LOFTON’S STRONG RUNS NARROWS POINTS GAP

Source: Lofton Racing
Date: 05/25/2007

The Grand National East/West Combo events proved to be the opportunity for Lofton Racing to overcome the disappointments of prior races this season. The team turnout for the events sent many strong competitors packing. Lofton was able to take advantage of the situation, bringing home two top-ten finishes for the weekend and move up to 7th in the point standings. Monday morning this driver woke up wanting to do it all again.

The #66 Lofton Cattle/Cometic Gasket/Klotz Synthetic Lubricants Ford Fusion started mid-pack Friday night at Elko Speedway in the Minnesota “150” as one of thirty cars to make the cut following qualifying. The Iowa bullring made for some tight racing and contact from behind had Lofton restarting at the rear of the field early on. The car worked well all night and with patience the driver was able to move through the pack despite the numerous cautions slowing the process. Time did run out eventually and Lofton was still able to bring home an eighth place finish as one of the two Grand National West cars in the top-ten for the evening.

“We had a good car this weekend in Elko,” said the 21-year old driver from Westmorland, CA. “It was a bit of a chess game having to move back through the field and trying to be in the right place at the right time in order to capitalize.” said Justin.

Iowa Speedway, located outside Des Moines, hosted their first NASCAR race Sunday, May 20th before a record-setting crowd of nearly 25,000 spectators for the Grand National race. The spectacular facility hosted some great racing for the fans and the drivers. Fifty-three teams attempted to make the forty-two car field for the Featherlite Coaches “200”. The engines fired following the command by Grand Marshall Richard Childress and his Nextel Cup driver Kevin Harvick took the green flag from the pole position. The #66 Lofton Cattle/Cometic Gasket/Klotz Synthetic Lubricants Ford Fusion wasn’t quite where it needed to be early on. Crew Chief Rob Dixon brought the car in under yellow on lap 57 for some minor adjustments, fuel and left side tires. As the driver worked his way forward and the decision was made to stay on the track when the leaders pitted allowing Lofton to restart in the lead mid-race. The strategy played out and Lofton was able to remain up front until the red flag came out on lap 180. Coming back to the green the right side tires started to show their wear and the driver did what had to be done to bring the car to the finish line in 6th place.

“Coming in to Iowa I had concerns with the teams that had East Coast backing, but once the race got under way I was confident we had a car that could do the job.” said Lofton. “The right changes were made during our pit stop and the car liked it. My crew chief said we could make it the rest of the way on fuel and the car was hooked up so I wanted to make it happen.” concludes Lofton. Crew Chief Rob Dixon added, “It was a great weekend to gain some ground, the driver had faith in the team and was more than capable of getting the job done.”

The next race will be the NAPA “150” on Saturday, June 2nd, at Colorado National Speedway. The event will air live on HDNet at 10:00 p.m. EST. The race will re- air on SPEED’s “Racing Across America.”

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