Brett Rowe had a horrible pit stop
which put him out of contention. The car was running hot, which did not help matter either. Last weeks “lucky charm,”
Wayne Peterson working the pit crew again this week, did not make it two weeks in a row with his magic.
Mike Harmon, after being beat around
by the much publicized Justin Marks for a lap, rammed Justin taking them both out of the race on lap 20. ARCA officials were
not amused and spoke with Mark after the race. One wonders if Justin will either curb his “enthusiasm” in future
races or confine it to drivers who are not named Mark Harmon.
Billy Venturini had harsh words about
Matt Hagans after the race concerning a wreck during the first green-white-checkered try. Erin Crocker was no less complimentary
towards Mr. Hagans after he wrecked her out. Beating and banging might be the rule on local series short tracks, but as Justin
Marks found out, on super speedways folks take it a bit more seriously. Learn how to drive Mr. Hagans before you take full
time ARCA drivers and point contenders out of the race. What is a hobby to YOU is a full time job to them.
Controversy surrounded the pass Chuck
Weber and Brad Coleman made on Frank Kimmel during a late race restart. Weber and Coleman went high and passed Kimmel at the
line. The move was questioned after the race but ARCA officials held up the passes.
Bobby Gerhart stretched his one race
deal with Driwash.com to a 4 race associate sponsorship. He also finished 8th in the race but lost ground in the series points
to Frank Kimmel who finished second. “As long as we keep finishing like this we are never more than on race out of first
place,” said Gerhardt. For a team that said in Daytona (which Gerhardt won) that they only had money to run a limited
schedule, they are doing quite well. First in series points is “doing quite well’’ one would think.
Jeremy Clements with a very limited
budget stared 21st and finished 3rd. It equals his two 3rd place finishes in Charlotte. After a bad accident that kept him out for more than a year young
Mr. Clements is hoping that his strong showing will catch they eye of someone who will give him a full time ride.
All in all it was a great race. Hi-jinks
and drama at the end, hi-jinks and drama from the start, but in the end the best car did win. Some say its 90% car and 10%
driver. I disagree and Steven Wallace proves me right by his performance last week in Kansas.
In a car that the previous race had lapped the field around the halfway point with a different driver, Mr. Wallace was lucky
to get the 5th place finish, one lap down that he did get. In Kentucky however,
Brad Coleman showed that when a great driver is given a great car the outcome is obvious. Brad had a great car and he drove
a flawless race. He didn’t make any stupid mistakes and beat a true champion and veteran driver, Frank Kimmel, to the
checkered flag.
Questions, Comments;
Email Everett
The views and opinions in this article are that of the writer and not necessarily that of SCR
2006 StockCar Review.
