Fike Takes First ARCA Victory On Springfield Mile Dirt

A.J. Fike celebrates in victory lane after scoring his first career ARCA Racing Series win at the mile-long dirt track at the Illinois State Fairgrounds.  Photo courtesy ARCA Media

A.J. Fike celebrates in victory lane after scoring his first career ARCA Racing Series win at the mile-long dirt track at the Illinois State Fairgrounds. Photo courtesy ARCA Media

A.J. Fike won his first ARCA Racing Series race Sunday, becoming the 10th driver of the season to pick up their first victory. And, the Galesburg, IL native did it in his home state.

“I’m kind of at a loss for words right now,” Fike said in victory lane, surrounded by a throng of supporters.

Fike actually dominated the SuperChevyStores.com 100 at the mile dirt track at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield, IL. He led 60 of the 104 laps and had a lead of nearly seven seconds with 10 laps to go. He survived a late restart to win over Kyle Weatherman by 0.759-seconds. Fike’s previous career best was second at Berlin Raceway in 2004.

“The car was perfect off the trailer,” Fike said. “I can’t say enough about everyone on the team, my pit crew, my dad. This is a great win for us. It’s very exciting.”

Weatherman was second, his third runner-up of the season. Springfield native Kelly Kovski was third, while Josh Williams and Tom Hessert rounded out the top five. Williams moved into second place in the ARCA Racing Series driver point standings while Hessert earned his 10th top 10 of the season.

SCOTT Rookie Hunter Baize, David Levine, Ryan Unzicker, James Swanson and Austin Wayne Self rounded out the top 10.

Series point leader Grant Enfinger finished 20th after his car stalled on the track early in the race and he fell several laps down. He led the first eight laps and was one of six different leaders.

After the final caution flew, the race restarted on lap 101 with the green flag. Weatherman was fourth but got a great restart and drove deep into turn one right behind Fike. He held on for the second spot.

“It was a hard fought battle by the whole team,” Weatherman said. “I thought we might be able to get to the No. 27 if the 6 hadn’t gotten into me on that restart, but that’s racing. It was a good day. It was a lot fun for me out there.”

Kovski, who served as crew chief several races for Enfinger earlier this season at GMS Racing, was happy with his third-place finish.

“We are going to keep trying,” Kovski said. “We’ve got a good car and hopefully we learned something for DuQuoin.”

The ARCA Racing Series races next at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds Racetrack in DuQuoin, IL, another mile-long dirt track. That race will take place Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 7.

ARCA Racing Series
Illinois State Fairgrounds – Springfield, IL
SuperChevyStores.com 100 – Aug. 24, 2015

FIN STR NO DRIVER/HOMETOWN TEAM & CAR LAPS STATUS
1 25 27 A.J. Fike/Galesburg IL Liberty Village-Office Specialists Ford 104 Running
2 3 22 Kyle Weatherman/Wentzville MO Cunningham Motorsports Dodge 104 Running
3 30 16 Kelly Kovski/Springfield IL Billingsley Towing-Hoosier Tire Midwest Chevrolet 104 Running
4 7 6 Josh Williams/Port Charlotte FL Musselman’s Apple Sauce-SW FL Cable Const. Chevy 104 Running
5 6 77 Tom Hessert/Cherry Hill NJ Barbera’s Autoland Dodge 104 Running
6 8 52 Hunter Baize/Bremen KY Federated Auto Parts Chevrolet 104 Running
7 12 59 David Levine/Highland Park IL MOMO-TraqGear-Ford Performance Ford 104 Running
8 31 24 Ryan Unzicker/El Paso IL Hendren Motor Sports Chevrolet 104 Running
9 17 48 James Swanson/Clarksboro NJ Kan Do-Radon.com Dodge 104 Running
10 5 98 Austin Wayne Self/Austin TX AM Technical Solutions-Pirate Energy Chevrolet 104 Running
11 10 42 Bo LeMastus/Louisville KY Crosley Brands-T&T Construction Toyota 104 Running
12 11 58 Tyler Dippel/Wallkill NY MOMO-TraqGear-Ford Performance Ford 104 Running
13 2 25 Frank Kimmel/Clarksville IN Ansell Menards Toyota 104 Running
14 24 5 Mark Littleton/Arenzville IL Birdsley Electric Chevrolet 103 Running
15 27 34 Mike Basham/Henryville IN Darrell Basham Racing Chevrolet 102 Running
16 14 9 Thomas Praytor/Mobile AL DK-LOK Ford 102 Running
17 15 97 Alex Clubb/Morris IL U.S. Bonding-Clubb Lawn & Landscaping Dodge 102 Running
18 9 2 Sarah Cornett-Ching/Summerland BC Race101.net Chevrolet 101 Running
19 28 73 Dale Shearer/Chillicothe MO Perfection Collision of Indianapolis Ford 101 Running
20 1 23 Grant Enfinger/Fairhope AL Triple K Construction-Baldwin Container Co. Chevrolet 100 Running
21 22 3 Josh White/Charleston WV Hixson Construction Chevrolet 99 Running
22 32 89 Brad Dubil/Bettendorf IA JC Dubil Dodge 96 Accident
23 13 69 Will Kimmel/Sellersburg IN Kimmel Racing Toyota 89 Accident
24 19 06 Con Nicolopoulos/Columbus MI Wayne Peterson Racing Dodge 64 Overheating
25 16 10 Ed Pompa/Ballston Spa NY Milton CAT-Double H Ranch Ford 49 Axle
26 20 40 Justin Lloyd/San Jose CA Angry Angel Energy Drink Chevrolet 34 Engine
27 29 56 B.J. Deal/Brownstown IL Crosley Brands-T&T Constr-Glad Precision Chevrolet 29 Transmssn
28 4 55 Matt Tifft/Hinckley OH Architectural Daylighting Toyota 19 Wh. Bearing
29 21 0 Wayne Peterson/Pulaski TN Wayne Peterson Racing Ford 11 Overheating
30 18 68 Mark Meunier/Louisville KY Kimmel Racing Ford 6 Handling
31 23 00 Mike Abram/St. Louis MO Wayne Peterson Racing Chevrolet 2 Brakes
32 26 81 Kevin Campbell/St. Louis MO Country Bob’s Sauces & Seasonings Chevrolet 2 Accident
Menards Pole Award presented by Ansell:  Rained Out
Margin of Victory:  .759 seconds Cautions:  7 for 40 laps
Time of Race:  1:25:51 Average Speed:  72.684 mph
Lap Leaders:  Enfinger 1-8 (8); Weatherman 9-12, 14-27 (18); F. Kimmel 13 (1); Hessert 28-43 (16); Fike 44-86, 88-104 (60); Williams 87 (1)

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