Commendable Effort For Buster Graham; Mark Gibson Racing At Iowa Speedway

Commendable Effort For Buster Graham; Mark Gibson Racing At Iowa Speedway

Topics: Buster Graham, Prairie Meadows 200

Commendable Effort For Buster Graham; Mark Gibson Racing At Iowa Speedway

Chris Knight
Knight Motorsports Management
Mark Gibson Racing
July 19, 2011

NEWTON, Iowa (July 19, 2011) - - In just his second career ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards race, rookie Buster Graham with the aid of veteran Mark Gibson and his Mark Gibson Racing (MGR) posse delivered a commendable 15th place performance at Iowa Speedway Saturday afternoon in the Prairie Meadows 200.

Revving up from a 20th place run in his inaugural ARCA debut at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway last month, Graham climbed back into his No. 59 Batter’s Dream Dodge Charger looking to mount more experience in a stock car while also striving to improve on his Pocono run.

The first of two practice sessions on Friday afternoon offered a chance for the former hydroplane boat racer to become accustomed to the .875-mile paved oval.

At the conclusion of practice, Graham racked up the 25th fastest time. Consulting with Gibson, Graham informed his team that he could not get his No. 59 Batter’s Dream Dodge Charger to turn coming out of the turn like he wanted. With changes made to their Chrysler nameplate heading into happy hour, the final practice session of the week, Graham was optimistic.

Picking up nearly three tenths of a second from the first session, Graham was pleased with the direction his MGR team was heading. “We really made some gains in practice,” the USARacing Pro Cup Series rookie said. “Mark and the team worked hard to get the car to my liking. We had to thrash on it pretty hard but the last run in the final practice, the car was the best it had been the entire weekend.”

Moving forward, the Winder, Georgia-based team turned their attention to qualifying. During time trials, Graham maneuvered his automobile around the Newton, Iowa facility in 24.864 seconds at 126.68 miles per hour, once again gaining momentum and speed as he claimed the 25th starting position.

With a heat index topping out at 125 degrees, the stars and cars of the ARCA Racing Series took the green flag shortly after 4:00 p.m. Graham’s attempt to gain position on the track would be stalled when the No. 63 of Milka Duno spun in turn three. Holding steady inside the top-25, Graham would find himself in the 23rd position when racing resumed on lap six.

Through the race’s first long-green flag run, Graham continued to inch forward in rundown with cheerleading and coaching from his crew chief and car owner Gibson. When the caution flag flew on lap 49, Graham has muscled his way into the 20th position giving an ample opportunity for the team to bring their driver to pit road where tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment were in order for Graham.

Restarting the race in the 20th position, Graham would continue to hover comfortably inside the top-20 leaning into the halfway mark. Through lap 100, Graham began to make his trek forward. With a comfortable feeling for his No. 59 Batter’s Dream Dodge Charger, Graham despite unbearable conditions inside the race car continued to turn respectable lap times.

Throughout the final 100 laps of the 11th race of the season, Graham would use patience and determination to climb through the field and hover comfortably in the top-15 with the final laps approaching.

On his own lap cycle, Graham soldiered on to take the checkered flag in the 15th position, improving five places from his season debut at the 2.5-mile triangle of Pocono (Pa.) Raceway.

“Wow, was it hot,” said Graham after climbing from his Dodge Charger. “It was something I’ve never experienced and I would not mind if I didn’t have to do it again. Despite the heat, we had a real good day. We kept working on our No. 59 Batter’s Dream Dodge Charger all weekend long and it was the best when it needed to be, during the race.”

He added, “I want to thank Mark Gibson, the guys on the Mark Gibson Racing team for giving me the opportunity to race at Iowa. Of course, none of this would have been possible without my father-in-law Don (Mashburn) and the folks at Batter’s Dream. We’re taking this finish in stride and we’ll see if we can’t drum up a top-10 at Pocono in a few weeks.”

Gibson, a four-time winner in the ARCA Racing Series offered his thoughts on Graham’s debut at Iowa Speedway. “I tell you what, I was impressed. Every lap, Buster seemed to get better and better. He learns a lot racing with others on the track and that’s what you need to do here in the ARCA Racing Series. He also keeps the car clean and out of trouble and that’s a huge benefit to his learning curve. I couldn’t be happier with the way our weekend turned out.”

Next up for the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards is a welcomed trip back to Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis, formally known as O’Reilly Raceway Park (ORP) for the running of the Ansell Protective Gloves 200 set for Thursday, July 28th. The iconic short track event will be aired live on SPEED beginning at 7:00 p.m. Eastern.

Graham and Mark Gibson Racing will resume competition in the ARCA Racing Series when the series returns to the “tricky triangle” of Pocono (Pa.) Raceway for the running of the Pennsylvania 125 set for Saturday, August 6.

For more on Batter’s Dream, please visit Battersdream.com.

About Batter’s Dream:

Batter's Dream is an automated ball feeding system (pitching machine) that allows baseball hitters and softball hitters to maximize time in the batting cage by getting more quality cuts without fixing a tee. One of the key benefits of the Batter's Dream batting machines is that it allows batters the freedom to focus on rhythm, stance, timing and swing speed without the need for a second person. Simply put, Batter's Dream is the most effective, simple and easy-to-use soft toss system ever invented to help improve a hitter's mechanics and increase their batting average.

PHOTO CAPTION A: The No. 59 Batter’s Dream Dodge Charger in competition for Mark Gibson Racing (MGR) with rookie Buster Graham at the controls.

PHOTO CAPTION B: Buster Graham, driver of the No. 59 Batter’s Dream Dodge Charger in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards for Mark Gibson Racing (MGR).

MEDIA CONTACT:

NAME: Chris Knight, Knight Motorsports Management
PHONE: 239.834.9797
EMAIL: chris@chrisknightpr.com / knight849@aol.com