Two Tires Down – Two Cars Out at Iowa |
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Topics: Prairie Meadows 200, Steve Arpin, Mikey Kile
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Emily Teeter
Venturini Motorsports
July 11, 2010
NEWTON, IA (07/11/10) Iowa Speedway didn’t show any mercy to Venturini Motorsports on their attempt at triumph. Instead, the team suffered problems early in the race day. Both drivers for Venturini Motorsports, Steve Arpin and Mikey Kile, blew right front tires and hit the outside wall.
Mikey Kile was the first of the Venturini cars that had to retire early on lap 37.
“After the tire blew I came in behind the pit wall because there was a lot of front suspension damage. The crew worked really hard to get everything put back together and welded together,” said Kile. “When I was sitting in the car waiting, all I could think of was the championship that was on the line. Not only are we out there to win races, but we are also in the points chase. It was really frustrating at first, but I calmed myself down to regain focus. The situation could have been a lot worse.”
Ten laps after the right front tire went down on the no. 25, ARCA point’s leader Patrick Sheltra in the no. 60 car blew a motor and was out of the race. Since Kile was less than 100 points out of the lead in points, this could have been a great opportunity for points.
“When I heard that Sheltra was out of the race the only thing that went through my mind was a point gain. I knew we needed to get back out on the track to log some laps and gain some points," commented Kile. "We just couldn’t capitalize on the situation and get back out there in time. We just have to focus on the next race at Mansfield.”
Steve Arpin made his way up to fourth place after starting in the 11th position before blowing a tire on lap 54. The no. 55 punctured the right front tire in turn 3 sending the car into the outside wall. With both Venturini cars behind the wall, the crews worked hard to get the cars back out on the track.
It was a rough and unlucky day for the Venturini team as the results were surprising with two unfortunate DNF’s. The team looks forward to Mansfield Motorsports Park on July 17th. Mikey Kile will be behind the wheel of the no. 25 Venturini Motorsports Toyota and the driver’s seat of the no. 55 will be filled with a new driver for the first time this season. Josh Richards will take the place of Steve Arpin. The green flag for the Tim Richmond Memorial 200 at Mansfield Motorsports Park will drop at 8:00 PM CT on Saturday July 17th.