 MARNE,
MI (July 25, 2009) -- After watching Parker Kligerman reel off four consecutive
wins and jump out to a 150 point lead in the standings, Justin Lofton knew he
had to do something different to stay in contention for the 2009 ARCA RE/MAX
Series championship. With that said, Lofton vowed earlier in the week to race
for wins and not points. The new strategy paid off as Lofton led 171 of 207
race laps en route to his second win of the season. Lofton also set a new track
record in qualifying on Hoosier's new short track radial tire introduced last
season.
Thirty-four cars posted times in qualifying Saturday evening on the
.4375-mile Berlin Raceway.
Justin Lofton set a new track record in qualifying with a time of 16.857 seconds
(93.540 mph). The new mark broke Justin Allgaier's old record set last year
when he posted a time of 16.963 seconds (92.955 mph) also using Hoosier's new
short track radial tire.
The new radial tire is being used at four tracks this year including;
Berlin, Salem, Cayuga and Toledo.
The race began with Justin Lofton immediately jumping into the lead as the
green flag dropped. Lofton led the race's first 108 laps before making his only
stop of the race coming in for fresh tires and fuel.
With Lofton in the pits, Frank Kimmel took over the race lead. After his
service, Lofton rejoined the field in eighth place.
Kimmel led the next 36 laps before Lofton made his way from eighth to the
race lead. From there, Lofton led the final 63 laps to capture the win.
Lofton was followed to the finish line by Matt Merrell who finished a
career-best second.
Michigan's Chad Finley finished in third place followed by Pete Shepherd in
fourth and Joey Coulter in fifth.
Parker Kligerman, who was battling the flu, finished in sixth place.
Kligerman's lead over Lofton in the driver standings fell 50 points to 100
markers as a result.
The 207-lap event was slowed nine times for a total of 81 laps as the
typical short track race had its share of contact.
The ARCA RE/MAX Series will be back in action this Saturday, August 1. The
ARCA competitors will go from Berlin's .4375-mile oval to the 2.5-mile tri-oval
that is Pocono Raceway.
For more information about the Berlin race or the ARCA RE/MAX Series please
visit www.arcaracing.com.
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