Hard Work & Determination Pays Off For Dexter Bean With Top-10 In Milwaukee

Topics:  Dexter Bean, Governor’s Cup 200

Chris Knight
BlackJack Racing
August 27, 2007

WEST ALLIS, Wisconsin (Monday, August 27, 2007) - - In front of his hometown crowd, Westby Wisconsin’s Dexter Bean overcame a flood of obstacles to post his fourth consecutive top-10 finish in Sunday’s Governor’s Cup 200.

The 17th race of the season was a huge event for the BlackJack Racing team. Although the team didn’t have time to enjoy the glory as block of issues quickly fell into place, proving the team can handle almost anything.

In the first and only practice session of the weekend, Bean was one of the first automobiles to tackle The Milwaukee Mile and during his three laps on the track; Bean rose to the top of the charts.

Bean however came over the radio and said, “There’s something wrong with the motor, I’m bringing in it.” Crew Chief Chris Bires observed the motor closely and determined that water was leaking from the exhaust forcing the team to pull out the backup motor.

In championship form, Bires and Co. removed the old engine and installed a new one. Bean knew he had some horsepower under the hood as it was the same motor that a fellow Wisconsin driver finished second in the same event a year prior.

The team still ended up 16th fastest overall on the final rundown.

Drawing the ninth position for ARCA SIM Factory pole qualifying, Bean knew he had to lay down a good lap as track position was crucial at The Magic Mile.

On his first lap of qualifying, Bean notched a lap of 30.541 seconds at 117.874 MPH, putting him on the provisional pole at the time. Gunning for the pole on the second lap, Bean drove his No. 6 Five Star Telecom Chevrolet Monte Carlo deep into turn one shooting the machine sideways, Bean backed off and gathered it up and brought his machine to pit road.

Twenty-two machines would make qualifying attempts following Bean and only four would better Bean’s time, putting the 20-year old driver into the top-five for the third time this season.

“What a lap,” said a smiling Bean. “I tell ya, to come out in qualifying and post a good lap like that, it’s a good feeling. We only had four laps of track time the entire day, so to be able to do what we did just proves how hard this team works. I’m looking forward to the race.”

Indeed, the race was a huge deal for Bean and the BlackJack Racing team.

With race fans flocking from Westby, the team was looking to put on a good show.

At the start of the Governor’s Cup 200, it was a wacky start. Brian Keselowski, driving the No. 5 Chevrolet Monte Carlo had a severe issue at initial start bunching up the field and Bean making contact with the rear of his machine.

Heavy damage to the front bumper and right-front headlight would not keep Bean from tackling the field despite losing some positions at the initial start.

The first caution flag waived on lap nine, allowing Bean to bring his white and red machine to the attention of his volunteer crew. The team refueled the machine and patched up on the damage before sending the sophomore driver back into competition.

On the restart, Bean quickly maneuvered his way through the field. On the move, Bean would get sidetracked when contact with the No. 25 in turn one sent Bean for a half-spin, before regaining his focus and getting back on track. With no caution, Bean would only lose three positions on the track and it would not take long for the avid racecar driver to reel the field back in.

On the next caution, Bean once again brought his machine to the attention of his BlackJack crew making a four-tire change and adding fuel. Unfortunately, the team had a problem during the stop with the air hose. With a quick caution in the works, Bean would return to the track in turn one with the field coming to the green on the front stretch.

The field would catch the NASCAR bound driver on the restart putting the contender one lap off the pace.

Frustrated but focused, Bean would never give up and try to retain his lost lap, but an ill-handling car would keep Bean at bay for much of the event.

Running in the mid-20s at the time of losing the lap, Bean would utilize much of the second half of the event to patiently work his way through the running order and inside ten laps to go, Bean had marched his way into the top-10 despite still one lap off the pace.

On a late race restart, Bean would pick up two more positions before coasting to his eighth place finish in Sunday’s event. It was Bean’s ninth top-10 of the season continuing to accelerate away from his past race results in 2006.

“A long day, but a solid day overall,” said Bean. “We didn’t find until after the race was over that the right front shock broke which caused our car to ill-handle for much of the race. We had high hopes going into the race, but to bounce back the way we did, I don’t think we can complain too much. It’s still a top-10 finish. We’ll take this finish and move on to Gateway.”

Bean wasn’t done racing for the day. In addition to running the ARCA RE/MAX Series event, Bean also competed in the Wisconsin All-Star 50 late model event. After starting mid-pack, the No. 25 Five Star Telecom Chevrolet was plagued by engine problems forcing a disappointing and early end for the rising star.

“It was nice to climb back into a late model, but stock cars are my future,” said Bean. “I really enjoyed myself this weekend at The Milwaukee Mile. I want to thank all of my fans, sponsors and crew for their support. We’re going to Gateway looking for our fifth straight top-10 finish, that would be a new personal record for me and I like to think we have the chances of accomplishing that.”

Leaving Milwaukee , Dexter Bean has 45 ARCA RE/MAX Series starts to his credit with five-top five finishes and 15 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 2006) 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 remainder of 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 a stop at Gateway International Raceway, a track that oversees the famed Gateway Arch. The Gateway ARCA 150 is a one-day show with practice and qualifying setting the field for the 18th event of the 2007 season. The green flag is scheduled to waive at 8:00pm Local Time with live coverage on SPEED.

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