Fast Weekend Ends With Blown Tire For Dexter Bean At Salem

Topics:  Dexter Bean, Eddie Gilstrap Motors ARCA Fall Classic

Chris Knight
BlackJack Racing
September 18, 2007

SALEM, Indiana (September 18, 2007) - - ARCA RE/MAX Series sophomore driver Dexter Bean had high hopes for Saturday’s Eddie Gilstrap Motors ARCA Fall Classic by Advance Auto Parts, unfortunately a blown tire early in the event exited the Westby, Wisconsin native from competition.

The weekend started off on the right foot for the BlackJack Racing team as the group dominated the only practice session of the day with Bean maneuvering his No. 6 Five Star Telecom Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS to a time of 18.050 seconds at 110.693.

“Our car is real good,” said Bean, sitting third in championship points entering Salem . “We knew that we had a car that could come to Salem and be a factor and we’re backing up our statement with our practice time. The guys on the BlackJack Racing team worked their butts off all year, so hopefully our good day will continue.”

Drawing the final position for ARCA SIM Factory pole qualifying, Bean for the second straight year was looking to grab the prime starting position.

During his two-lap hustle Bean posted a fast lap of 17.889 seconds transferring to a speed of 111.689 seconds placing Bean fifth on the starting grid.

“I over drove the car and it cost us,” explained Bean following his run. I guess I was trying too hard. It’s still a good starting position. Patience is critical in this race and that’s exactly what we plan to be. You can’t win this race in 100 laps. You have to stay in contention, on the lead lap and be around for the final fifty laps, we did it in the spring and we’re planning on doing it again.”

At the start of the 21st event of the season, Bean quickly was on the prowl racing towards the front. Keeping leaders Brian Keselowski, Michael McDowell and Justin Allgaier in his sights, Bean was preparing to make his march into the third position before all heck broke loose.

As Bean approached turn one on lap 19, the right front tire blew sending the No. 6 hard into the wall. While Bean was able to drive his machine back to pit road, the team deemed the damage beyond repair forcing a disappointing 35th place finish.

“I don’t know what to say,” said Bean. “We had a good car, one of the best in the field, I think. I wasn’t expecting a tire failure to hurt us here. It’s disappointing, because we’ve been looking forward to this race all year. I’m frustrated. We had high hopes; I guess it wasn’t meant to be.”

Despite the finish, Bean maintains third in the championship heading into the Talladega Superspeedway on October 5, the site of the 22nd event on the 2007 ARCA RE/MAX Series schedule.

Leaving Salem , Dexter Bean has 49 ARCA RE/MAX Series starts to his credit with five-top five finishes and 16 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 season and for 2008. For sponsorship inquires, please contact BlackJack Racing at 608.634.4242.

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