With Momentum Dexter Bean Headed To Michigan

Topics:  Dexter Bean, ARCA RE/MAX 200

Chris Knight
BlackJack Racing
June 12, 2007

“Enough Second Places; Time To Win”

BROOKLYN, Michigan (June 12, 2007) - - Fresh off a second place last Saturday at Pocono Raceway, ARCA RE/MAX Series sophomore driver Dexter Bean is feeling high on life and ready to tackle Michigan International Speedway for Friday’s running of the ARCA 200.

Sitting fourth in points heading into the 11th event of the season, Bean hopes to rekindle his early season stretch of four consecutive top-10 finishes in-a-row while rewarding his BlackJack Racing team with their first victory in the Motor City .

“I can’t wait to get to Michigan ,” said Westby , Wisconsin ’s Dexter Bean. “Man, the whole team is in great spirits following our superb run at Pocono last Saturday. The finish is exactly what this team needed to put us back on track. We wished we could have scored the win, but we still have 13 races left to go, plenty of time to score a win or two by the end of the season.”

Last year, Bean had mixed reviews on the two-mile oval. In the June event, Bean was running strong before a blown tire took him from competition. He rebounded nicely with a ninth place finish last August. The year prior, Bean chose MIS (Michigan International Speedway) to make one of his limited starts and he excelled with a 10th place effort. Two top-tens in three races, Bean’s MIS stats speak for themselves.

“ Michigan is a fun place for me,” added Bean. “I said coming off of Iowa that Michigan was one of the tracks I was really looking forward to it and it’s the truth. I know there are going to be a lot of competitive cars there this week, but I think we easily fit into that mix and I feel strongly about our chances of sneaking away with the win.”

For the first time this season, the BlackJack Racing team will unload a brand new chassis and a fresh paint scheme. Bean isn’t concerned about not bringing his Pocono car to the track this weekend. In fact, he feels that his new hot rod is the fastest car in his stable.

“We have a great car for this weekend,” Bean explained. “We’ve worked hard on it and I couldn’t imagine a better place to put it to the test other than Michigan International Speedway. It’s a race where we really have to be on top of our game. With this new car, I think we will.”

Crew chief Chris Bires echoed his driver’s statement. “We’ve been looking forward to bringing this chassis to the track for a while,” said Bires, brother-in-law of NASCAR Nextel Cup Series driver Johnny Sauter. “Dexter is excited about bringing this piece and so is the rest of the team. We’ve been working solid on it for about three months and I think it’s going to be strong right off the truck. I’m hoping for the same type of success with this car that we’ve had with our entire fleet in ARCA competition.”

Bean also credits Tesar Automotive Performance with the team’s recent success on the horsepower tracks. “I cannot say enough about Tesar. They have really built us some strong motors this season. We had several motor failures last year and Tesar has been flawless this year. I’m glad we made the change, it really has helped stay on top of our championship game.”

With his fifth top-10 finish of the season in the books, Bean maintains fourth in the ARCA RE/MAX Series championship standings but has closed the gap on leaders Frank Kimmel, Justin Allgaier and Bobby Gerhart. Bean sits just 20 points from overtaking Gerhart and returning to the top-three.

While BlackJack Racing is still searching for additional sponsorship of Bean’s No. 6 Chevrolet Monte Carlo, the team is glad to have local longtime supporter Five Star Telecom on board as an associate sponsor.

Since their beginning in 1973, FST (Five Star Telecom), a long-time supporter of Bean’s racing career has become one of the largest interconnect companies in the Upper Midwest , with multiple locations serving the tri-state area.

Rolling into Michigan, Dexter Bean has 37 ARCA RE/MAX Series starts to his credit with four-top fives finishes and 11 top-10 efforts. He holds a career best finish of second at Salem Speedway and Pocono Raceway (April 2007 and June 2007). He owns the 2006 ARCA SIM Factory pole award at Salem Speedway (September) while hoisting a career-best speedway time trials effort of fourth at Pocono Raceway (June 2006). Bean also has controlled the ARCA field for 133 laps in five races.

BlackJack Racing is still seeking additional primary and associate sponsors for the 2007 ARCA RE/MAX Series season. For sponsorship inquiries, please contact BlackJack Racing at david@mwt.net or 608.634.4242.

The ARCA 200 (100 laps/200 miles) is the 11th of 23 events on the 2007 ARCA RE/MAX Series schedule. Practice begins Thursday, June 14th with a two hour practice (10:00am-12:00pm) session planned. ARCA SIM Factory pole qualifying is set for later in the day at 3:00pm Local Time. The event will take the green flag on Friday at 5:00pm Local Time. The race will be aired live on SPEED with additional race coverage online at arcaracing.com

For more on Dexter Bean and BlackJack Racing please visit DexterBean.net

DEXTER BEAN MICHIGAN QUICK FACTS:

2007 ARCA RE/MAX Series Stats:

Starts: 10

Best Start: Second at Salem Speedway , April 2007

Top-Fives: Two (Second at Salem Speedway , April 2007, Second at Pocono Raceway, June 2007)

Top-10s: Five (Ninth at Nashville Superspeedway, second at Salem Speedway, eighth at Winchester Speedway, 10th at Kansas Speedway and second at Pocono Raceway.)

Did Not Finish (DNFs): One ( USA International Speedway )

Laps Led: 49 (30 at Salem Speedway , April 2007, 19 at Pocono Raceway, June 2007)

Notes of Interest:

After Friday’s event, Dexter Bean and his BlackJack Racing team will prepare to make their second NASCAR Busch Series start at the Milwaukee Mile on Saturday, June 23.

Jeff Spraker of Spraker Racing Enterprises will spot for Dexter Bean for Friday’s event. Spraker has been influential in the development of Bean in the ARS. Spraker also spotted for Bean last Saturday at Pocono Raceway.

Bean has three prior starts at Michigan International Speedway in August 2005, June and August 2006 with finishes of ninth, 35th and ninth respectively.

Not even halfway through the season, Bean has already tied his 2006 stats with five top-10 finishes in 23 races. This season, Bean in just 10 races has amassed two top-fives, five top-tens, an outside pole and 49 laps led.

The team’s backup car is the same automobile that Bean soared to a career best second place finish last weekend at Pocono Raceway.

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MEDIA CONTACT:

NAME: Chris Knight, BlackJack Racing
PHONE: 239.834.9797
EMAIL: knight849@aol.com