Grant Enfinger; Allgaier Motorsports Set To Take On DuQuoin Turf

Topics:  Grant Enfinger, Southern Illinois 100

Chris Knight
Knight Motorsports Management
Allgaier Motorsports
September 1, 2011

DUQUOIN, Illinois (September 1, 2011) - With the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards set to embark on their final dirt track race of the season, Grant Enfinger and his Allgaier Motorsports team turn to Monday’s Southern Illinois 100 presented by Federated Auto Parts at the DuQuoin (Ill.) State Fairgrounds as an opportunity to put themselves back in the top-10, a place they’ve been for a majority of the season.

After 15 races, Enfinger and his Springfield, Illinois based-team have yet to finish outside the top-15 but the last two races have bitten the veteran ARCA team as Enfinger found himself in contention for satisfying finishes before late race mishaps left them with 12th and 14th place finishes respectively.

Shaking off those efforts, the team returns to the dirt refocused, recovered and ready to pedal hard in ARCA’s annual Labor Day tradition. For Enfinger, the Fairhope, Alabama native it will be his second career start on the dirt on the heels of his debut at the Illinois State Fairgrounds (Springfield) last month.

“It’s going to be a fun and exciting show on Monday, that’s for sure,” said Enfinger, considered one of the stoutest Late Model drivers in the South. “The last two races haven’t exactly gone as planned, but there’s nothing really we can do about it now. DuQuoin is upon us and it’s time to put our No. 36 Hoosier Tire Midwest / racetires.com Dodge Charger back where it belongs.”

For the second time in the last three races, Enfinger won’t have Kelly Kovski, the team’s commander in chief on top of the pit box as he’ll be racing with him instead. Kovski, an avid dirt racer himself will make his second and final ARCA start of the season on Monday afternoon.

“I know Kelly’s happy and he really has done a lot for this Allgaier Motorsports team this year,” explained Enfinger. “These two dirt races on the ARCA tour are important to him. It doesn’t bother me that he’s not calling the shots, because I know he still has our back. While’s he focused on his effort, he still bouncing back and forth making sure everything is running smooth with us. That says a lot about the person he really is.”

Pinch-hitting for Kovski again this weekend will be Tommy Bear, a longtime Motorsports veteran. Bear and Enfinger have had monstrous success together and the duo is hopeful they can do it again. “Tommy is a fun guy to be around but when it comes down to racing, it’s all business,” Enfinger explained.

He added, “Everyone including myself really thank him for taking time out of his schedule to come in and help us with Springfield and DuQuoin. Between Kelly and Tommy, I think everyone will see our No. 36 Hoosier Tire Midwest / racetires.com Dodge Charger have a shot at being in contention.”

Speaking of contention, the 26-year old Enfinger found himself racing side-by-side with Kovski for several laps in the Allen Crowe 100 which proved to be crucial towards learning how to master a dirt track in a 3,400 pound stock car.

“The amount of input and experience I took in at Springfield was overwhelming for sure,” Enfinger explained. “Of course, racing with Kelly side-by-side like we did for a bit was sweet too. Unfortunately, we got shuffled out of the top-five near the end of the race and we just didn’t have enough laps to get back there. I know I’ll continue my learning curve on the dirt on Monday, but I’m super optimistic that we can grind ourselves towards a strong finish in our No. 36 Hoosier Tire Midwest / racetires.com Dodge Charger.”

With just four races remaining on the 2011 ARCA schedule, Enfinger currently occupies fourth in the championship standings just 80 markers behind second place runner Chris Buescher and 50 points behind nine-time ARCA champion Frank Kimmel for a spot on the podium.

“There’s really no more room for error as far as the points are concerned inside the top-five,” sounded Enfinger. “I think it’s relative to say that Ty (Dillon) will probably become the champion but everyone is after that runner-up spot and I want it so bad for Allgaier Motorsports. They have given me an opportunity, I’ve never had before and it really has meant a lot to me. The ARCA garage really doesn’t get any better than the Allgaier family.

Mike (Allgaier, car owner), Justin (Allgaier) and Ashley (Allgaier) have done all they can to give us the resources we’ve needed in order for everyone to take us seriously. Even with four races left, there’s still plenty of laps to be completed and this Allgaier Motorsports team won’t give up until the checkered flag falls at Toledo.”

Entering DuQuoin, Enfinger has 33 ARCA Racing Series starts to his credit. In those events, he has maneuvered 12 top-fives and 21 top-10 finishes including a career-best finish of second three times at Kentucky Speedway (July 2009), Chicagoland Speedway (August 2009), and Toledo Speedway (May 2011). He has controlled the field nine times for 216 laps. His best qualifying run occurred at Berlin (Mich.) Raceway where Enfinger bolted to his first career pole.

The Southern Illinois 100 presented by Federated Auto Parts (100 laps / 100 miles) is the 16th of 19 events on the 2011 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards schedule. The 29th ARCA event held at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds is a one-day show. Practice begins Monday, September 5 with a one hour practice session planned from 9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. Menards Pole by Ansell qualifying is slated to begin at 11:00 a.m. The field will take the green flag that afternoon shortly after 1:00 p.m. The event will not be televised but race coverage including live timing and scoring throughout the 1,328th race for the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards since it was formed in 1953 will be available through the ARCA Racing Network (ARN) online at arcaracing.com presented by ARCANation.com. All times are local.

For more on Grant Enfinger, please visit grantenfinger.com.

Additional input on Allgaier Motorsports is available by logging onto AllgaierMotorsports.com.

MEDIA CONTACT:
NAME: Chris Knight, Knight Motorsports Management
PHONE: 239.834.9797
EMAIL: chris@chrisknightpr.com