Catchfence

After winning the ARCA Racing Series race at Talladega Superspeedway last season, Red Horse Racing rookie Justin Lofton was confident of a solid finish in Saturday’s Mountain Dew 250. An accident just 22 laps into the event however, caused heavy damage to the No. 7 Toyota Tundra, ending Lofton’s day early.

“It’s real unfortunate for everyone on the visitPIT.com Toyota Tundra team. We had a really good truck. I was just sitting there playing around. I would jump up out of the pack and fall back, and then move back up. I am real proud of all the guys and all the hard work that they put into it. It is real unfortunate that it had to end this way,” Lofton said.

After taking the green flag from the 17th position, Lofton consistently picked up a position a lap while running the outside lane. At times, the draft and close racing forced the field to go three-wide, with the savvy rookie racer holding his own.

As the race hit the 15-lap mark, Lofton rode in the draft in the 13th position. By that time, he also noticed a spike in the oil temperature, radioing to crew chief Mark Rette that the gauge read near 280 degrees. Rette cautioned Lofton not to worry, unless the truck began to overheat.

With his focus on maneuvering through the field, Lofton continued to make moves through the draft, using the outside lane as his preferred position around the 2.66-mile track.

Just after crossing the start/finish line to mark lap 22 however, a truck spun, drifting up and into the outside wall. Lofton had nowhere to go, and got collected in the wreck. The No. 7 suffered heavy front end damage, ending Lofton’s race early. At the end of the day, Lofton was scored in the 33rd position.

The next race for Lofton and the No. 7 team will be Friday, November 5th at Texas Motor Speedway.

- Justin Lofton Media Relations Press Release