Grant Enfinger; Allgaier Motorsports Respectable In Springfield

Grant Enfinger; Allgaier Motorsports Respectable In Springfield

Topics: Grant Enfinger, Allen Crowe 100

Grant Enfinger; Allgaier Motorsports Respectable In Springfield

Chris Knight
Knight Motorsports Management
Allgaier Motorsports
August 22, 2011

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois (August 22, 2011) - - In what can be described as one of his toughest battles of the year, Grant Enfinger and his Allgaier Motorsports team tackled the Illinois State Fairgrounds (Springfield) Sunday afternoon for the annual running of the Allen Crowe 100.

The word tough can be defined many ways. For the Fairhope, Alabama native, it was becoming familiar with a track that was not asphalt, nor concrete but dirt. Never experiencing such a challenge before, Enfinger and his Springfield-based Allgaier Motorsports team remained hopeful for the 14th race of the season.

Enfinger, in his No. 36 Hoosier Tire Midwest / racetires.com Dodge Charger joined the rest of the competition for the lone practice session of the season which launched at 9:00 a.m. Utilizing the one-hour practice to dial in his Mike Allgaier-owned automobile, Enfinger along with crew chief Tommy Bear, who was pitch-hitting for regular crew chief Kelly Kovski whipped up the 13th fastest time overall.

Struggling with grip around the one-mile dirt oval, Enfinger and Bear consulted and opted for some routine changes to their No. 36 Hoosier Tire Midwest / racetires.com Dodge Charger hoping for a strong qualifying run.

“We should be tight, but I’m telling them that the car is loose,” explained Enfinger. “I guess I must be trying too hard and overdriving our No. 36 Hoosier Tire Midwest / racetires.com Dodge Charger, I’m just going to have to work on that.”

A little more than an hour later, the avid Late Model competitor impressed many after dishing out the fourth fastest time overall and bettering his fastest lap in practice by nearly four tenths of a second.

Encouraged by their qualifications run, the Allgaier Motorsports team shifted their attention to the race where the team was hoping to stay near the front and keep their driver in contention for his potential career ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards victory.

The green flag dropped shortly after 1:00 p.m. with Enfinger fighting for his placement on the track. Unable to embrace the changing track conditions plus battling an ill-handling No. 36 Hoosier Tire Midwest / racetires.com Dodge Charger, the driver had slipped back to the 12th position by lap 20.

Despite the setback, Enfinger had the lead group within his sights. Knowing that a mandatory pit stop was on deck, the pilot was trusting on the leadership of Bear to try and combat the team’s handling condition.

The first yellow flag of the day waived on lap 36 with the team set to duck on pit road. With four new tires, a full tank of fuel and some chassis adjustments, the hometown gang was set to blast through the field.

Restarting in 12th, Enfinger had moved up to the 11th position five laps after the restart and maintained that position on the track when the caution flag waived just after the half-way mark.

Racing resumed on lap 56 with Enfinger hoisting ninth and making some brilliant moves to climb through the pack. Just four laps later, Enfinger found himself battling back inside the top-five locking fourth through the event’s next caution on lap 63.

On the restart, Enfinger knew that a hungry group of competitors were sitting on his bumper, but he was prepared to not relinquish his spot without a fight. With crew chief Kelly Kovski turning in his radio for a steering wheel Sunday, Enfinger found himself battling with Kovski and newcomer Chris Windom for fourth.

As the cars roared out of turn four on lap 73, Enfinger’s No. 36 Hoosier Tire Midwest / racetires.com Dodge Charger slid into the high groove after racing three-wide allowing the pack to quickly swallow his track position that he had recently gained. The shuffle cost the team six positions placing him back to 10th.

Frustrated but not discouraged by the setback, Enfinger tried to manage his way through the pack but it became evident that track position was critical. Losing two more spots under green and now hovering in 12th, the caution waived inside the final 10 laps of the race with Bear opting to bring his driver down pit lane for a last attempt at battling the car’s handling woes.

Restarting in 12th, Enfinger would race hard coming to the white flag battling Tim George Jr. for a position inside the top-dozen. As the two entered turn three, contact was made which sent both drivers for a loop with the rear of the No. 36 grazing the wall; ultimately suffering some sheet metal damage.

Able to leave the scene under his own power, Enfinger came to pit road where his team assessed the damage before sending their driver back onto the race track still on the lead lap.

With the race being thrown into overtime, and a top-10 looking potentially bleak, Enfinger knew that making his way to the finish was pivotal to continue his team’s solid season. With an exceptional restart by the field which consisted of the white and green flags waiving together, the No. 36 Hoosier Tire Midwest / racetires.com Dodge Charger was able to motor around one final time and take the checkered flag.

The 12th place finish was the team’s fourth race outside the top-10 with a worst finish of 14th occurring at Michigan International Speedway in June.

“We struggled for most of the day,” offered Enfinger. “We made changes to the car, but never could seem to get it right. With about 30 laps to go, I thought we were going to be in good shape, but the car drifted high in the midst of a three-wide battle which really cost us the track position we desperately needed. From there, we knew we just had to survive as our chances of getting back inside the top-five were slim.

I was racing hard with Tim (George Jr.) and we got together going into turn three. I’m sorry about that, but it was the last lap and neither of us was willing to back-down. I just hate that it tore up our car some. This dirt racing is new to me in ARCA and I’ll tell you, I learned an awful lot. Hopefully, I can transfer some of that experience over to DuQuoin here in two weeks and better our finish from here.”

With the finish, Enfinger dropped from second to third in the championship standings now tied with Chris Buescher with the pair just sitting unofficially a mere 10 points behind nine-time ARCA champion Frank Kimmel.

Next up for the ARCA Racing Series is an overdue return to Madison International Speedway for the running of the Herr’s Live Life With Flavor 200. The one-day show is set for Friday, August 26 with the green flag scheduled to waive just after 8:30 p.m. local. The series returns to the half-mile short track for the first time since 1973.

Exiting Springfield, Enfinger has 32 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.

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

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PHOTO CAPTION: Grant Enfinger, driver of the No. 36 Hoosier Tire Midwest / racetires.com Dodge Charger for Allgaier Motorsports in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards.

MEDIA CONTACT:

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