ARCA SERIES/NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES

CHICAGOLAND

Craig Goess Back On Top ARCA Points; Steve Park Scores Solid Debut in Truck Series

Goess Regains ARCA Racing Series Points Lead; Grabs Second Pole and Seventh Top-5 of the Season

Craig Goess

JOLIET, Ill. (August 30, 2010)- Craig Goess brought home a fifth-place finish at Chicagoland Speedway Friday night in the ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards Ansell Protective Gloves 150. Despite two early unscheduled pit stops due to leaking oil, Goess fought back to claim his seventh top-five finish of the season.

Goess and the No. 81 Greenville Toyota of N.C. Eddie Sharp Racing team anticipated a quick racecar at the 1.5-mile track after an impressive test session at the track a week prior. Goess, who led the test with the quickest speed of 30.807 seconds (175.285 mph), looked forward to the main event in Joliet, Ill.

The weekend kicked off with practice on Thursday evening, and the No. 81 Toyota showed speed right off the bat. Goess topped the leaderboard early with a time of 30.842 seconds (175.086 mph). In Friday morning's final practice, the No. 81 turned the third quickest lap with a speed of 30.638 seconds (176.252 mph).

Goess rolled off the qualifying grid 15th and laid down a lap of 30.380 seconds (177.749 mph). Goess watched the remainder of the 38-car field and finished the session as the Menards Pole Award presented by Ansell winner. He claimed his second pole award of the year, after his first in June at Michigan International Speedway.

When the green flag waved Friday night, Goess pulled away and looked to showcase the fast No. 81 Toyota. Patrick Sheltra challenged the No. 81 early, passing him on the outside on lap five.

The first caution of the day fell on lap seven when Casey Roderick's No. 51 hit the wall and caused Mikey Kile's No. 25 to turn Chad McCumbee's No. 1. As the field came around for the caution laps, the No. 81 received word from other teams that the car was leaking oil. As Goess passed the start-finish line under caution, the ESR crew stood on the pit road wall and began looking for oil on the spoiler.

Taking precaution, the No. 81 came down pit road on lap night for the first unscheduled stop of the night. The crew jacked the left side to see if oil was coming out but did not see anything suspect and sent Goess back out. Still under caution on lap 12, crew chief Johnny Allen called Goess back down pit road to double-check the oil situation and top the car off with fuel.

The green flag waved on lap 15, and Goess lined up 24th. "Nothing like a little adversity to start the day," Goess radioed to the team.

Determined to overcome the early struggles, Goess made the most of the 100-lap race and began to climb through the field one car at a time. By lap 18, the No. 81 was already up to the 17th position and continued to move to the front of the pack.

Team owner and spotter for the race, Eddie Sharp, offered encouragement to the 29-year-old driver. "Atta boy. Hit your marks, and we will move onto the next pack," he radioed.

By lap 29, Goess ran lap times faster than race leader Patrick Sheltra, while he was in the 12th position.

The caution waved on lap 33 for an incident involving Chad Hackenbracht's No. 58, and the No. 81 came in for the third stop of the day. Coming down pit road in the 11th position, the ESR crew worked together to complete a timely stop, and Goess exited in the seventh position.

By lap 49, Goess worked his way into the fourth position and showed his tenacity to catch the leader. Alli Owens spun on lap 60, slowing the field for another caution. The field went back to green until lap 72, when Robb Brent hit the wall and brought out the fourth caution of the day.

The No. 81 came down pit road again, preparing the car for the final laps of the race. Goess fell back to the seventh position by lap 80 but received constant guidance from crew chief Johnny Allen. "Give it all you have," said Allen. "Keep hitting your marks, and bring it home."

The yellow flag flew for the final time Friday night, setting up a 10-lap shootout for the field. Goess pushed through the field and crossed the finish line fifth.

"We had a really fast car," said Goess. "We had to come in a few times early on in the race which set us back, but I'm proud of the hard work from the No. 81 Greenville Toyota of N.C. team. We gave it all we could after overcoming the obstacles at the beginning of the race. With only five races left in the season, I'm optimistic that we will continue to work hard and hopefully be at the top at the end."

Goess' fifth-place finish helped him regain the ARCA Racing Series points lead. He now leads Frank Kimmel by five points, race-winner Sheltra by 10 and Tom Hessert by 25 points. With five races left in the 2010 season, Goess looks to add to his one win, seven top-fives and 11 top-10 finishes.

Goess and the No. 81 ESR team head to the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds for the next ARCA Racing Series event on Monday, September 6. The green flag drops on the Southern Illinois 100 presented by Federated Car Care at 1 p.m. CDT with live radio, timing and scoring on ARCARacing.com.

Steve Park Finishes 18th in Eddie Sharp Racing Team Debut in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at Chicagoland Speedway

JOLIET, Ill. (August 30, 2010)- Steve Park finished 18th in the EnjoyIllinois.com 225 at Chicagoland Speedway in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS). Park competed in his first NCWTS event this season with the No. 41 Van Dyk Baler Bollegraaf Lubo USA Toyota. The race also marked the debut of the Eddie Sharp Racing team with Carl Hartman.

The No. 41 rolled out to practice Thursday afternoon looking to gain time on the track in the new truck. Park finished the practice with the 19th-quickest lap with a time of 32.006 seconds (168.718 mph). Friday morning, Park made laps around the 1.5-mile oval for the final practice of the weekend, posting the 25th-quickest lap of 32.115 seconds (167.937 mph).

Steve Park

Park prepared for qualifying and turned the oval in 31.943 seconds (169.051 mph). The lap was good enough for a 25th-place starting position.

When the green flag dropped on the EnjoyIllinois.com 225, Park knew he had his work cut out for him. He started in the 25th position and immediately moved up to the 24th position where he ran for the majority of the opening laps. Park radioed to the team that the truck was tight in traffic, and it was hard to gain momentum around the track. By lap 21, the race leader Kyle Busch caught up to the back of the lead lap, placing Park one lap down.

The field slowed for the first caution of the night on lap 28, after engine problems from the No. 2 of Shelby Howard sent him to the garage. Park pulled the No. 41 down pit road to get four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment. The clean stop pushed Park up to 22nd for the restart.

By lap 65, the race leader Busch passed Park, placing him two laps down. Park radioed to the crew that the truck was still tight and there was a dramatic difference in the truck on the straightaway and in the corners. "You are beating everyone on the corners," said crew chief Jefferson Hodges. "The problem is on the straightaways. There is a dramatic difference in clean air and in traffic." The caution flag waved on lap 78 and provided the No. 41 team the opportunity to change the tires, adjust the air pressure and add fuel. Park came out of the stop 20th and looked to push to the front for the remainder of the race.

The caution flag waved again on lap 124, and Park came in for fresh tires and fuel to help propel the No. 41 in the last laps of the race. The field went back to racing, and Park worked his way to the 19th position until the final caution waved on lap 148.

With a green-white-checker finish, Park battled to maintain his position. "Something snapped under the truck," Park said on the restart. "It may have been a big ball of rubber, but it really affected my restart." Busch grabbed the checkered flag, with Park in the 18th position.

"Well, obviously we did not have a great night tonight here at Chicago," said Park. "We struggled to get the Toyota to turn. I thought we were capable of running in the top-10, but the difference in running in clean air and in traffic was dramatic. I'm looking forward to going to Kentucky next week. We have a notebook of things to do to drive better and get our truck to where it needs to be. We've got a lot of work to do, but I'm really confident in our team."

Park returns to action next weekend at Kentucky Speedway for the Built Ford Tough 225 presented by the Greater Cincinnati Ford Dealers. The race will air live on SPEED at 7:30 p.m. EST.