SALEM, Indiana — As the rain held off Sunday afternoon in Salem, Indiana, Eddie Sharp Racing’s Justin Lofton and his No.6 Lofton Cattle Toyota Camry dominated at the Salem Speedway for the Kentuckiana Ford Dealers ARCA 200 presented by Federated Car Care. Lofton qualified first, sweeping the Menard Pole Award presented by Ansell and finished the race 2nd. In the last two races Lofton has recorded two pole positions and two top 5’s.
"I am pleased with our run this weekend, it was nearly a perfect weekend after being the fastest in practice, qualifying on the pole and leading a majority of the race. We were really hoping for another caution to come out so we could put our last set of t"— Justin Lofton
Lofton was excited about sitting on the pole at the Salem Speedway, Saturday and couldn’t thank his team enough, saying, ‘It’s Eddie Sharp Racing’s Pole Award, not mine and I couldn’t be happier.’ Justin has sat on the pole for the last two races, including Daytona. Justin said, ‘I am really excited to have two poles in a row. It shows what the right people in the right organization are capable of. I am looking forward to the rest of the 2009 season and many more Menard Pole Awards presented by Ansell Pole.’
On Saturday afternoon, Lofton qualified 1st with his fastest lap recorded at 16.935 seconds and 117.981 mph around the .555 mile oval, but fell short race day with pit strategy. Lofton led the field for 105 of 200 laps, but his tires could not hold on to see the checkered flag.
During the first and only pit stop during a caution on lap 65, Lofton took the No. 6 Lofton Cattle Toyota Camry down pit row, taking four tires, fuel, and ½ lb. out of the right rear, but couldn’t hold on.
The yellow flag waved throughout the first half of the race, with Lofton never restarting below the 4th position. Battling the No. 60 [Sheltra] for several laps, Lofton was able to fight for position in turns 2 and 3, but could never recover on the front and back stretches.
Overall, Justin was happy with his run at Salem this weekend, he said, ‘I am pleased with our run this weekend, it was nearly a perfect weekend after being the fastest in practice, qualifying on the pole and leading a majority of the race. We were really hoping for another caution to come out so we could put our last set of tires on, but it never came. All in all the No. 6 Lofton Cattle Toyota Camry is leading the points, right where we all want to be and stay. I can’t thank my family, Eddie (Sharp) and the entire No. 6 crew for their support this weekend.’
Crew Chief, Mark Rette, who received the crew chief of the race award, said, ‘I was very disappointed in myself with our 2nd place finish. We had three different scenarios we were looking at in terms of race strategy and if two of the other three strategies would have played out I am confident that we would have found ourselves in victory lane. I cannot say enough about this entire Eddie Sharp Racing team. Right out of the box they have been perfect. We have two poles, two top 5’s, and are leading the points right now. We are looking forward to racing at Rockingham and Talladega and redeeming ourselves there. Overall it was a good points day, we didn’t get the win, but we are looking at the big picture and that is winning the championship.’
Next Stop: Justin Lofton and the Lofton Cattle team travel to Rockingham, North Carolina to race Sunday, April 19th in the Carolina 200. The race is set to go green at 1 p.m.
For more on Justin Lofton, please visit www.loftonracing.com.
For more on Eddie Sharp Racing, please log onto www.teamesr.com.
