Catchfence

NEWTON, IA (7-11-2009) – ARCA RE/MAX Series Rookie of the Year contender Joey Coulter stated he wanted to have an outstanding performance in the Prairie Meadows 200 at Iowa Speedway. An outstanding performance is exactly what he delivered as he earned his career first Menards Pole Award Presented by Ansell, and captured his second consecutive podium finish in Saturday’s tenth ARCA RE/MAX race this season, finishing third.

Bringing back the same No. 16 Darrell Gwynn Foundation-Tempest Cycles Chevrolet the team practiced with during the series’ open test, Coulter and his Coulter Motorsports team, led by veteran NASCAR crew chief Harold Holly, had high hopes for the Prairie Meadows 200.

Coulter, who was second quickest during the hour and a half practice session Friday afternoon, was 15th in line out of 37 cars that were there to qualify Saturday. Following his qualifying lap, he waited patiently with his team while the remaining ARCA RE/MAX Series competitors took their turns around the Rusty Wallace-designed short track. Coulter earned his career first Menards Pole Award Presented by Ansell on Saturday evening, circling the .875-mile short track in 23.45 seconds for a speed of 134.328 mph. The pole came just one week after Coulter posted his career best ARCA RE/MAX Series race finish of second at Mansfield Motorsports.

“I was pretty nervous throughout that entire qualifying session,” said Coulter. “Brian Ickler was fast in practice and he was the last car to go out. I knew that if anyone was going to beat our time it was going to be either him or Justin Lofton. I’m happy I got my first pole here because this is a great racetrack. This is my third time here, but my first time racing at this track with the ARCA RE/MAX Series,” Coulter added.

At the start of the 200 lap event, Coulter outran the No. 77 of Parker Kligerman to lead the first 35 laps before scheduled pit stops. As the field went back to green flag racing on lap 38, Coulter found himself in the seventh position. Nonetheless, the 19-year-old wasted no time as he broke back into the top-five the very next lap.

Three additional cautions would take place before crew chief Harold Holly would have to make a beneficial decision to pit once more while under caution on lap 84 for fuel. Coulter returned to racing action on lap 87 in 11th position.

Coulter broke back into top-five racing action by passing the No. 31 of Austin Dillon on lap 116. Final pit stops came on lap 136 under caution; Coulter entered the pits in third and the hard-working crew members were able to put the No. 16 Chevrolet back on top of the leader board, beating the No. 32 of Matt Merrell and No. 77 of Kligerman off pit road.

On the restart, Coulter was able to pull away from Kligerman before his No. 16 Darrell Gwynn Foundation-Tempest Cycles Chevrolet started getting tight from the center off. Kligerman then passed Coulter the following lap, with 50 laps remaining.

As Coulter fought with the handling of his No. 16 Chevy Monte Carlo, the No. 31 of Dillon slipped by on lap 172. The caution flag would wave one final time on lap 187, Coulter had an excellent restart, but couldn’t quite get to Dillon or Kligerman in the closing laps. He took the checkered flag in third position.

“On the last pit stop we used our last set of tires and the car just tightened up a little bit,” said Coulter. “We tested here and we were fastest at the test. We were really fast in practice and we qualified on the pole, so needless to say this is one of my favorite racetracks that I’ve run on so far this year.”

Coulter led a total of 47 laps in the Prairie Meadows 200. His third place finish added to his top-five finishing streak, adding up to four consecutive top-fives and six top-ten finishes in ten ARCA RE/MAX Series events.

The next event for the ARCA RE/MAX Series will be the Click It or Ticket Buckle-Up Kentucky 150 Saturday night, July 18 in conjunction with the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

ARCA is now on Twitter. Follow the racing action at www.twitter.com/ARCA_Racing.

For additional information about this promising young driver, visit www.JoeyCoulter.com.

Vote for Joey Coulter as your most popular driver at www.ARCANation.com.

To learn more about associate sponsor, Tempest Cycles, visit www.TempestCycles.com.

About the Darrell Gwynn Foundation:

The Darrell Gwynn Foundation (DGF) is a certified non-profit 501(c) 3 agency. DGF exists to prevent, provide for and ultimately cure spinal cord injuries and other debilitating illnesses. To expedite specific cures, the Foundation assists in the funding of targeted research. DGF is also dedicated to injury prevention, with special emphasis on programs targeting children. The Foundation helps improve the quality of life for those already afflicted with injury or illness, by providing necessary equipment or special services. DGF is an official charity of the Barrett-Jackson Auto Auction, National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) and has a close affiliation with NASCAR and the NASCAR Foundation. Additional information about DGF can be found at www.DarrellGwynnFoundation.org.