure that we’re on our game this weekend.”
McDowell’s second consecutive ARCA victory last weekend put him within 20 points of Frank Kimmel, the current standings leader. No one has been this close to the eight-time ARCA champ in over a half-decade. McDowell knows out-dueling Kimmel will be an unenviable task:
“I don’t expect catching Frank (Kimmel) will be easy. It hasn’t been so far. Last week, we were in the right situation to pounce on an opportunity for the win and we gained a lot of ground on first (in points). The championship is the goal but we need to stay composed and not try to beat ourselves, trying to beat him.
“There’s a reason he’s won the championship eight times. He’s an incredible competitor. Fortunately, Patrick (Donahue, crew chief) and the guys have allowed me to be fast at every track we’ve visited. If that continues, we’ll create our own destiny.”
McFACTS
> Last April, McDowell qualified fifth and was closing in on the second place car with less than 20 laps to go when a blown right front tire sent him into the wall, ending his day.
> McDowell is only 20 points behind leader Frank Kimmel in the series standings and currently leads the ARCA rookie standings by 26 points over Phillip McGilton.
> McDowell and Kimmel are tied with nine top-ten finishes each for the 2007 season.
> While McDowell only led two laps in last weekend’s win, the two add to the total of 432, which leads all drivers in the ARCA RE/MAX Series.
> McDowell’s crew chief, Patrick Donahue, leads the Cometic Engine Mechanic’s Award standings after last Saturday’s race at Pocono Raceway. For more information on Eddie Sharp Racing drivers, visit:
Ken Butler III: http://www.butlerbrothersracing.com
Michael McDowell: http://mmcdowell.com |
RACE PREVIEW
BUTLER III READY FOR NASHVILLE
KB3 returns in the #22 car this weekend
LEBANON TN (August 10, 2007) - Ken Butler III is heading to the Music City this weekend where he will be making his return to the ARCA RE/MAX Series this weekend at Nashville Superspeedway (TN). He is heading there with experience under his belt in the ARCA RE/MAX Series along with a strong desire to bring home a special souvenir from the Music City in the shape of the famous guitar trophy.
"I am excited to be heading to Nashville," said Butler. "It will be my first time racing at the track, and while it is a bigger track, it is almost like a "big" short track, because you almost have to drive it like you are at a short track. It's not like any place that I have ever been before, but it is a lot of fun to drive on." As a first year driver in the ARCA RE/MAX Series, Butler has seen his fair share of new tracks, and this weekend won't be too different as it will be the young driver's first start at the 1.33 mile track. The ESR No. 22 team has tested at the track and is set to put KBIII up front.
"We tested at the track a few weeks ago, and it went really good," added Butler. "We found some things that I think will really help us out during the race, and we also can take what our teammate Josh (Wise) learned the last time that they were racing there and put it to good use this time around."
"I think that we should be pretty good, and I would love to be able to bring home a win for NAPA Auto Parts and Toyota. It's a Toyota sponsored race, so hopefully we will see a Toyota in victory lane when all is said and done."
The ARCA RE/MAX Series Toyota ARCA 150 will get underway this Saturday, August 11 at Nashville Superspeedway, and will be shown live on SPEED Channel at 3:30pm.
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| Nashville ARCA 150 |
| Date: |
Saturday, August 11, 2007 |
| Track: |
Nashville Superspeedway (Lebanon, TN) |
| Race Distance: |
113 Laps (150 miles) |
| Team: |
Eddie Sharp Racing |
| Crew Chief: |
Patrick Donahue |
| Watch McDowell contend for the Three-Peat at Nashville on Saturday, August 11, live at 3:30 pm EST on SPEED. |
2007 ARCA RE/MAX SERIES DRIVER POINT STANDINGS
After Event #14, Pennsylvania ARCA 200 |
| POS |
NAME |
POINTS |
STARTS |
WINS |
TOP-5 |
TOP-10 |
| 1 |
Frank Kimmel |
3050 |
14 |
1 |
4 |
9 |
| 2 |
Michael McDowell |
3030 |
14 |
2 |
5 |
9 |
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