Catchfence

MANSFIELD, OH (7/18/10) – Going back to one of his favorite tracks, sophomore ARCA racer Joey Coulter set his sights on the checkered flag. Through practice, qualifying, and early in the race, the Miami Springs, FL native stayed at the top of the board and looked poised for another great finish in the Tim Richmond Memorial 200. Unfortunately Coulter and his No. 16 Darrell Gwynn Foundation, Rip It Energy Fuel Chevrolet were sent spinning in turn three by a lap down car, taking him from contention and ending his night early.

“When the 2010 schedule (ARCA) came out, I was so happy to see Mansfield (Motorsports Park) back on the list,” said Coulter. “It is a true racers track, and it provides some of the best action for not only the fans, but us drivers to. We had a great car all weekend and looked to improve on last years finish. Harold (Holly) and my team have worked their butts off providing me with quality equipment each week.”

Mansfield, being one of the rare “one-day shows” during the 2010 ARCA Racing Series, saw a jam packed day of racing Saturday, July 17, 2010. The day started with the series only practice session early in the afternoon. Coulter Motorsports crew chief Harold Holly used the session for minor changes to the car, as Coulter would spend the entire session jostling between first and second. As practice drew to a close, Coulter and his No. 16 Darrell Gwynn Foundation, Rip It Energy Fuel Chevrolet would post the second fastest time at 16.653 seconds at 108.089 MPH.

Menards Pole Qualifying quickly followed practice, and Coulter would take his time on the .5-mile oval 20 out of 32 cars present. He would turn a quick time of 16.512 seconds at a speed of 109.012 MPH, placing him second for the start of the Tim Richmond Memorial 200.

As night settled over the 32 car ARCA field, the green flag was waved and another short track battle was underway. Coulter would quickly lock on to the leaders bumper as the two would pull away from the rest of the field. They would stay bumper-to-bumper, occasionally working side by side through the coming laps and ensuing cautions. Coulter continued to lay down some of the fastest lap times as they worked their way in and out of lap down traffic.

It was this same lap down traffic that would tragically take Coulter from contention and end his night prematurely on lap 61 while in the second position. After being held up for several laps, Coulter ducked low entering turn three, and having almost completed the pass got chopped from the car above. Coulter would wind up spinning up the track collecting the car before hitting the wall. After coming to a stop and re-firing the car, another car would run into Coulter and his parked car.

Coulter Motorsports crew members worked feverishly to repair the extensive damage to the car, trying to get Coulter back out on track. They managed to get him out once before more hidden damage was found. Unfortunately, as team finished all the repairs, the checkered flag waved over the field ending the nights race. Coulter and his No. 16 Darrell Gwynn Foundation, Rip It Energy Fuel Chevrolet would be placed in the 22 spot, completing 81 of 200 laps.

“It is extremely unfortunate our night was ruined by another competitor who was multiple laps down,” exclaimed Coulter. “We had an amazing racecar all day long and I was just pacing myself to be there at the end. I believe in bad luck and stupidity, and I believe we were the victim of the latter tonight.”

The ARCA Racing Series returns to action in two weeks with the Weis Markets 125 at Pocono Raceway. On-track activity begins on Friday, July 30, with live timing and scoring and live audio coverage of practice and Menards Pole Qualifying presented by Ansell available at ARCARacing.com. The 50-lap, 125-mile race goes green at 3 p.m. Eastern on Saturday, July 31, with live television coverage provided by SPEED.

- Coulter Motorsports Press Release