Grant Enfinger; Allgaier Motorsports Keep Strong Season Alive With Top-Five At Pocono

Grant Enfinger; Allgaier Motorsports Keep Strong Season Alive With Top-Five At Pocono

Topics: Grant Enfinger, Pennsylvania ARCA 125

Grant Enfinger; Allgaier Motorsports Keep Strong Season Alive With Top-Five At Pocono

Chris Knight
Knight Motorsports Management
Allgaier Motorsports
August 9, 2011

LONG POND, Pennsylvania (August 9, 2011) - - With Allgaier Motorsports posting two career victories at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway, it wasn’t a surprise to see Grant Enfinger in the hunt for the win in the Pennsylvania ARCA 125. Coming up a few positions short, the team had no reason to frown as their impressive 2011 continued in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards.

Under the direction of crew chief Kelly Kovski, the team produced the 16th fastest practice in the lone practice session on Friday afternoon. Struggling with grip around the 2.5-mile triangle, the two racing veterans put their heads together and opted for a few aggressive changes to their No. 36 Hoosier Tire Midwest / racetires.com Dodge Charger for qualifying.

In time trials, Enfinger, considered one of the most popular drivers on the ARCA tour boosted his Allgaier Motorsports team considerably by maneuvering a lap that was nearly two seconds quicker than their fastest practice lap which landed the team a respectable eighth in the starting lineup.

Just two hours before the Pennsylvania ARCA 125 was set to take the green flag on Saturday, Mother Nature stormed her way into eastern Pennsylvania where she completely drenched the 2.5-mile oval leaving the race in jeopardy for the day. Shortly after 5:00 p.m., officials from ARCA and Pocono (Pa.) Raceway elected to postpone the race until after the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series dash, which was also delayed until Sunday morning.

Overcast skies with peaks of sunshine greeted the ARCA teams on Sunday with the 13th race of the year getting the green flag shortly after 10:00 a.m. A brilliant start by Enfinger boosted the No. 36 Hoosier Tire Midwest / racetires.com Dodge Charger from eighth to fifth by the completion of lap one. The yellow flag would waive seconds later as a massive incident occurred behind him entering turn one.

Under the yellow, Kovski elected to use some early-race strategy and bring his pilot to pit road to top off the fuel in the No. 36 Hoosier Tire Midwest / racetires.com Dodge Charger in case of a considerable long green flag run that possibly could include green flag pit stops.

Restarting deep in the field, the blue and black No. 36 of Enfinger began slicing and dicing his way through the competition and by lap 15 had muscled his way into the 14th position.

Five laps later, the Fairhope, Alabama native had climbed into 12th. The second yellow flag of the day waived just after the halfway mark with the family-owned Allgaier Motorsports team locked in the 10th spot. The yellow sent the lead pack including Enfinger to pit road for four tires and fuel.

Restarting the race in the 12th position, Enfinger’s No. 36 Hoosier Tire Midwest / racetires.com Dodge Charger became a car on a mission but would be stalled with a spinning No. 08 Ford as the field entered turn one.

With just 15 laps remaining when racing resumed Enfinger had re-entering the top-10 and began his impressive late race charge passing the cars of Sean Corr, Frank Kimmel, Ryan Wilson, Robb Brent and Chad Hackenbracht to advance five positions and take the checkered flag in the fifth position.

“Overall, it was a good day for the No. 36 Hoosier Tire Midwest / racetires.com Dodge Charger and the Allgaier Motorsports team,” said Enfinger. “We tried to get off sequence in-case the field went into a long green flag run, but the cautions continued to fly and when the leaders came down around lap 30, we opted to come down too, because we really didn’t have anything to lose. Kelly (Kovski) and the team did a great job all weekend long. I know it’s been a long couple of days, but I appreciate their hard work and dedication.”

He continued, “I feel it. We’re getting closer and closer to victory lane, we’re doing a lot with a limited budget but making some noise along the way. I think some of the upcoming races puts us all on a same battleground, so we’re hoping to pull off a word not only for Hoosier Tire Midwest and racetires.com but for the entire Allgaier family as well.”

The team’s finish lifted the 26-year old to second in the ARCA Racing Series championship standings surpassing nine-time ARCA champion Frank Kimmel with a 15-point gap. A massive 410 point deficit by the dominate Ty Dillon keeps Enfinger from inheriting the points lead.

Next up for the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards is the first of two dirt races of the season. The 14th race of the year steers the teams to Illinois before landing at the Illinois State Fairgrounds (Springfield) for the running of the Allen Crowe 100 set for Sunday, August 21. While Enfinger has never been to the Springfield, Illinois racetrack, the Allgaier Motorsports team with 2008 ARCA champion Justin Allgaier visited victory lane in the team’s backyard in 2006.

Exiting Pocono, Enfinger has 31 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