Impressive ARCA RE/MAX Series Debut For Bradley Riethmeyer At Springfield

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois (August 22, 2008) - - In his inaugural ARCA RE/MAX Series (ARS) start this past weekend at the Illinois State Fairgrounds, Bradley Riethmeyer blossomed and looked like a veteran rather than a rookie in Sunday’s Allen Crowe 100.

Riethmeyer, the 2004 ROMCO Super Late Model Champion and a veteran USAC Carolina Ford Focus Midget Series competitor had never sat in an ARCA RE/MAX Series car let alone competed in a dirt race prior to the 15th race of the season Sunday afternoon, but the quiet and focused Riethmeyer stepped up to the challenge nicely and immediately came out of the box strong.

In the short and brief practice session on Sunday morning, the driver of the No. 32 Win-Tron Racing Dodge showcased his racing skills by mounting the 12th fastest practice time after turning a lap around the 1-mile clay oval in 34.204 seconds at 105.251 MPH.

“We’re pretty good right off the truck,” said Riethmeyer, who also has a handful of NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series starts to his record. “I can’t take all the credit, the entire Win-Tron Racing bunch including my crew chief Mike Chaffee gave me something to work with and that made my job a lot easier. I’ve never been on the dirt before, but this is a lot of fun. I think we’re going to make some minor tweaks in the setup and hope for an even quicker lap in qualifying.

With ARCA SIM Factory pole qualifying taking place just one hour after the conclusion of practice, the Win-Tron Racing team quickly went to work and begun preparing for their qualifying run. During his one-lap hustle around the Illinois State Fairgrounds, Riethmeyer backed up his practice time and put his No. 32 Dodge 12th on the starting grid.

“It’s a good solid starting spot,” added Riethmeyer. The car is feeling pretty good and I’m confident even with a very short race, we’ll have a good shot at a top-10 finish.”

At the start of the Allen Crowe 100, Riethmeyer quickly found his comfort zone. Riding in the 11th position for the first 10 circuits of the race, Riethmeyer would break into the top-10 in his very first ARCA race approaching lap 20.

The talented 24-year old would maintain his spot inside the top-10 when the first caution flag waived on lap 22. Win-Tron Racing along with the other teams on the lead lap took the yellow flag as the perfect opportunity to duck down pit road for their mandatory trip to pit road. With a quick fill up of gas and a push from his Win-Tron Racing crew, Riethmeyer returned to the track in the 11th position.

On the restart, Riethmeyer wasted no time getting back into the top-10 and by halfway had marched to a race-best of seventh.

Over the next fifty circuits, Riethmeyer would hover from eighth to 10th before fighting the handling of his No. 32 Dodge change thanks to the Hoosier tires.

With his Hoosier tires losing grip and lap times decreasing, Riethmeyer continued to fight off his competitors but would find himself as the prey on a series of late race restarts which would knock Hutto, Texas native from the top-10.

With a green-white-checkered finish on tap for the ARCA RE/MAX Series, Riethmeyer would give one more gallant effort to move back into the top-10 but his fight would prove not to be quite enough forcing the team to settle for an 11th place finish.

“We had a good day, I really liked to have walked away with a top-10 finish but I’ll take 11th as a great learning experience in my ARCA RE/MAX Series debut,” sounded Riethmeyer. “The race was a great learning experience for me and I’m forever grateful for the opportunity to be behind the wheel of the Win-Tron Racing Dodge. Hopefully down the road we’ll be back together again and look for an even better finish.”

Win-Tron Racing General Manager, Nate Thiesse commented on the Allen Crowe 100 “Everyone was extremely happy with the race. Bradley did a phenomenal job and not only impressed us but impressed the other drivers. He was able to get in the car and adapt quickly and that what it takes to run strong in the ARCA RE/MAX Series. We had a blast and hope he did too. We hope Bradley will be back in a race with us in the near future.”

Next up for the ARCA RE/MAX Series is their traditional Labor Day race on the dirt at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds set for Monday, September 1st. The 16th event of the season will take the green flag at 1:00 p.m. local time.