Justin Lofton had high hopes entering the race weekend at Michigan International Speedway. Fresh off of a second-place finish in Pocono the week before, the No. 6 Eddie Sharp Racing team had more than momentum on their side. They had a new sponsor in Valvoline Instant Oil Change, the points lead and Lofton, as defending race winner.
Unfortunately, what started out as a good weekend, quickly went south early into the Racing for Wildlife 200.
Rain knocked out qualifying on Thursday afternoon, handling Lofton the pole position based on owner point standings. In the driver standings, Lofton entered the weekend 95 points ahead of second place Parker Kligerman.
Once the green flag dropped Friday afternoon, Lofton broke away to an early lead. Though two caution flags quickly slowed the pace of the race, Lofton easily maintained the position. Despite an attempt by Kligerman to challenge for the lead, the No. 6 Valvoline Instant Oil Change Toyota piloted by Lofton, pulled away, dominating the first 39 laps.
On lap 40 however, Lofton radioed to crew chief Mark Rette that the car, “just popped,” and he pulled his slowing machine onto pitroad to the attention of his crew. Despite the team’s diligent work under the hood to diagnose the problem, Lofton’s machine was forced behind the wall for repairs. 17 laps later, he returned to the track. After a four-tire change and a track bar adjustment, the No. 6 Valvoline Instant Oil Change Toyota was back in its familiar competitive form.
As the crew looked on as they tried to make the best of their day, the mangled remains of a replaced ignition wire laid on the pitbox as a bitter reminder of what could have been.
The 200-mile race was plagued with caution flags, with nearly half of the race being run under caution, making the event seem even longer to an already distraught Lofton.
Despite the bad luck, the team banded together, overcame the mechanical woes and finished the race, ending the day in the 30th spot. The finish also ended a four-race streak of Lofton finishing either first or second. Since his win in Talladega in April, Lofton scored three-straight runner-up finishes, giving him the points lead.
Lofton now sits second, 45 points out of first.
“It is unfortunate we had that problem. We had a great car and we were pulling away. I felt good about our chances here; got the win last year, finished second last week, we had all the makings of a good run,” Lofton said.
“But, you can’t predict things like that. Parts brake, things happen. We’ll take it and go on to Mansfield. It’s
similar to Toledo and I finished second there so we’ll look ahead to that one and get them back there.”
Team ESR will next hit the track in Mansfield, Ohio at Mansfield Motorsports Park for the Tim Richmond Memorial ARCA RE/MAX 200 on Saturday, June 20th.
