Sunday
19-Year-Old ARCA Rookie Coulter Finally in Familiar Territory at Pocono
Press Release
Coulter made the most of it however, earning a solid fourth place finish.
“It’s definitely different, and, by far, the most challenging track I’ve ever raced on,” said Coulter, whose team has been on a roll lately with four consecutive top-five finishes.
“To say that that track is challenging is an understatement. Every corner’s different. And if you mess up one corner, which I learned is very easy to do, then it messes up the whole lap.
“I learned that you just can’t figure that track out all at once; you kind of have to pick it apart. On an oval, both ends are typically the same, so if you get an understanding for one end, you’ll pretty-much have it down in the other. Not at Pocono.
“I really think the biggest advantage I had going in, and the reason we did as good as we did is because my crew chief Harold (Holly) has a lot Cup experience there. He already had some good ideas going in.”
Holly spent years in the NASCAR world crew-chiefing for a variety of top teams. Holly also won the 2000 NASCAR Nationwide Series championship as crew chief with driver Jeff Green.
“I’ve had a ton of time at Pocono,” said Holly. “So I’ve accumulated a lot notes and data over the years. But it’s not all me by any means. I haven’t seen a track yet that Joey doesn’t pick up quick. Our biggest issues, initially, were because our program started late. We didn’t really solidify our season until right before Daytona. We rented Gerhart’s car there. We were a new team, and we never really started building cars till after Daytona. We were behind right from the start.”
In addition to a DNF at Daytona, Coulter’s teams suffered mechanical troubles in the next events at Salem and Rockingham. But outside of another DNF at Kentucky in May, the team, after 10 races, has not finished out of the top-10, and here lately, it’s been all top-fives, including a career-best second place finish to rookie sensation Parker Kligerman at Mansfield. Kligerman has won four of the last five events. (Pre-Kentucky/July 18).
“I think we’re really close (to beating Kligerman),” added Coulter. “He’s got awesome equipment, and he’s obviously doing great things with it. It’s neat to see what he’s been able to do here. But I think we’re very close to getting to where he is. He’s got some help from Penske; that’s obviously a Cup team. We’re a homegrown team out of our own shop. We’re really close to winning a race.”
Despite the challenges that Pocono brings, Coulter can’t wait to get back and take another run at the Long Pond, Pennsylvania triangular superspeedway.
“I can’t wait to get back to Pocono. Most of these tracks in this series are new to us, so finally we get to go back to one I’ve raced on before. I think we’re gunna by real good. I’ve been there once, and Harold’s been there more times than I’ve been in one of these cars.”
If Coulter were fortunate enough to add his name to the winner’s list at Pocono, he would be among an elite group of drivers/past winners. The ARCA RE/MAX Series winners list at Pocono is impressive to say the least; it includes Tim Steele, Bob Schacht, Mike Wallace, Blaise Alexander, Kerry Earnhardt, Ryan Newman, Casey Atwood, Casey Mears, Scott Riggs, Frank Kimmel, Travis Kvapil, Justin Allgaier and Joey Logano to name a few.
On-track activity for the Pennsylvania ARCA 200 starts Friday, July 31 with practice from 10:15 AM to 11:55 AM. Menards Pole Qualifying presented by Ansell follows at 1:45 PM. The Pennsylvania ARCA 200 kicks off Saturday afternoon, August 1 at 1:00 PM and is live on SPEED.
In addition, ARCAracing.com will feature live timing & scoring and live streaming audio of all the on-track activity via the ARCA Racing Network.
Tickets for the Pennsylvania ARCA 200, the SPRINT Cup Series event and the entire 2009 Pocono Raceway season are available by contacting the Pocono Raceway Ticket Office at 1-800-RACEWAY (1-800-722-3929), or through http://www.poconoraceway.com.
- ARCA Press Release
Article Tags: ARCA, ARCA RE/MAX Series, Blaise Alexander, Bob Schacht, Bobby Gerhart, Casey Atwood, Casey Mears, Daytona International Speedway, Frank Kimmel, Harold Holly, Jeff Green, Joey Coulter, Joey Logano, Justin Allgaier, Kerry Earnhardt, Mansfield Motorsports Park, Menards Pole Qualifying Presented by Ansell, Mike Wallace, NASCAR Nationwide Series, Parker Kligerman, Pennsylvania ARCA 200, Pocono Raceway, Rockingham Speedway, Ryan Newman, Salem Speedway, Scott Riggs, Tim Steele, Travis Kvapil
