ARCA RE/MAX Series sophomore driver Dexter Bean saw a potential top-10 finish evaporate after late race bad luck once again wiped the team of a good finish.
Bean headed to Toledo Speedway looking to improve on his finishes from the half-mile track which last year yielded 24th place finishes respectively for the then rookie driver.
Things started off in the right direction for the BlackJack Racing team after posting the 16th fastest time in practice (17.200 seconds, 104.651 MPH) improving the team’s thoughts on Toledo Speedway.
“We’re solid, ” said Bean following the session. “This is the same car that we raced at Winchester Speedway and we banged it up pretty good. But, we worked hard since that race to put it back together and so far so good. ”
Bean knows that short track racing can be a race of luck. A good qualifying position can usually keep the driver out of the eye of the storm and result in a good finish.
In SIM Factory pole qualifying, Bean maneuvered his No. 6 Five Star Telecom Chevrolet Monte Carlo around the track in 16.992 seconds amounting to a speed of 105.932 MPH putting him 15th on the grid, one position better than practice.
At the start of the event, Bean showed patience and determination, driving like an ARCA champion. In a race that was mirrored with cautions, Bean hovered inside the top-15 for the first portion of the event, even with two routinely scheduled pit stops.
The second half of the event showed Bean turn up the wick and begin challenging for positions inside the top-10. The battle would continue over the next fifty laps with Bean cleanly locking himself into the top-10.
Just as quickly as the team’s day appeared to be heading towards their fifth top-10 finish of the season, the race took a physical turn for the worse and unfortunately, some of the contact included Bean.
For no reason, an overaggressive lap car turned Bean in turns three and four closing in on 10 laps to go. Bean would be unable to refire his car quickly, forcing track vehicles to give the No. 6 a push to refire the machine. Sadly, Bean lost two laps in the transition.
For the remainder of the event, Bean settled in and crossed the line 17th, his worst finish since USA International Speedway (Lakeland) in March.
“Frustrating, that’s a way to sum up our day, ” said Bean. “We had a good car, not the best car but a good car. We were just taking our time, looking to finish the race in the top-10. I thought it was going to happen, and then we got jinxed. There was a lot of over driving out there and we were a victim of those circumstances.
There’s nothing we can do about it. We’re going to Iowa next and that’s a race that can put our season back on track. We can win that race and that’s what we are planning to do. ”
Despite the mediocre finish, Bean slipped to fourth in the championship standings.
| 
|