Robb Brent Earns Hard Fought Finish In Front Of Hometown Crowd

Robb Brent Earns Hard Fought Finish In Front Of Hometown Crowd

Topics: Robb Brent, Racing for Wildlife 200

Robb Brent Earns Hard Fought Finish In Front Of Hometown Crowd

Chris Knight
Robb Brent Racing
June 15, 2009

BROOKYLN, Michigan (June 15, 2009) - - In front of his hometown fans and friends, Robb Brent recorded a hard fought 11th place finish at Michigan International Speedway (MIS) in Friday’s Racing for Wildlife 200. The effort was Brent’s fifth top-11 finish of the season.

The Shelby Township, Michigan native entered his third start at the Irish Hills, Michigan track on the wave of some strong momentum that has catapulted the former road racing ace in the ARCA RE/MAX Series driver point standings leaning into the eighth race of the season.

While many teams elected to participate in the open-test session at MIS the Justin Allgaier Motorsports (JAM) team decided to concentrate their efforts on the event which would prove to be one of the most intense races thus far.

Once again, Mother Nature would plague the cars and stars of the ARCA Series as lingering showers soaked the two-mile oval on Thursday forcing the sanctioning body to call off qualifying and reschedule practice to a short 50-minute session on Friday morning.

With the weather much better on Friday, Brent and his JAM team were focused on dialing in their No. 36 Orchard Chrysler Dodge Jeep Dodge Charger. During the session, Brent posted the 23rd fastest time overall with a time of 40.451 seconds at 177.993 miles per hour. “We’re working on improving the car,” said Brent. “It’s loose but we’re putting our heads together to make the car more competitive. We could have really have used the long practice schedule from yesterday but it is what it is. We’ll keep digging, make the changes and focus on the race.”

From the drop of the green flag, Brent quietly began maneuvering his way through the field. An early caution would allow Brent to gather his thoughts before keying his radio and explaining to his team and crew chief Bob Blount that the car was still loose but drivable.

The team acknowledged the driver’s concern and offered a potential fix at the first pit stop. A quick change of four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment to tighten up Brent’s automobile was the call from atop. The car still needed some work and the leaders would overtake the young-gun during the next green flag run knocking the JAM team from the lead lap.

A few laps later the caution flag would waive putting the team in line for the lucky dog. Brent would regain his lead lap status thanks to another yellow flag inside the final 30 circuits of the 100-lap race.

With an improved handling Orchard Chrysler Dodge Jeep machine, Brent began his mission towards the top-10 and had marched himself into the eighth position when the yellow flag would fly once again setting up for a mad dash towards the finish.

The team opted to not make a pit stop which kept the team on the track in the top-10. The call would prove to go against the team as Brent was unable to hold off his competition on fresher tires. Still, Brent wasn’t going down without a fight and crossed the start finish line 11th, his fifth top-15 finish of the season. The effort was also the worst run since an engine failure at Talladega Superspeedway in April.

“We’re happy then were not,” said Brent after the race. “I have to pat the boys on the back for never giving up and making the Orchard Chrysler Dodge Jeep better throughout the race. We started out too loose but got the car more drivable and we began making our charge. We didn’t think tires would be a big factor at the end and it bit us. We finished 11th, still not a bad finish. We’ll move on to Mansfield next weekend and hope to return to the top-10.”

Brent added, “I want to thank all of my friends, fans, family and everyone from Orchard Chrysler Dodge Jeep for attending the race. I appreciate their support and I’m planning on getting a win real soon.”

The 11th place run was the second consecutive finish for Brent at Michigan International Speedway. In last year’s ARCA race at Michigan, Brent started fifth and finished 11th in the No. 00 Orchard Chrysler Dodge Jeep for Brad Keselowski Racing.

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 24 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.

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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