Dexter Bean started the Nashville ARCA 150 from the 24th position on Saturday and he never looked back. The Wisconsin native maneuvered his No. 6 Five Star Telecom Chevrolet Monte Carlo to a ninth place finish in one of the shortest ARCA events of the year.
The teams endured one practice session in cold and blistery Lebanon, Tennessee, Friday with Bean posting the 19th fastest time overall (30.048 seconds, 159.704 MPH). “The car is good, ” said Bean. “This is the same car that we raced with at Pocono Raceway and Chicagoland Speedway which gave us great results last season, so it s no surprise that the car is handling good this weekend. ”
In qualifying, heavy flurries hovered around the 1.333-mile speed plant and with a late qualifying draw and dropping temperatures; Bean was looking for the most in time trials. His lap of 30.163 seconds at 159.096 MPH lined him up 24th on the starting grid.
“We slowed down a little from practice, but so did a lot of others, ” sounded Bean. “Our car is still good, we just have to use patience in the race, and I think we ll bring home a good finish. ”
Saturday yielded more brisk weather with the air temperature reaching 32-35 degrees Fahrenheit leading up to race time. The third event of the season got off to a late start after a lengthy NASCAR Busch Series qualifying session, but that didn t seem to faze the avid late model competitor, he was ready to go.
At the start, the field quickly went to caution on lap two with Mario Gosselin lost control of his No. 12 Chevrolet in turn two. Bean had already picked up three positions at that point. Back to green flag conditions, Bean attempted to make a charge through the field but was stopped when the yellow flag waived again when Joey Miller in the No. 32 Country Joe Racing Dodge lost a motor shooting out oil through turns three and four. The caution lasted nearly 20 laps, before the competition went back to green.
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