Rollercoaster Day For Bean In Winchester

Topics:  Dexter Bean, Winchester ARCA 200

Chris Knight
Blackjack Racing
May 7, 2007

WINCHESTER, Indiana (May 7, 2007) - - Dexter Bean’s feelings about Sunday’s Winchester ARCA 200 are mixed. The Westby, Wisconsin native scored a new personal record with a fourth consecutive top-10 finish, but his day was also mirrored with an early race incident that impacted the sophomore driver throughout much of his second Winchester race.

After practicing very well, Bean answered ARCA SIM Factory qualifying with an impressive third-place effort. Looking to the race, Bean and his BlackJack Racing team were looking for a strong run with a shot at victory lane.

At the start of the event, the field quickly went to yellow on lap one as Rob Bunker lost control of his No. 4 Dodge and spun directly in the path of Mike Harmon. When the field returned to green, Bean tried to slice and dice away his past outside pole sitter Phillip McGilton with no avail.

Another caution came out a few laps later putting the field quickly back in toe. On the restart, Bean once again tried his hands at McGilton on lap 32, but Bean’s machine broke loose and drifted up into the rear of McGilton sending the duo and a hoist of others into the outside wall causing damage to the front and side of Bean’s No. 6 Chevrolet.

Frustrated with himself, Bean brought his machine to the attention of his BlackJack Racing crew for repairs. During the stop, a crewmember accidentally went over the wall without a helmet forcing ARCA officials to impose a one-lap penalty on Bean.

For much of the first half of the event, Bean’s machine still was quick but one lap off the pace. Early in the second half, Bean out dueled race leader Brian Keselowski on a restart gaining the lap back. The driver anxiously waited for another caution to make up track position. It flew 10 laps later.

Back on the lead lap, Bean was on the charge. Restarting 10th, Bean bolted to the top-five and was closing in on a fourth-place battle when contact was made with Bryan Silas who abruptly slowed in turn four. The impact caused more damage to the front of the No. 6 Chevrolet. Still on the lead lap, Bean once again brought him machine to the attentiveness of his crew for repairs.

On the restart, Bean’s car was still drivable but handling issues quickly set in. Unfortunately his troubles weren’t over. A car ahead of Bean dropped fluid around the half-mile facility and when Bean’s tire tracks hit the residue, it sent the No.6 for an incident loop on the backstretch.

The remainder of the event was quiet for Bean as he managed a difficult racecar to an eighth place finish, the second automobile one lap down.

After the race Bean hopped out of his car and immediately spoke with Phillip McGilton, a close colleague of his apologizing about the early race incident.

“First of all, I am sorry to Phillip (McGilton) and his team,” explained Bean. “I did not mean to make contact with him. I went into the corner and the car got loose, slid up the track and I hit him. That’s not the type of driver I am. I know it ruined his day. I can’t take it back, I just hope he accepts my apology and we can all move on.”

“We had an okay day overall. I could have easily done without the wrecks, but I guess that’s part of short track racing. We still were able to log a top-10 finish which is important, but I’m upset with myself about the early accident. I’m taking that pretty tough.”

He concluded, “I want to thank my BlackJack Racing crew and sponsor Five Star Telecom for their help, support and hard work this weekend at Winchester . I think we threw away a chance at a win today. Our turn is coming soon, I promise them that.”

Even with his rollercoaster day, Bean maintained third in the championship standings heading into the seventh race of the season and now trails Justin Allgaier by just five points and new points leader Frank Kimmel by 45 markers.

Next up for the ARCA RE/MAX Series is the first of two trips to Kentucky Speedway. The Buckle-Up 150 is set for this upcoming Saturday, May 12 set to take the green flag shortly after 8:00pm local time.

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MEDIA CONTACT:

NAME: Chris Knight, BlackJack Racing
PHONE: 239.834.9797
EMAIL: Knight849@aol.com