Despite finishing 14th in the event, the result doesn’t show the strength the Michigan-based team showed. A new car for the team acquired from Dale Earnhardt Inc. (DEI) gave the team some momentum and a positive test at the 1.5-mile oval two weeks prior to the event had the team steering in the right direction heading into the race weekend.

Posting the 10th and 17th fastest times overall in practice; the BCR development team owned by ARCA veteran Howard Bixman knew that had not shown their full potential leading up to qualifying. In time trials, the team stepped up to the plate and delivered.

Heffner, a familiar face on the dirt knocked out what the team could call a home-run with a sixth place qualifying effort, posting a time of 30.486. The run was a career best for Heffner, a native of Pittsfield, Massachusetts. During the race, Heffner stayed in contention and hovered in the top-10 for a majority of the race but damage to the front of the car made for a tight-handling No. 74 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS forced the backslide in the running order. Still the top-15 effort is a season best for the rookie. More importantly though, the performance was a step in the right direction.

“I’m very proud of the BCR team,” said Bixman. “J.R. really showed maturity as a driver at Kentucky. After our second race of the season at Kentucky, we sat down and talked about what we needed to do to make this team better. Checking off the goals one by one, we came to Kentucky last weekend on top of our game and it showed.”

Bixman continued, “It was a strong field. J.R. doesn’t have a lot experience on the bigger tracks so we worked at the test to get him familiar with the car and the racetrack at the same time. The more laps he posted the more comfortable he became. We came back for the race and we conquered all of our goals. Now, we’ll build on Kentucky and look towards our next race at Chicago.”

Heffner, himself was equally pleased with Kentucky.

“It felt good to be running near the front and being in the mix,” remarked Heffner, a 2007 and 2008 Modified Champion. “Howard has really done a great job on making the car comfortable for me and I’ve stepped up my focus on what we need to accomplish each time we come to the race. Now we can build on this and be ready to meet our next challenge soon.”

With the noteworthy performance in the books, BCR Racing isn’t done. They want more. A lot more.

“We’re going to keep testing and when we come back ARCA racing, we’re going to be even better than we were at Kentucky. Working hard pays off. Determination equal results. We’ve practiced and qualified in the top-10, now it’s time to finish inside the top-10. Chicagoland here we come,” quoted Bixman, who also holds the role as crew chief and driving coach for Heffner.

BCR Racing would like thank it’s sponsors, A. Colarusso and Son, Park East Sales and Disposal Express for their support throughout the 2009 season.

BCR Racing is expected to compete in the Ansell Cut Protection 150 at Chicagoland Speedway on August 28th. The team plans to end their season on a positive note at Kansas Speedway for the Kansas Lottery 150 set for October 1st.

For more on J.R. Heffner, please visit the newly re-launched JRHeffner.com.

- BCR Racing Press Release

ARCA RE/MAX Series Logo

Coulter, in a Chevrolet, circled the 1.5-mile superspeedway in 30.531 seconds, for an average speed of 176.869 mph.

“Right off the bat we started off better than the last time I was here,” said Coulter. “I feel like I’ve really got a handle on the track. And I think going to Michigan (Int’l Speedway) and some of those really big tracks helped my learning curve a lot.”

Coulter, who was also fastest in the recent Michigan and Iowa Speedway tests, is on a roll lately coming off three consecutive top-five finishes at Pocono Raceway, Michigan and Mansfield Motorsports Park where he finished a career-best second.

“We were fast right off the bat so we just started throwing different things at the car, completely changing the set-up – changing all four springs, shocks, sway bar. When we thought we found something, we tuned on it; if not, we threw it out. I’m really getting comfortable. After about my second time back out I felt like I was driving a pretty good line, got into a solid rythym and our times got real consistent.”

Coulter was among 17 drivers who posted time and speed at the open test in preparation for the July 18th Click It or Ticket Buckle-Up Kentucky 150, the 19th appearance of the ARCA RE/MAX Series at Kentucky Speedway since its 2000 debut.

Four-time Kentucky winner Frank Kimmel was second fastest overall on the speed charts with a top speed of 176.194 mph.

“It was pretty-much a qualifying run for us,” said Kimmel who, like Coulter, posted his best speed in the final moments of the test. “We ran one car in the morning and early part of the afternoon; then we got out the second car. It was faster so we stayed with it, kept tweaking on it and steadily improved it. We were happy with it, so we put on a set a stickers and taped it off.”

Josh Richards, Grant Enfinger and Bryan Silas completed the top-five in speed respectively.

The open test day also brought out an interesting collection of coaches including NASCAR Sprint Cup Series veteran Kasey Kahne, who was there to help open wheel driver/rookie Brad Sweet and 15-time AMA Motocross champion Ricky Carmichael get up to speed.

“I think that for Ricky [Carmichael] the opportunity to work with Kevin Harvick is a huge benefit,” said Kahne. “You can tell that he really cares about his team and the input he gives really helps the drivers in that organization. Ricky and I are friends and I have always been a huge fan of his from the motorcycle days. I grew up in the Seattle area and used to watch him. I still watch him on tv when he is commentating the motorcycle races. I went with Ricky to a Late Model test at Hickory [Motor Speedway in North Carolina] and he made some laps. That’s what he needs more than anything – laps.

The advice that I give everyone is to work up to it. Just take your time. You see guys like Ricky who are so used to just going out full force every time they do something so you worry a little bit their first time in a car, hoping that they will take their time. Ricky did really well. He took his time and worked up to it, just like I would have done. I had a lot of people help me out when I first started Cup racing. Especially Tony Stewart and Bill Elliott-those two probably helped me more than anyone. It’s good for me when I am able to help others now just like people helped me when I was starting out. This is Brad’s first time in a stock car ever.”

Kahne also commented on the condition of the track surface.

“The track doesn’t feel quite as rough today as it did last time I was here. It definitely needs some work before they bring Cup cars here though. I hope they do make those changes before that happens. Vegas is unbelievable. The fans are so close at that track. They are basically inside of your car while you are driving. You look up and it’s like whoa! It’s a good thing though because the fans are so important to what we do.”

Although Kahne, in a Doug Stringer Motorsports entry, was second fastest in the morning session, Sweet, unfortunately, in the same car, spun off turn four and backed into the outer retaining wall ending his test session prematurely. Sweet was not hurt but the car was badly damaged.

Carmichael, who is running a mix of NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races and ARCA RE/MAX Series races in 2009 for Kevin Harvick Inc., was ninth fastest overall.

“This transition [from bikes to stock car racing] is going good,” said Carmichael. “I’ve really enjoyed it. We’ve had some good runs. You have to be realistic with the expectations. I got an ARCA car here and we are testing that. For me, that is huge because now when we come to the race I won’t feel like I’m behind. I like the ARCA cars. I really enjoy them. They seem to really stick to the track.

“The transition from motorcycles to auto racing is going good. I have really enjoyed the whole process. We’ve had some good runs. You have to be realistic with the expectations. I met Kasey Kahne in 2004 in Daytona through Oakley-a sponsor of ours. He has become a good friend ever since and has really helped me with things. The decision to stop driving the bikes and start driving stock cars was not too difficult. I knew that I was at the end of the road there.

I had pretty much accomplished everything I wanted to accomplish. Kevin [Harvick, team owner], has gone out of his way to help me here so I am very thankful. I hope he lets me run the ARCA race. That would be fun. In the motorcycles you have to have so much more physical strength whereas in the stock cars require more mental strength. I don’t know if that is because you are going so fast in a stock car or because it is something that is new to me so it is more mentally taxing.”

ARCA RE/MAX Series regular Justin Lofton, currently second in ARCA RE/MAX Series point standings, was testing a car for his Eddie Sharp Racing teammate Tim George, Jr.

“Everyone is coaching here today,” said Lofton. “My car isn’t here but I have my suit on and I have made a couple of laps. My teammates are here and they are both rookies. It’s been a big learning curve for them this year but heading into the season we knew that they would make some big gains mid-way through the year and so far they have made tremendous gains in the last several races.

They are doing great. Eddie Sharp Racing is a great organization and I wouldn’t want to race for any other team in the ARCA RE/MAX Series. As a second-year driver it’s very cool to me that they want my input. I don’t have a car here but I did make a few laps and I am noticing how the cars are reacting to different changes the teams make to the cars so I am going to go back to the shop and give that feedback to my crew chief Mark Rette and we will make a game plan and come back here in a few weeks and hopefully it will be a good race for us.”

Current ARCA RE/MAX Series point leader Parker Kligerman was also on hand for the open test; however, the 18-year-old rookie sensation did not get on the track as he was there to assist his Cunningham Motorsports teammate Dakoda Armstrong get up to speed. Armstrong, who was eighth fastest overall, is scheduled to make his superspeedway debut at Kentucky.

Before the upcoming event at Kentucky Speedway, the ARCA RE/MAX Series travels to Iowa Speedway for this Saturday’s July 11th running of the Prairie Meadows 200, the third consecutive appearance of the ARCA RE/MAX Series at Iowa.

2009 ARCA RE/MAX Series

NO DRIVER/HOMETOWN CAR TIME SPEED

16 Joey Coulter/Miami Springs FL Chevrolet 30.531 176.869

44B Frank Kimmel/Clarksville IN Ford 30.648 176.194

25 Josh Richards/Mooresville NC Chevrolet 30.925 174.616

83 Grant Enfinger/Fairhope AL Ford 30.958 174.441

11 Bryan Silas/Stuart FL Ford 31.027 174.042

09A Tom Hessert/Cherry Hill NJ Ford 31.238 172.866

81 Craig Goess/Greenville NC Toyota 31.252 172.789

90 Kasey Kahne/Enumclaw WA Toyota 31.266 172.712

4 Dakoda Armstrong/New Castle IN Dodge 31.486 171.505

33 Ricky Carmichael/Tallahassee FL Chevrolet 31.532 171.255

32 James Buescher/Plano TX Toyota 31.550 171.157

44A Frank Kimmel/Clarksville IN Ford 31.686 170.422

2 Justin Lofton/Westmorland CA Toyota 31.769 169.977

09B Tom Hessert/Cherry Hill NJ Ford 31.789 169.870

74 JR Heffner/Stephentown NY Chevrolet 31.928 169.131

31 Brent Brevak/Ashland WI Dodge 32.108 168.182

5 Bobby Gerhart/Lebanon PA Chevrolet 32.165 167.884

2 Tim George Jr./New York NY Toyota 32.502 166.144

90 Brad Sweet Toyota 34.285 157.503

- ARCA Press Release

ARCA RE/MAX Series Logo

Among the entrants for the test is 15-time AMA Motocross champion Ricky Carmichael in the no. 33 Kevin Harvick, Inc. (KHI) Chevrolet. Nicknamed the “GOAT” (Greatest Of All Time), Carmichael also has 14 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races on his 2009 calendar with the KHI team.

Other ARCA test entrants include Austin Dillon, the grandson of Richard Childress Racing team owner Richard Childress. Dillon recently finished a career-best second at Michigan Int’l Speedway in mid-June.

Nine-time ARCA RE/MAX Series champion and four-time Kentucky winner Frank Kimmel is also entered as is newcomer/open-wheel driver Dakoda Armstrong out of New Castle, Indiana. Armstrong debuted with the RE/MAX Series at Toledo Speedway in a Ken Schrader Racing entry and finished 20th. Armstrong will be in a Cunningham Motorsports-prepared Dodge for the Kentucky test. Current ARCA RE/MAX Series point leader Parker Kligerman, who also drives for Cunningham Motorsports, is not scheduled to test; however, the 18-year-old rookie sensation is planning to attend the test to assist Armstrong.

Second-generation driver Brent Brevak is also scheduled to test. Brevak is the son of 1990 ARCA RE/MAX Series national champion Bob Brevak.

Eddie Sharp Racing is also planning to bring two drivers – rookies’ Tim George, Jr., of New York, NY, and Craig Goess, of Greenville, NC. Both are currently in the top-10 in championship points.

Other entries as of this day include Bryan Silas (Stuart, FL/4th in championship points), JR Heffner (Stephentown, NY), Chad Hackenbracht (Denver, NC), Grant Enfinger (Fairhope, AL) and Brad Sweet.

The ARCA RE/MAX Series open test at Kentucky Speedway will also feature live timing & scoring at ARCAracing.com of all the on-track activity, scheduled from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM ET.

In addition to Kimmel, former ARCA RE/MAX Series winners at Kentucky include Kyle Busch, Ryan Newman, Steve Wallace, Tim Steele, Erik Darnell, Brad Coleman, Michael McDowell and Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. to name a few.

The Click It or Ticket Buckle-Up Kentucky 150, which follows the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race, marks the 19th appearance of the ARCA RE/MAX Series at Kentucky Speedway since 2000.