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ESR Drivers Ready to get Down and Dirty in Dirt Track Debuts

Friday August 15, 2008

 

DENVER, N.C. (August 15, 2008) – There is no doubt that Eddie Sharp Racing dominates the speedway scene with its six SIM Factory Pole Awards and five wins in the 2008 ARCA RE/MAX Season. This weekend, teammates Justin Lofton, Scott Speed, and Ken Butler, III are ready for an entirely new challenge: the dirt track. All three ESR drivers will make their dirt debuts at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield, Illinois on Sunday. Get ready for the dirt and dust to fly as the ESR trio looks to sink their teeth into the 1-mile clay oval for the Allen Crowe Memorial 100.

Speed continues his reign as ARCA RE/MAX Series point leader. With a win last weekend at Kentucky, his fourth overall this season, Speed extended his lead to 140 points over second place Matt Carter. The Red Bull team is excited to head to the dirt track this weekend and rub fenders at the clay short track. Speed’s hero, the legendary Frank Kimmel, has won six of the last eight events at the legendary dirt track. Speed is looking to battle the “Old Man” for the victory this year and continue his hot streak in the final stretch of the 2008 season.

Lofton is on a whirlwind tour this weekend, competing in both the ARCA RE/MAX Series and the NASCAR Camping World Series. An experience road racer, Lofton will run the Mohegan Sun NASCAR 200 at Lime Rock Park on Saturday afternoon. He will hop a plane and jet to Springfield, Illinois where he will make his first career start on a dirt oval. From road racing to dirt track racing, look for Lofton to continue his streak of success this weekend.

KBIII joins his teammates in making his first start on a dirt surface. Fresh off his second consecutive top 10 finish and the SIM Factory Pole Award at Nashville Superspeedway, the Aaron’s Lucky Dog team is definitely moving with momentum into the home stretch of the 2008 season.

Here are some quotes from each of the ESR drivers:

Scott Speed (No. 2 Red Bull Toyota):
“I don’t know that I have ever seen a dirt track, much less drove on one. I am very excited about trying it, and I hope to get at least a top-10 finish. Frank has been helping me a lot with what I am supposed to do on the dirt tracks, so it should be quite interesting to say the least. The team ran well here last year and I think we’ll be competitive again. We’ll definitely have a lot of fun!”

Justin Lofton (No. 20 Lofton Cattle Dodge):
“It will be a crazy travel schedule running double duty this weekend, but will be a lot of fun. I’ve never run on dirt before. Honestly I think it’s going to be a blast! I’m really looking forward to it. I honestly think we have a great chance at running well all weekend. I want to thank Eddie [Sharp] for the opportunity and to both my ARCA team and the ESR East team for all their hard work.”

Ken Butler, III (No. 22 Aaron’s Lucky Dog Dream Machine Toyota):
“I’m really looking forward to heading to Springfield this weekend. We have been running great these last couple of weeks and we are heading into the home stretch of the season with great momentum. My team has worked really hard and I really appreciate it.”
ARCA RE/MAX Series practice runs from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on Sunday, August 17, 2008, with SIM Factory Pole Qualifying at 12:00 p.m. Driver Introductions begin Sunday at 1:45 p.m. and the green flag for the Allen Crowe Memorial 100 flies at 2:00 p.m. All times listed are EASTERN.
Catch all the action at arcaracing.com offering LIVE Timing & Scoring of all on-track activities as well as LIVE flag-to-flag streaming audio coverage of the race through the ARCA Racing Network exclusively on arcanation.com presented by Team Glock.
For more on Eddie Sharp Racing, please log onto www.teamesr.com.

For more on Scott Speed, please visit www.redbullusa.com/scottspeed.

For more on Ken Butler, III, please visit www.butlerbrothersracing.com.

For more on Justin Lofton, please visit www.loftonracing.com.

2008 AT A GLANCE —
Scott Speed (No. 2 Red Bull Toyota):
1st in ARCA RE/MAX Series Championship points (3275 points; 140 points ahead of second place)
Best Start: First (three times) at Pocono Raceway, June 2008; Michigan International Speedway, June 2008; and Pocono Raceway, August 2008
Best Finish: First (four times) at Kansas Speedway, April 2008; Kentucky, July 2008; Berlin, July 2008; and Nashville, August 2008

Ken Butler, III (No. 22 Aaron’s Lucky Dog Dream Machine Toyota):
9th in ARCA RE/MAX Series Championship points (2620 points; 655 out of 1st)
Best Start: First (twice) at Kansas Speedway, April 2008 and Nashville, August 2008
Best Finish: 4th at Kentucky Speedway, May 2008

Justin Lofton (No. 20 Lofton Cattle Dodge):
14th in ARCA RE/MAX Series Championship points (2185 points; 1090 out of 1st) ***note: has made 13/14 starts (Lofton’s first race was at Salem Speedway)
Best Start: First at Cayuga Speedway Park, June 2008
Best Finish: First at Michigan International Speedway, June 2008

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This report was provided by an outside PR source and posted by Kim DeHaven.

 

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