Catchfence

JOLIET, IL (8/29/10) – Entering into this weekends Ansell Protective Gloves 150 at Chicagoland Speedway, second year ARCA racer Joey Coulter had his sights firmly planted on winning the Bill France Four Crown Championship. With the point’s battle being so close, the Miami Spring, FL native knew he had to earn a solid top-ten finish to have a chance of taking home the award. He did just that, earning a hard- fought eighth place finish in Friday night’s race and taking home the Four Crown Championship in his No. 16 Rip It Energy Fuel, Darrell Gwynn Foundation Chevrolet.

“Going into Chicagoland (Speedway), I knew there was a lot riding on the line for the Four Crown Championship,” commented Coulter. “I’ve never wanted to win something more in my life, and my guys had the same feeling. They have worked incredibly hard all year and deserved to take the trophy (Four Crown) home.”

The busy Chicagoland race weekend started Thursday (8/26/10) evening with the first of two practice sessions for the weekend. Coulter spent the entire hour and 20-minute session working on race runs, knowing the time (4:30-5:50 pm CT), better-reflected Friday night’s race. At sessions end, Coulter posted the 13th fastest time at 31.570 seconds at 171.048 MPH.

Friday morning (8/27/10) ARCA held a rare “happy hour” practice session before Menards Pole Qualifying. Coulter Motorsports Crew Chief Harold Holly worked with the 20-year-old Coulter on qualifying setups and early-race runs during the quick practice. Coulter would end up posting the fifth fastest time, at 30.732 seconds at 175.713 MPH. Shortly after, Coulter would pilot his No. 16 Rip It Energy Fuel, Darrell Gwynn Foundation Chevrolet around the 1.5-mile tri-oval for his two qualifying laps. He would post a fast time of 30.866 seconds at 174.950 MPH, placing him tenth for the start of that evening’s race.

“Harold (Holly) wanted to spend Thursday night’s practice session solely on race runs since the track was so much cooler, and I believe that will pay off for tonight’s race,” said Coulter. “The car felt really hooked up this morning (Happy Hour) and my qualifying effort was on par with what I expected. My guys have prepared me another fast Rip It Energy Fuel machine and I am looking forward to tonight’s race.”

Shortly after 6:00 pm CT, Coulter, in his No. 16 Rip It Energy Fuel, Darrell Gwynn Foundation Chevrolet, took the green flag to start the Ansell Protective Gloves 150 at Chicagoland Speedway. After initially moving up into ninth, Coulter quickly reported a loose condition before settling in 11th. A caution on lap six allowed Coulter an opportunity to diagnose his car with Holly, saying “its really bad loose when someone is around and behind me.” Holly responded by telling Coulter to turn off his bead (tire) blowers to allow the air pressures to raise faster, in turn tightening up the car.

On the lap 15 restart, Coulter would restart sixth, and immediately started fighting the same extreme loose condition in the turns. He would battle the car during the ensuing laps and stay solidly in the top-ten before a lap 32 caution would allow him to come to pit road for some much needed adjustments. Coulter would receive four fresh Hoosier tires, a tank of Sunoco race fuel and a trackbar and wedge adjustment. He would restart in eighth on lap 43 and started his trek back towards the front.

By the halfway mark at lap 50, Coulter was in seventh and radioed to Holly that the “car feels like its finally coming around in the shade in turn’s 3 and 4, but still loose in the sun.” Coulter would continue to battle between positions six through eight before another timely caution on lap 71 would freeze the field. Coulter once again radioed Holly saying “I can’t hit the gas through the center or the rear-end snaps around.” Holly decided to forgo their track position in eighth to bring Coulter and his No. 16 Rip It Energy Fuel, Darrell Gwynn Foundation Chevrolet down pit road. Holly gave him four tires, fuel, and another round of trackbar and wedge adjustments.

After the quickie caution, Coulter restarted 14th on lap 74. He wasted no time working his way through the field, and by lap 81 was back in the top-ten in ninth. During a lap 87 caution, Coulter radioed the crew saying, “just keep letting this place cool off. This rocket ship is totally coming around.” The final restart of the night came on lap 90 with Coulter in eighth. He battled six and seventh over the last ten laps, but brought his No. 16 Rip It Energy Fuel, Darrell Gwynn Foundation Chevrolet across the finish line eighth.

Coulter’s eighth place finish gave him a wire-to-wire win in the Bill France Four Crown Award. Coulter defeated Patrick Sheltra (No. 60) by a mere 10 points, 745 to 735, to win the season-within-a-season contest which awards drivers for success on a diverse slate of tracks. Coulter won the contest-opening race at the 0.4-mile Berlin Raceway on August 7, finished second at the New Jersey Motorsports Park road course on August 15, and finished fourth at the Illinois State Fairgrounds dirt oval on August 22.

The ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards continues its tour of Illinois with a return trip to a dirt oval on Monday, September 6. The DuQuoin State Fairgrounds in DuQuoin, Ill. will host the Southern Illinois 100 presented by Federated Car Care, with live timing and scoring and live audio coverage of the Labor Day event for the 100-lap, 100-mile race at 1 pm CT.

- Coulter Motorsports Press Release