 PHOTOS: Bob Costanzo
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ILLINOIS STATE FAIRGROUNDS RACE UPDATE
TOP-TEN FINISH FOR SPEED AT SPRINGFIELD
Speed -8th; KB3 -13th; Lofton -24th
SPRINGFIELD, IL (August 17, 2008) – ESR's trio of drivers finished off their debut day on the clay with Scott Speed bringing the No. 2 Red Bull Toyota home eighth.
Teammate Ken Butler, III was close behind in 13th. Justin Lofton finished 24th in the second half of his double duty ARCA RE/MAX-NASCAR CWS-E weekend. |
ESR ARCA RE/MAX Series Allen Crowe 100 Unofficial Results
Illinois State Fairgrounds. Springfield, IL; August 17, 2008 |
| POS |
CAR |
DRIVER |
LAPS |
STATUS |
| 8 |
2 |
Scott Speed |
102 |
Running |
| 13 |
22 |
Ken Butler III |
102 |
Running |
| 24 |
20 |
Justin Lofton |
97 |
Running |
The ARCA RE/MAX Series will have a weekend off before hitting the dirt at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds on Labor Day. SIM Factory Pole Qualifying takes place on Monday, September 1st at 12:00 p.m. Driver introductions will start at 1:45 p.m. and the green flag for the Southern Illinois 100 drops Monday at 2:00 p.m. All times listed are EASTERN. |
ESR SPRINGFIELD RACE REPORTS |
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2 |
20 |
22 |
 |
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Speed Steers to 8th Place Finish on Clay at Springfield
Springfield, Ill. (August 17, 2008) – Eddie Sharp Racing's Scott Speed has had a year of many "firsts" and this weekend the former F-1 driver made his first career start on a dirt track. Heading to the Illinois State Fairgrounds with three wins in the last four races, the No. 2 Red Bull team prepared for a hot and dirty day in Springfield. Speed endured a frustrating race on the unfamiliar surface and finished in a very respectable eighth-place.
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When asked how his No. 2 Red Bull Toyota felt on the track, Speed responded, "It feels like I'm riding on dirt, dog." |
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"It was definitely an experience," said Speed. "Hopefully we can take what we learned here and apply it in two weeks at Du Quoin [State Fairgrounds] and hang on to the points lead."
Speed slipped and slid through the dust of the one-mile clay track in Sunday's Allen Crowe Memorial 100. Starting in the eighth position, Speed battled a tight-handling Red Bull Toyota for much of the 102-lap event and brought home his tenth consecutive top-10 finish of the season.
Speed continues to lead the ARCA RE/MAX Series point standings by 110 points over second-place Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. who surpassed Matt Carter for the position this weekend. The ARCA RE/MAX Series will race on the dirt one more time before returning to speedway action at Chicagoland Speedway.
Next Stop: Scott Speed will return to action in the Craftsman Truck Series on Wednesday August 20th at Bristol Motor Speedway. |
Double Duty - Double Frustration
Contact puts Lofton laps down at Springfield
Springfield, Ill. (August 17, 2008) – Eddie Sharp Racing's Justin Lofton traveled from Connecticut to Illinois this weekend, pulling double duty, racing in both the NASCAR Camping World Series East and the ARCA RE/MAX Series. Neither race satisfied the competitive driver as rotten luck plagued the weekend's events.
LIME ROCK: The first leg of the journey ended early with engine woes at Lime Rock Park in the No. 2 Greenville-Toyota/Lofton Cattle Toyota in Saturday's Mohegan Sun NASCAR 200.
Race Report from Lime Rock Park here
SPRINGFIELD: Saturday evening, Lofton boarded a plane for St. Louis and drove to Springfield, Illinois.
Sunday morning, Lofton climbed into his No. 20 Lofton Cattle Dodge at the Illinois State Fairgrounds for his first taste of dirt track racing.
With only one lap to qualify the No. 20 Lofton Cattle Dodge, Lofton was on a tear for a fast lap when the back end of the Charger snapped around on the driver. Lofton skillfully kept the car off the wall and returned to the start finish line with no damage. Lofton was forced to take a provisional for the Allen Crowe Memorial 100.
In the first 23 laps of the race, Lofton hammered his way up 11 spots to the 23rd position. On the 24th lap, Lofton suffered damage by a spinning car. Lofton lost valuable laps in the pits as the Lofton Cattle team worked hard to get the Dodge back to the track. The quick action of the team got Lofton back into the race while still under caution and only four laps down to the leaders. Lofton apologized to his team for the mishap and Crew Chief Wayne Carroll reminded his young driver that "it's ok, it happens. That was not your fault for sure."
Lofton battled through the remainder of the race, climbing to the 24th position by the time the checkered flag was dropped.
"It was definitely a learning experience," said Lofton about the Sunday ARCA event. "It was fun but I have to admit I am looking forward to getting back to pavement."
Exhausted, filthy, and very disappointed, Lofton left the fairgrounds looking forward to sleeping in on Monday before heading up to Chicagoland Speedway to test on, oh yes, pavement! |
KBIII Charges from 33rd to 13th in Impressive Dirt Debut
Recovers from qualifying wreck to a take home top-15 finish
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"Today was all about learning and surviving," -Ken Butler, III |
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Springfield, Ill. (August 17, 2008) – Ken Butler, III rebounded back from what was looking to be a disastrous weekend. The Eddie Sharp Racing driver suffered major left rear damage during his qualifying lap. The No. 22 Aaron's Lucky Dog team scrambled to repair the damage before the green flag for the Allen Crowe Memorial 100 dropped. KBIII charged like a champ, gaining a fantastic 20 positions to finish in the 13th position.
"Today was all about learning and surviving," said KBIII. "We had an unfortunate qualifying lap but my guys got the car back where it needed to be for the race. I'm really happy with 13th, considering we had to start in the back and it was my first experience on dirt."
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No. 22 Aaron's Lucky Dog Toyota |
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Butler moved an impressive 20 positions from start to finish. Unfortunately, KBIII was not awarded the Casite Hard Charger honor because in accordance to ARCA RE/MAX Series rules, those starting in a provisional position, as KBIII did, are ineligible for the award.
"Hats off to my guys who were forced to work even harder after qualifying to repair the damage done to my car," added KBIII. "I really appreciate all their hard work today. I'm looking forward to another dirt race in two weeks!" |
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ILLINOIS STATE FAIRGROUNDS
QUALIFYING
Speed Starts 8th
SPRINGFIELD, IL (August 17, 2008) – ESR's Red Bull Racer Scott Speed will start the No. 2 Camry from the eighth position at this afternoon's ARCA RE/MAX Series Allen Crowe 100
Teammate Justin Lofton spun in turn 3 without making contact or causing damage to the No. 20 Lofton Cattle Dodge and will start from 34th
Ken Butler, III spun as well but did make contact with the wall causing damage to the left rear of his No. 22 Aaron's Lucky Dog Dodge. ESR's 22 and 20 car teams are working together to get KB3's car back on track |
ESR ARCA RE/MAX Series Allen Crowe 100 Qualifying Results
Illinois State Fairgrounds. Springfield, IL; August 17, 2008 |
| POS |
CAR |
DRIVER |
TIME |
SPEED |
| 8 |
2 |
Scott Speed |
34.241 |
105.137 |
| 34 |
20 |
Justin Lofton |
40.162 |
89.637 |
| n/a |
22 |
Ken Butler III |
n/a |
n/a |
Green flag for the Allen Crowe 100 drops at 2:00 pm EST |
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ILLINOIS STATE FAIRGROUNDS
FIRST PRACTICE
Lofton, Speed, Butler, III all getting a grip on the slippery surface at Springfield
SPRINGFIELD, IL (August 17, 2008) – Fresh off the plane from the NASCAR Camping World Series race at Lime Rock Park in Connecticut, Justin Lofton lead the Eddie Sharp Racing squads in this morning's practice session for the ARCA RE/MAX Series Allen Crowe 100 on the famous, Illinois State Fairgrounds 1-mile clay oval. |
ESR ARCA RE/MAX Series Allen Crowe 100 Practice 1 Results
Illinois State Fairgrounds. Springfield, IL; August 17, 2008 |
| POS |
CAR |
DRIVER |
TIME |
SPEED |
| 13 |
20 |
Justin Lofton |
34.241 |
105.137 |
| 14 |
2 |
Scott Speed |
34.258 |
105.085 |
| 18 |
22 |
Ken Butler III |
34.624 |
103.974 |
Qualifying starts at 12:15 EST this afternoon.
Green flag for the Allen Crowe 100 drops at 2:00 pm EST |
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ILLINOIS STATE FAIRGROUNDS
ARCA RE/MAX Allen Crowe 100 Preview
ESR Drivers Ready to get Down and Dirty in Dirt Track Debuts
DENVER, N.C. (August 15, 2008) – There is no doubt that Eddie Sharp Racing dominates the speedway scene with its six SIM Factory Pole Awards and five wins in the 2008 ARCA RE/MAX Season. This weekend, teammates Justin Lofton, Scott Speed, and Ken Butler, III are ready for an entirely new challenge: the dirt track. All three ESR drivers will make their dirt debuts at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield, Illinois on Sunday. Get ready for the dirt and dust to fly as the ESR trio looks to sink their teeth into the 1-mile clay oval for the Allen Crowe Memorial 100.
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"I don't know that I have ever seen a dirt track, - much less driven on one,"
- Former F1 pilot and current ARCA RE/MAX Series points leader Scott Speed |
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Speed continues his reign as ARCA RE/MAX Series point leader. With a win last weekend at Kentucky, his fourth overall this season, Speed extended his lead to 140 points over second place Matt Carter. The Red Bull team is excited to head to the dirt track this weekend and rub fenders at the clay short track. Speed's hero, the legendary Frank Kimmel, has won six of the last eight events at the legendary dirt track. Speed is looking to battle the "Old Man" for the victory this year and continue his hot streak in the final stretch of the 2008 season.
Lofton is on a whirlwind tour this weekend, competing in both the ARCA RE/MAX Series and the NASCAR Camping World Series. An experience road racer, Lofton will run the Mohegan Sun NASCAR 200 at Lime Rock Park on Saturday afternoon. He will hop a plane and jet to Springfield, Illinois where he will make his first career start on a dirt oval. From road racing to dirt track racing, look for Lofton to continue his streak of success this weekend.
KBIII joins his teammates in making his first start on a dirt surface. Fresh off his second consecutive top 10 finish and the SIM Factory Pole Award at Nashville Superspeedway, the Aaron's Lucky Dog team is definitely moving with momentum into the home stretch of the 2008 season.
2008 AT A GLANCE --
Scott Speed (No. 2 Red Bull Toyota):
1st in ARCA RE/MAX Series Championship points
(3275 points; 140 points ahead of second place)
Best Start: First (four times) at Pocono, June 2008; Michigan, June 2008; and Pocono, August 2008
Best Finish: First (four times) at Kansas, April 2008; Kentucky, July 2008; Berlin, July 2008; Nashville, August 2008
Ken Butler, III (No. 22 Aaron's Lucky Dog Dream Machine Dodge):
9th in ARCA RE/MAX Series Championship points
(2620 points; 655 out of 1st)
Best Start: First at Kansas, April 2008 and Nashville, August 2008
Best Finish: 4th at Kentucky, May 2008
Justin Lofton (No. 20 Lofton Cattle Dodge):
14th in ARCA RE/MAX Series Championship points
(2185 points; 1090 out of 1st)
***note: has made 13/14 starts
(Lofton's first race was at Salem)
Best Start: First at Cayuga, June 2008
Best Finish: First at Michigan, June 2008 |
| DRIVER QUOTES: All three ESR drivers are ready to rock and roll on Sunday in event 15 on the ARCA RE/MAX Series schedule. |
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Scott Speed (No. 2 Red Bull Toyota):
"I don't know that I have ever seen a dirt track, much less drove on one. I am very excited about trying it, and I hope to get at least a top-10 finish. Frank [Kimmel] has been helping me a lot with what I am supposed to do on the dirt tracks, so it should be quite interesting to say the least. The team ran well here last year and I think we'll be competitive again. We'll definitely have a lot of fun!"
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Justin Lofton (No. 20 Lofton Cattle Dodge):
"It will be a crazy travel schedule running double duty this weekend, but will be a lot of fun. I've never run on dirt before. Honestly I think it's going to be a blast! I'm really looking forward to it. I honestly think we have a great chance at running well all weekend. I want to thank Eddie [Sharp] for the opportunity and to both my ARCA team and the ESR East team for all their hard work."
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Ken Butler, III (No. 22 Aaron's Lucky Dog Dream Machine Dodge):
"I'm really looking forward to heading to Springfield this weekend. We have been running great these last couple of weeks and we are heading into the home stretch of the season with great momentum. My team has worked really hard and I really appreciate it."
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| TRACK FACTS |
| ILLINOIS STATE FAIRGROUNDS |
| Location |
Springfield, IL |
Address |
801 E Sangamon Avenue, Springfield, IL |
| Phone: |
(217) 764-3200 |
Length |
1-mile clay |
Turns |
Flat track |
| First ARCA Race |
2001 |
ARCA RE/MAX Series practice runs from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on Sunday, August 17, 2008, with SIM Factory Pole Qualifying at 12:00 p.m. Driver Introductions begin Sunday at 1:45 p.m. and the green flag for the Allen Crowe Memorial 100 flies at 2:00 p.m. All times listed are EASTERN.
Catch all the action at arcaracing.com offering LIVE Timing & Scoring of all on-track activities as well as LIVE flag-to-flag streaming audio coverage of the race through the ARCA Racing Network exclusively on arcanation.com presented by Team Glock. |
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