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Robb Brent Conquers Iowa With 11th Place Finish

Topics: Robb Brent, Prairie Meadows 200

Robb Brent Conquers Iowa With 11th Place Finish

Chris Knight
Robb Brent Racing
July 13, 2009

NEWTON, Iowa (July 13, 2009) - - Robb Brent returned to ARCA RE/MAX Series competition Saturday night with a nice rebound from Mansfield Motorsports Park where the Shelby Township, Michigan native guided his No. 36 Justin Allgaier Motorsports Dodge Charger to an 11th place finish in the Prairie Meadows 200 at Iowa Speedway.

Brent and his JAM team arrived in Iowa looking to improve on the team’s performance during the open ARCA RE/MAX Series test session the week before which show Brent post the 14th and 17th fastest laps respectively during the eight hour session.

Crew Chief Bob Blount, a familiar face in the ARCA RE/MAX Series garage went quickly to work following the test making adjustments to the team’s automobiles hoping to give Brent a more conservative feeling for practice on Friday.

During practice, Brent focused on stability for his No. 36 Orchard Chrysler Dodge Jeep Dodge Charger knowing that handling would be a key to having a good run on Saturday night. Brent’s machine negotiated the .875-mile track with a lap of 24.545 seconds at 128.336 miles per hour good enough for the 19th position.

“Our time is a little off from the test, but looking at the practice sheet, it looks like everyone from the test slowed down a little bit,” offered Brent. “I think we have a good car for the race. It’s just hard to get a good reading for our Orchard Chrysler Dodge Jeep Dodge because were mainly setup for the race.”

Knowing that starting near the front is key for short track racing, Brent was prepared to hold nothing back for his two lap qualifying run. During his time trials effort, Brent laid down a lap of 24.216 seconds transferring to a speed of 130.079 miles per hour placing the team a respectable 16th on the starting grid.

“We picked up three tenths, so we’re pretty happy with that,” said Brent, who successfully qualified for his Iowa Speedway debut. “I’m proud of the JAM team for their endless efforts to make our car better for the race. Hopefully we can stay out of trouble and have a good race.”

From the drop of the green flag the leaders started out dialed in and moving fast. Brent found himself one lap down by the first caution. The team had a great pit stop and headed back out set to regain their lap and charge back to the front.

While maintaining a position in the top-20, Brent’s determination and familiarity with the track would allow the college student to run laps as fast as the leaders in hopes of earning the lucky dog.

The event’s pit stops would be consumed with four tires, fuel and chassis adjustments to manhandle the ever changing track conditions which in turn had positive effects on Brent’s grip in the racecar.

As the next caution came out, Brent would find himself one car short of earning the lucky dog. The restart would put him 18th, one lap down but side by side with the race leaders. With the car now dialed in, Brent was able to run with the top five cars.

The next caution came and as Brent’s luck would have it, the race leader - the No. 77 - just passed the No. 1, meaning the lucky dog would elude Brent one more time.

With 10 to go and a final caution, Brent finally earned a lap back and lined up behind the leaders. The team’s goal was to try to fight their way into the top-10. Despite a hard charge, Brent would come up short and settle for an 11th place finish under the Iowa lights.

“Not a bad night at all,” said Brent. “My team was awesome and we never gave up, just kept digging. We tried for a top-10 finish but it was a real competitive field and we came up just a little short. I’m getting better at these short tracks. The Orchard Chrysler Dodge Jeep Dodge Charger just kept getting better as the night went on.”

Brent added, “It was a good point’s night for us too. Mansfield was a tough race for us so this was a nice recovery. We’ll go to Kentucky next weekend and hope to put ourselves back in the top-10.”

Washington Township, Michigan based Orchard Chrysler Dodge Jeep will continue it’s long-time association with Brent and serve as the primary sponsor on Brent’s No. 36 Dodge Charger this weekend. Orchard Chrysler Dodge Jeep has backed Brent since his entrance into racing at the age of 16.

Prior to joining Justin Allgaier Motorsports, Brent participated in the ARCA RE/MAX Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driving for NASCAR driver Brad Keselowski and Brad Keselowski Racing. In his 26 ARCA starts, Brent has acquired two top-five finishes and nine top-10 efforts. Brent notched his career best qualifying effort of second at Kentucky Speedway last year. He has led the ARCA RE/MAX Series pack twice for 21 laps in 2008. His best finish in the NCWTS occurred at Nashville Superspeedway in his inaugural truck debut where he finished 21st after qualifying 26th.

This season, Brent has four top-10 finishes in nine starts with a best finish of seventh at Pocono Raceway earlier in June. A 15th place qualifying effort at Michigan International Speedway in June is the team’s season best thus far.

Next up for the ARCA RE/MAX Series is the second of three races under the lights with a return trip to Kentucky Speedway for the running of the Click-It-Or-Ticket Buckle-Up Kentucky 150 at Kentucky Speedway. The race is set for Saturday, July 18th with the green flag scheduled to waive just after 9:30 p.m. local live on SPEED.

For more on Robb Brent, sponsorship opportunities and official team merchandise, please visit the newly re-launched Robbbrentracing.com.

Be sure to cast your vote for Robb Brent as the 2009 ARCA RE/MAX Series most popular driver. Visit ARCANation.com and vote for Robb Brent today! Remember, if you are a member your vote counts twice compared to non-members whose clicks only equal one vote.

Driver Contact:

Carol Brent

E: Carol@robbbrentracing.com

P: 586.703.3737

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