ARCA: Gresham takes first ARCA win

The 17-year-old led the final 47-laps of the race after passing Chris Buescher when the erstwhile leader pulled onto pit road with a flat tyre. The victory came in just Gresham’s third start in the stock car series.

"I'm overwhelmed with joy and happiness,” said a delighted Gresham. “It's awesome. We've had two great runs (sixth at Salem and 10th at Iowa) and now here's a third one to cap it off.”

“There's been great work back at the shop, and this is a great deal for Gresham & Associates. I'm glad to come out here and rock the socks off of these guys.”

Buescher had dominated much of the race from pole position, pulling clear with Joey Coulter in the early stages. He was leading on his own when Coulter was pushed into the wall by Josh Richards on lap 62, but lost his advantage to Gresham during the resulting yellow-flag period.

Gresham led at the restart, but Buescher climbed through the field and re-assumed his authority at the front on lap 118, until his puncture 20 laps later. He would finish the race down in seventh, despite being the fastest man on track.

"We were just racing hard. We had the best car. No doubt about it; everybody knows it. But it's just racing. You can't do a whole lot about it," Buescher said. "We were fast, and we led a lot of laps. The thing is, I had backed down. We were just rolling down the straightaway. It's just a tough day. What can you do? It's part of racing."

Craig Goess moved within 50 points of series leader Justin Marks with second place ahead of Frank Kimmel, Tim George Jr and Dakoda Armstrong. Marks finished down in tenth place.

ARCA Racing Series results – Round 10, Tim Richmond Memorial ARCA 200, Mansfield Motorsports Park

1 8 71 Max Gresham/Griffin GA Gresham & Associates Toyota 200 Running
2 3 81 Craig Goess/Greenville NC Greenville Toyota of NC Toyota 200 Running
3 10 44 Frank Kimmel/Clarksville IN Ansell-Menards Ford 200 Running
4 5 31 Tim George Jr./New York NY RCR Development Chevrolet 200 Running
5 9 22 Dakoda Armstrong/New Castle IN Ferrellgas Dodge 200 Running
6 13 1 Chad McCumbee/Supply NC Modspace-Red Cross Disaster Relief Ford 199 Running
7 1 17 Chris Buescher/Prosper TX David Ragan Fan Club Ford 198 Running
8 6 77 Tom Hessert/Cherry Hill NJ Cherry Hill Classics Dodge 198 Running
9 4 25 Mikey Kile/Westlake LA Venturini Motorsports Toyota 196 Running
10 7 32 Justin Marks/Rocklin CA Construct Corps Dodge 196 Running
11 15 11 Bryan Silas/Stuart FL Rockingham Speedway-PBG Ford 196 Running
12 30 21 Todd Bowsher/Springfield OH Bowsher Motorsports Ford 195 Engine
13 11 55 Josh Richards/Shinnston WV Mike's Hard Lemonade Chevrolet 195 Running
14 12 36 Robb Brent/Shelby Township MI Orchard Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram Dodge 194 Running
15 18 80 Tim Cowen/Ashland OH Cowen Logistics Ford 194 Running
16 22 14 Nick Igdalsky/Long Pond PA Modspace-Red Cross Disaster Relief Ford 191 Running
17 17 23 Levi Youster/Toledo OH Youster-Hixson Ford 191 Running
18 20 34 Darrell Basham/Henryville IN Darrell Basham Racing Chevrolet 189 Running
19 25 26 Brad Smith/Shelby Township MI Copraya Computers & Web Design Ford 187 Running
20 16 76 Jerick Johnson/Faribault MN American Legion-David Law Firm Chevrolet 184 Running
21 14 60 Patrick Sheltra/Indiantown FL Recycling Services-Ferguson Pipe Dodge 92 Rear-End
22 2 16 Joey Coulter/Miami Springs FL Rip It Energy-Darrell Gwynn Foundation Chevrolet 81 Accident
23 27 28 Rob Jones/Bowie MD Hixson Construction Chevrolet 57 Accident
24 26 48 James Hylton/Inman SC Radon.com Ford 30 Handling
25 24 10 Marc Easton/Saranac Lake NY Fast Track High Performance Driving School Dodge 28 Handling
26 23 6 Andrew Belmont/Mooresville NC ESR Development Toyota 11 Engine
27 19 59 Mark Gibson/Winder GA Mark Gibson Racing Dodge 10 Handling
28 21 68 Larry Meadors/Louisville KY Bill Kimmel Racing Ford 1 Suspension
29 28 15 Tony Palumbo/Frankfort IL Venturini Motorsports Chevrolet 1 Handling
30 29 06 Mike Senica/Doylestown PA XS Energy Drink-Moores Marinade Ford 1 Brakes
31 31 2 Wayne Peterson/Pulaski TN Brad Smith Motorsports Ford 0 Handling
0 Avery McCluskey/Minor Hill TN PetersonMotorsports.net Chevrolet DNS

Championship Standings (after 10 rounds)

1 Justin Marks, 2470pts
2 Craig Goess, 2420
3 Frank Kimmel, 2385
4 Tom Hessert, 2345
= Patrick Sheltra, 2345
6 Mikey Kile, 2325
7 Dakoda Armstrong, 2310
8 Tim George Jr, 2220
9 Robb Brent, 2080
10 Joey Coulter, 2075

Next round: 31 July, Weis Markets 125, Pocono Raceway

Watch ARCA Racing Series highlights as part of Motors TV’s Winter Programming.


Andy Wilkinson

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