“Oh what a feeling. ” Those four words were some of Dexter Bean’s first thoughts climbing out of his No. 6 Five Star Telecom Chevrolet Monte Carlo Sunday afternoon after notching a runner-up position at Salem Speedway.
Bean, started the 200-lap event from the outside pole and hovered in the top-two for the first 56 laps before bolting past pole sitter and challenger Michael McDowell to take the lead on lap 57 and holding the top spot for 30 markers.
The Westby, Wisconsin native brought his No. 6 BlackJack Racing prepared machine down pit road on lap 86 for four tires and fuel. The crew performed solidly, but Bean lost a couple positions and lined up sixth on the restart. With some of his competitors ahead electing not to pit, Bean knew he had to maintain patience working his way back to the top. The sophomore ARCA driver knew he had a car capable of winning.
On the restart, a chain reaction wreck involved the No. 41 of Josh Clemons immediately throwing the field back to caution. Unable to pick up any positions because of the quick yellow, Bean radioed to his crew that the car was feeling good and he was ready to get at it.
Back to racing, the young-gun muscled his way into the top-five and sat fourth for much of the second half of the event. Little did Bean’s challengers know he was setting them up.
Bean’s No. 6 Chevrolet was strongest on the restarts. The driver was able to maneuver his automobile any where on the track, which was bad news for the rest of his competition. In the final two restarts, Bean was able to overtake NASCAR Nextel Cup Series veteran Ken Schrader and pole sitter Michael McDowell and challenged eventual winner Brian Keselowski but the driver of the No. 29 Dodge was a little better on the long-runs out dueling Bean forcing him to grasp a second place finish.
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