Catchfence

MARNE, Michigan (July 11, 2011) – - The strong 2011 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards season continued for Grant Enfinger and his Allgaier Motorsports team with an exceptional weekend at Berlin (Mich.) Raceway for the Hantz Group 200.

Armed with the same No. 36 Hoosier Tire Midwest / racetires.com Dodge Charger that the Springfield, Illinois team recorded a season-best effort of second at Toledo Speedway, Enfinger and his crew had high expectations for the 10th race of the season.

The one-day show at the Marne, Michigan-based track started off on the right foot for the Mike Allgaier-owned organization after the Kelly Kovski led team wheeled to the fastest lap in practice Saturday afternoon after posting a lap of 17.410 seconds at 103.389 miles per hour.

“The car is real good,” said the Fairhope, Alabama native. “I’m not sure where we will land in qualifying, but we’re definitely going to give it our all and try and get the pole.”

During time trials, all eyes were glued to the No. 36 Dodge Charger, as Enfinger quickly paced the .4-mile oval. When his lap of 17.205 seconds or 104.621 miles per hour was posted, many expected that time to hold which would award the veteran ARCA team to their first pole of the season.

Mission accomplished. In his 29th ARCA start, Enfinger would start the Hantz Group 200 from the inside of row number one; otherwise known as P-1.

Enfinger would lead the first 75 laps which included a brief yellow flag on lap one before resuming green flag action. Enfinger’s No. 36 Hoosier Tire Midwest / racetires.com Dodge Charger would continue to hold the point until a pass by eventual race winner Matt Merrell would slip Enfinger back to second. Two laps later, Tim George Jr. made the move for the runner-up spot slipping the avid late model ace down to third.

Knowing that he still had a good car, Enfinger’s automobile became a little too loose for comfort offering Kovski to make a change during their only expected trip to pit road.

When the second yellow flag of the day waived on lap 117, Enfinger who just had been passed by 2010 ARCA champion Patrick Sheltra joined the rest of the field on pit road for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment to correct his handling condition.

Restarting solidly in the top-10, Enfinger would find himself battling it out with Chad Hackenbracht, Sheltra, Tom Hessert and nine-time ARCA champion Frank Kimmel for a positive in the top-five. As the laps clicked away, Enfinger was now dealing with an extremely tight race car despite heading in the right direction back towards the lead.

Hovering in third in the closing laps of the race, Enfinger was unable to fend off a hard-charging Kimmel but the event’s third caution flew on lap 189 setting up for a dash to the finish.

On the restart, Enfinger and Kimmel battled for the final podium spot, Kimmel’s luck though would turn south as he spun just after the restart safely moving the 26-year old back into the third spot. When the green and white flags waiving simultaneously on the restart, the No. 36 Hoosier Tire Midwest / racetires.com Dodge Charger kept his competition at bay behind him but ran out of laps to do anything with Merrell and second-place finisher Tim George Jr. Enfinger would claim third, his best finish since notching that runner-up position at Toledo Speedway nearly two months ago.

“I wish we could have won the race, but I’m not going to complain too much about third,” said Enfinger. “All of the boys on this Allgaier Motorsports team did a great job. The car was fast from the get go and it showed. It was nice to put ourselves up front for most of the first half of the race but as the race stayed green, the looser our car became. We came to pit road and tighten the car up, but we might have gone a little too far, because we just couldn’t get the car to hook to the track like it did earlier in the day. Still though, a great day for No. 36 Hoosier Tire Midwest / racetires.com Dodge Charger and Allgaier Motorsports.”

The finish on Saturday continues a solid season for the 2008 championship team. After 10 races, the team has finished no worse than 14th at Michigan International Speedway and has mounted two top-fives and seven top-10s. Currently, he occupies fourth in the championship standings just 25 points behind third place driver Chris Buescher.

Next up for the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards is a trip out West to Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa for the running of the Prairie Meadows 200 on Saturday, July 16th. The 11th race of the season will air live on SPEED and ARCARacing.com beginning at 4:00 p.m. Enfinger will make his third career start at the .875-mile race track and looks to better his third place performance from last year.

Exiting Berlin, Enfinger has 28 ARCA Racing Series starts to his credit. In those events, he has maneuvered 10 top-fives and 18 top-10 finishes including a career-best finish of second three times at Kentucky Speedway (July 2009), Chicagoland Speedway (August 2009), and Toledo Speedway (May 2011)). He has controlled the field nine times for 216 laps. Hi best qualifying run occurred at Berlin (Mich.) Raceway where Enfinger bolted to his first career pole.

For more on Grant Enfinger, please visit grantenfinger.com.

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- Allgaier Motorsports Press Release