Determination Yields First Top-10 Finish For Win-Tron Racing In Kentucky |
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Topics: Dominick Casola, Drive Smart! Buckle-Up Kentucky 150
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Chris Knight
Win-Tron Racing
May 13, 2008
“Casola Nets Best Kentucky Finish In No. 32 A. Casola Farms Dodge”
SPARTA, Kentucky (May 13, 2008) - - Maybe the monkey is finally off their back. After a tough start to the 2008 ARCA RE/MAX Series schedule, Win-Tron Racing secured their first top-10 finish of the season when Dominick Casola steered the No. 32 A. Casola Farms Dodge Charger to his fourth career top-10 finish in Saturday’s Drive Smart! Buckle-Up Kentucky 150 at Kentucky Speedway .
In a new slick looking No. 32 Dodge Charger, Casola entered the weekend looking to start off on the right foot. A lone practice session Saturday morning allowed the Holmdel, New Jersey native to get reacquainted with the 1.5-mile speed plant.
In practice, Casola nailed the 20th fastest lap after mounting a time of 31.235 seconds at 172.883 mph. “Our A. Casola Farms Dodge is decent. I’m happy to be here in Kentucky . The Win-Tron Racing team worked hard during practice to make our car faster. We need to do a little tweaking and see if we can get the car handling better. I have a good feeling about the race. I hope I am right.”
In ARCA SIM Factory pole qualifying, Casola mastered his Kevin Cywinski-owned Dodge around the Sparta , Kentucky facility in a quick time of 31.233 seconds at 172.894 mph, a nearly identical lap to Casola’s practice effort.
The time trials run would land the former USAR Hooter’s Pro Cup star 17th on the starting grid. “We’ll take that,” Casola offered. “It’s not up front, but it’s not exactly deep in the pack either. I’m optimistic about the race. It has the tendency to be a quick race, I just want to finish and finish strong.”
At the start of the Drive Smart! Buckle-Up Kentucky 150, Casola showed patience by keeping his No. 32 entry strong in the top-20.
By the first caution on lap five, Casola had locked the 18th position advising Crew Chief Mike Chaffee that the car was tight. Chaffee acknowledged his driver’s request with a chassis adjustment coming during the team’s first trip to pit road.
On the restart, Casola held his line and position. Keeping some stiff competition at bay, Casola would continue to hold the 18th position when the second caution flag of the night waived on lap 12.
Resuming green flag conditions, Casola maintained a solid position in the top-20 with the first opportunity to bring his automobile to pit lane on lap 29 after the yellow flag waived for an incident on the track.
Chaffee called for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment hoping to correct the ill-handling machine for their young development driver.
On the restart, Casola wasted no time trying to find his niche back towards the front. Continuing to show patience, Casola picked up the pace and found himself back in the top-20 approaching lap 35.
The yellow flag was thrown a short time later with much of the lead pack heading down pit lane for their first pit stop of the evening. Chaffee elected to leave his driver on the track with the No. 32 being posted in the top-10 for the first time of the evening.
Back to racing, Casola did an impressive job keeping the faster cars on new tires at bay for a while before finally having to relinquish his top-10 spot.
Holding his own in the top-20, Casola made his final trip down pit road on lap 76 giving him all the components he needed for the remainder of the first night ARCA race of the season.
Luck was a four-letter word that has not been on their side this season. It changed Saturday night after a series of late race tangos saw Casola emerged unscathed and forward through the running order.
Heading into the final restart of the night, Casola found himself ninth on the rundown. Despite a gallant effort to maintain that spot, Casola would lose one position during the green and white flag but still cross the line 10th, awarding the team a much needed positive finish.
“We had a good car, not the fastest car but a solid piece,” sounded Casola following the race. “We were in the top-20 all night and we made great progress this weekend. I’m happy to escape Kentucky with a clean racecar and a top-10 finish. It’s the finish the team needed to get back on track.”
Casola continued, “I’m bummed that I won’t be competing at Toledo Speedway on Sunday, but I’m upbeat and I think we can be in contention for a win at one of my favorite tracks, Pocono Raceway next month.”
Win-Tron Racing Nate Thiesse offered, “Dominick’s determination, great driving and never give up attitude paid off for Win-Tron Racing at Kentucky . He did a great job all night long. The chemistry is starting to come together and we feel as a team that we’ll be a threat when Dominick returns to the seat at Pocono Raceway in June.”
A. Casola Farms, a family-owned business sponsored Casola’s No. 32 Dodge Charger at Kentucky Speedway. Casola made his 28th career ARCA start and third at the intermediate track.
More information on Win-Tron Racing is available by visiting win-tronracing.com or contacting Nate Thiesse at 952.469.1839. For more on Dominick Casola please visit, DominickCasola.com.
Next up for the ARCA RE/MAX Series is a stop in the sanction’s backyard at Toledo Speedway for the running of the Hantz Group 200 by Federated Car Care set for Sunday, May 18. The first of two trips this year to the half-mile oval concludes a stretch of six consecutive races for the series 21-race schedule. The green flag is scheduled to waive shortly after 2:00pm EST.
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