Dexter Bean Records Another Top-10 Finish In Nashville

Topics:  Dexter Bean, Toyota ARCA 150

Chris Knight
BlackJack Racing
August 13, 2007

“Wisconsin Native Inches Closer To Second In Points; Nets Seventh In Scorcher”

LEBANON, Tennessee (Monday, August 13, 2007) - - Sophomore ARCA RE/MAX Series driver Dexter Bean continues to nail top-10 finishes this season and that trend continued on Saturday when Bean delivered his BlackJack Racing machine to a seventh place finish in the TOYOTA ARCA 150.

Heading into the 15th race of the season, Bean rolled with some steam after capturing a seventh place finish the week before at Pocono Raceway. With some momentum on the team’s side, they entered the second race at Nashville this season itching to better their ninth place run in the spring, while also hoping to maneuver the team in position for their first career victory.

The team brought the same machine they competed with at Pocono hoping to deliver a good run in practice. During the two-hour session, Bean posted the 16th fastest time with a time of 31.173 seconds amounting to a speed of 153.941 MPH.

“I can’t say that I am actually happy with that run. The car isn’t running as well as I would have liked. The guys are making some adjustments, so I think we’ll be okay. I’m not sure if it’s in the shocks or not, but the car isn’t turning the way I wanted it to. I have some of the best guys in the garage, so I’m not worried; I know we’ll be fine in qualifying.”

Drawing the 17th position ARCA SIM Factory pole qualifying, Bean knew that he might be at risk with the track still at scorching temperatures, but he vowed to give his team 150 percent.

During his two lap hustle around the 1.333-mile speedway, Bean whipped his No. 6 Five Star Telecom Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS to a lap of 30.702 seconds or 156.303 MPH linking him 16th on the starting grid.

“The good news is the car is better and we picked up some from practice. It’s too early to tell if the early draw will hurt us, I don’t think it will. We usually race better than we qualify. I think this weekend is another example of that,” explained Bean.

With temperatures sizzling in the high 90s to heat indexes well into the triple degree mark on race day, the BlackJack Racing stayed well hydrated preparing for the 113 lap/150 mile event.

At the start of the event, Bean quickly gained a spot. With intense racing in the lead pack, Bean kept his machine at bay until the first caution flag flew on lap 11 when Bryan Silas went for a loop in turn four.

On the restart, Bean quickly made the jump on his competition, quickly overtaking several competitors until the next caution flag waived on lap 19 when Marc Mitchell and Josh Krug tangled in turn four. The Westby, Wisconsin native maneuvered himself into the 11th position.

During the caution, crew chief Chris Bires asked his driver to bring his machine down pit road for a splash of fuel hoping to gain an advantage on the rest of the field.

On the restart, Bean would find himself in a wicked battle between cars in and off the lead group. Several close calls saw an opportunity for Bean’s day to end early, but he emerged like a veteran escaping the chaos and moving into the top-20.

A long span of green flag racing would soar over the ARCA field with green flag pit stops beginning to occur around lap 62.

With Bean staying out, the caution flag would waive a few laps later when Tim Mitchell spun his No. 06 Ford around on the front stretch.

Bean found himself sitting sixth on the restart and challenged to move inside the top-five, but a tight handling racecar would force Bean to slip to eighth inside twenty laps to go.

On the charge to gain one more position, Bean would put on a great battle with Michael Annett in the No. 32 and would accelerate past the Iowa native inside 10 laps to go.

Bean would extend his margin from Annett and comfortably finish seventh, awarding the team with their seventh top-10 finish of the season and their career best at Nashville Superspeedway. The team bettered their ninth place run in the Nashville ARCA 150 in April.

“It was a good race. We came out of here with our best Nashville finish ever and the car is in one piece I think we missed the setup just a bit, but there’s no room to complain. We also gained some points on Michael (McDowell), who unfortunately had some bad luck late in the race,” said Bean.

“I really think this championship is going to come down to the last race of the season. It’s pretty cool to be in the thick of things, but we have to continue to have a solid season like we’ve been having. We have to keep finishing races and giving everything we have.”

With his solid run on Saturday, Bean maintained third in the ARCA championship standings, but gained 40 markers on McDowell, just sitting 95 points from taking second. Only 175 credits keep Bean from the top spot held by reigning champ Frank Kimmel.

Leaving Nashville, Dexter Bean has 42 ARCA RE/MAX Series starts to his credit with four-top fives finishes and 13 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 138 laps in six 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.

Next up for the ARCA RE/MAX Series is the 16th event on the 2007 schedule with the first of two showings on the dirt. The Allen Crowe 100 from the Illinois State Fairgrounds is set for Sunday, August 19 set to roll off at 1:00pm Eastern Time. In last year’s event Bean finished 13th after starting 10th.

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

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