Grant Enfinger; Allgaier Motorsports Dusts Themselves Off With Top-10 In DuQuoin

Topics:  Grant Enfinger, Southern Illinois 100

Chris Knight
Knight Motorsports Management
Allgaier Motorsports
September 7, 2011

DUQUOIN, Illinois (September 7, 2011) - The solid finishes continue to mount. Grant Enfinger and his Springfield, Illinois-based Allgaier Motorsports team netted yet another top-10 finish in Monday’s Southern Illinois 100 presented by Federated Auto Parts at the DuQuoin (Ill.) State Fairgrounds.

After dishing out a 12th place run in his inaugural dirt stock car debut at the Illinois State Fairgrounds two weeks earlier, the Fairhope, Alabama native entered the Labor Day traditional event focused as ever.

In the quick one-day show, Enfinger in his No. 36 Hoosier Tire Midwest / racetires.com Chevrolet Impala was one of the first cars to tackle the one-mile oval. With normal crew chief Kelly Kovski electing to participate in the 16th race of the season, Enfinger and acting crew chief Tommy Bear wanted to utilize as much of the track time as possible to dial in there Chevrolet bowtie.

Comfort was the key agenda for the veteran ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards team. At the conclusion of practice, Enfinger hoisted the 15th quickest lap noting that he was still learning how to master the Southern Illinois racetrack. After consulting with both Bear and Kovski, the team made some routine yet aggressive changes to their No. 36 Hoosier Tire Midwest / racetires.com Chevrolet Impala hoping to find stability in the race.

Before turning their attention towards the contest, the team had to first maneuver their way through qualifying. In time trials, the short track ace negotiated the 14th quickest lap overall in the 34-car starting field.

Trying not to set any unobtainable goals for the race, the team was focused on completing the event and knocking out the best finish possible. Despite the yellow flag waiving shortly after the start of the race, Enfinger had sliced his way into the 13th position.

By lap 11 under green flag racing, Enfinger had picked off yet another position finding himself sitting 12th overall. The family-owned team would hold that position through the race’s first 20 circuits.

Another yellow slowed the field on lap 22 which opened the door for Bear to bring his driver down on pit road for two Hoosier tires and fuel. Exiting pit road, Enfinger found himself back to his original starting position but relived that his mandatory pit stop was behind him.

Rocketing when racing resumed, the No. 36 slipped into the first half-dozen competitors by lap 30. Another yellow would fly just six laps later with the team still locking the 12th position in the rundown.

Several of the lead cars chose to make their mandated trip to pit lane which shot Enfinger up the leader board and lining up fifth for a lap 40 restart.

Enfinger would strut his stuff hanging on to the fifth position and even battling side-by-side with Kovski for several laps. With aging tires, Enfinger would be a sitting duck for the competition on a lap 62 restart. Trying to fend off the machines of nine-time ARCA champion Frank Kimmel and current points leader Ty Dillon would prove to be a huge challenge as the two cars were able to modestly work their way around the No. 36 Hoosier Tire Midwest / racetires.com Chevrolet Impala by lap 65.

Falling back into the clutches of the cars he was battling at the beginning of the race, Enfinger would find himself gunning for a spot inside the top-10. Over the last 15 laps, the No. 36 Hoosier Tire Midwest / racetires.com Chevrolet Impala found itself battling with the No. 1 of Chad McCumbee, No. 68 of Will Kimmel and the No. 31 of Tim George Jr. before taking the checkered flag in 10th, collecting his 12th top-10 finish of the 2011 season.

Kovski would fight for the win before having to settle for a career-best ARCA Racing Series finish of fourth in the No. 39 Central Illinois Security / Schluckebier Farms / Modern Paving Chevrolet Impala.

“Overall, it wasn’t a bad day for the Allgaier Motorsports team,” said Enfinger. “I think I still have a lot to learn as far as this dirt racing is concerned, but we enjoyed our moments in the spotlight during the race. We’ll bank this finish and focus on some normal racing next weekend at Salem Speedway.”

He added, “I want to personally thank Tommy (Bear) for stepping in and helping our team so Kelly (Kovski) could race. It was nice to reconnect with an old friend and have some fun.”

Next up for the ARCA Racing Series is a return trip to Salem, Indiana for a Saturday-night shootout at the brutal half-mile short track for the running of the Kentuckiana Ford Dealers ARCA Fall Classic by Federated Car Care. The one-day show is set for Saturday, September 17th with the green flag scheduled to drop just after 7:15 p.m. In his debut with the treacherous short-track, Enfinger finished 10th after starting 13th.

Exiting DuQuoin, Enfinger has 34 ARCA Racing Series starts to his credit. In those events, he has maneuvered 12 top-fives and 22 top-10 finishes including a career-best finish of second three times at Kentucky Speedway (July 2009), Chicagoland Speedway (August 2009), and Toledo Speedway (May 2011). He has controlled the field nine times for 216 laps. His best qualifying run occurred at Berlin (Mich.) Raceway where Enfinger bolted to his first career pole.

For more on Grant Enfinger, please visit grantenfinger.com.

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MEDIA CONTACT:
NAME: Chris Knight, Knight Motorsports Management
PHONE: 239.834.9797
EMAIL: chris@chrisknightpr.com