Grant Enfinger Racing » BeasleyAllen.com

Grant and crew overcome adversity to post 3rd place finish at Chicago

admin — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 19:41:11 +0000

The BeasleyAllen.com ARCA crew arrived at Chicagoland Speedway before dawn Friday and changed the race engine, carburetor, fuel cell, fuel pump and all fuel lines. Grant had noticed, during Thursday afternoon’s practice, that something was not right with the engine and a gas delivery problem was suspected. After the fuel issue was addressed, an inspection of the engine oil revealed small metal shavings, indicating possible engine problems. “Our crew was incredible. Howard, Jim, Don, Darin, Jeremy, Zac, Josh and George worked as fast anyone could to change out the engine and other components. We started work at 6 a.m. and I was on the track for a few minutes of practice at 8:45. I’ll take this volunteer crew over the hired help of any other ARCA team.”

Grant posted a decent qualifying time, gaining a starting position of 8th among 39 racers. The race was eventful early with a big lap 7 wreck just ahead of Grant. Casey Roderick, who started 3rd, hit the outside wall on the back stretch. His careened across the track, hitting Mikey Kile’s car which then hit 7th place starter Chad McCumbee. “I can’t believe we missed the wreck and I thought I had flat spotted the tires, because I had to stomp on the brakes.” Grant weaved his way throught he spinning cars, emerging unscathed in 4th place.

Grant was in 3rd place with 20 laps to go and was closing on the leaders and thought he might pull off the big win. He had pulled to the bumper of 2nd place Steve Arpin’s car when a late caution flag flew, restarting the race with only 10 laps to go. “My car tightened up and while I could catch Arpin, I could not pass him. The car was aero-tight around the Arpin car and we had to settle for 3rd place.” Grant was more than 25 laps ahead of 8 time ARCA champion Frank Kimmel when the checkered flag flew.

Grant & crew making final preparation for cross country trip

admin — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 14:07:20 +0000

Zach, Jim & Grant will pull the BeasleyAllen.com race transporter from the North Carolina shop late this evening, heading to Des Moines Iowa for this weekend’s ARCA race. Speed TV will televise the race live Saturday at 8 pm CDT. Iowa Speedway, designed by retired Cup star Rusty Wallace is a 7/8 mile oval and is a favorite of both fans and racers. The facility is new and features a wide smooth racing surface and has a spacious, safe pit road.

BEASLEYALLEN.COM ARCA CAR BEING PREPPED FOR IOWA

Unlike most ARCA races, the Prairie Meadows 200 schedule is compressed into a 1 day show. The first of 2 short practice sessions begins at 10 am, with technical inspection and qualifying squeezed in before the drop of the green flag Saturday. Grant and the crew will be hustling all day making final adjustments and preparing the car for both qualifying and the race. Before the national television broadcast, practice and qualifying times can be accessed live through www.arcaracing.com which will also be providing race day updates.

Today is race day at Talladega, Beasley Allen car to start 8th

admin — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 11:00:29 +0000

Grant placed the BeasleyAllen.com ARCA car on the outside of the 4th row for this afternoon’s Talladega 250 race. Grant’s qualifying lap speed was slightly more than 185 miles per hour. That speed was reached despite the fact that all the race cars must use “restrictor plates” which limit the amount of fuel which is sent to the engine. Without that restriction, the ARCA cars would likely exceed 200 miles per hour.

Grant feels the car is good enough to run up front, but recognizes that luck plays a bigger role at Talladega that at most other tracks. Because the cars will be running in packs, one driver’s error or a tire failure can cause “the big one” which is a crash involving multiple cars. When something bad happens at 190 miles per hour (the cars’ speeds will increase during drafting) there is no time or room for evasive action and the drivers are just along for the ride.

“Racing at Talladega is a dream come true and I am going to do my best to get to the front of the field. Whatever happens, I appreciate the chance to come race at stock car racing’s biggest track and to be the only Alabama native to race here this weekend. The entire team is going to do its best for Beasley Allen.”

The 250 mile race will begin at 4 pm CDT this afternoon and be televised live on Speed TV. It will broadcast by internet streaming “radio” through www.arcaracing.com .

Grant post 3rd place finish at Texas

admin — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 14:56:48 +0000

After a night of running in the top 10, Grant finished 3rd in the 150 mile ARCA race at Texas Motor Speedway Friday night. While most racers would be celebrating a podium finish, Grant was disappointed he could not put the BeasleyAllen.com car in victory circle. Grant led 20 laps toward the end of the race, but old tires could not hold off the machines of Steve Arpin who won the race and Craig Goess who squeezed Grant out for the runner up position. “Our restarts killed us, and I think we have to evaluate our transmission in the intermediate car. The race car was nearly perfect all night, except that I spun the tires on restarts, even when I started in 2nd gear. Despite not winning, the entire race weekend was fun. Crew chief Howard Bixman, spotter Jeremy Lundy and the entire crew performed perfectly. They and BeasleyAllen deserved the win, and we are determined to give it our best shot next week in Talladega.”

Grant, Zach & Jim leave Texas Saturday afternoon, bound for Houma Louisiana for a Sunday afternoon car display and public appearance. After that appearance, Grant & the crew will drive to Fairhope where they will work on the set up for the Talladega car so it will be ready for tech and practice later in the week. They will pull out of Fairhope early Tuesday morning, heading for Montgomery where they will display the car at the downtown Farmer’s Market Cafe during the lunch hour. They will then make the short drive to Talladega SuperSpeedway.

The Talladega race will be run Friday afternoon at 4 pm CDT and will be televised live on SpeedTV.

Possible pole & track record washed out at Texas, Grant to start race in 14th position

admin — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 14:35:56 +0000

The BeasleyAllen.com ARCA car was dialed in and Grant was hard on the acceleator at Texas Motor Speedway Thursday. Grant posted the 7th fastest practice time among 34 competitors on the 1 1/2 mile high speed track. Grant drew the 2nd qualifying spot and took the BeasleyAllen.com car to a ARCA track record speed of 187.4 miles per hour. What could have possible been a pole setting time was washed away by a brief rain shower which forced ARCA officials to cancel qualifying. Because all competitors did not have a chance to qualify, Grant’s record lap is not considered official and the starting grid for Friday’s race is set by owner points, meaning Grant will start the race in 14th position. More important than the spot where Grant starts the race, there are several drivers starting ahead of Grant whose cars are substantially slower than the BeasleyAllen.com Ford Fusion.

Grant will be depending heavily on spotter Jeremy Lundy to help navigate through the first laps of the 150 mile race. “If we can avoid wrecking during the first 5 laps, we can take this car to the front of the field. The car was the best qualifying race car I have ever had on a big track. I appreciate all the hard work that Zach Ralston & Tom Bear have done in the shop and the great adjustments made by Howard and the crew at the track.”

The practice session almost ended in disaster when a car immediately in front of Grant spun unassisted, causing Grant to immediately go high on the track to avoid a wreck. However, when Grant took that evasive action, the spinning car shot up the track, with Grant shooting the gap between the other car and the wall. “I didn’t miss the out of control car by more than 1 foot. There is not much you can do when that situation occurs at 185 miles per hour and we were lucky to not wad the car up. “

The Rattlesnake 150 ARCA race will be telecast live tonight on Speed TV at 6:30 pm CDT.