Nelles Corners, ON – Justin Lofton rain-delayed Cayuga ARCA 250 from the pole position. After leading the first 28 laps of the race, Lofton relinquished the position and only ten laps later, brought his sputtering No. 20 Lofton Cattle Dodge to pit road. Despite the team’s efforts, Lofton’s day was over early due to mechanical issues. He finished in the 27th position.
“It was such a shame because the Lofton Cattle Dodge was really good to start, ” said Lofton. “We just seem to have such rotten luck. I want to thank my guys for a great weekend. It was our first official race together as a team and we kicked it off by winning the pole. I appreciate all the work they do and look forward to the rest of the year with Wayne Carroll and the guys. I think we will find a lot of success together for the remainder of this season.”
Justin Lofton earned his first career ARCA SIM Factory Pole award on with a 110.165 mph lap around the Canadian short track.
ARCA RE/MAX Series teams returned under threatening skies and with fingers crossed that the 250-lap event would be uninterrupted by showers. As crew members set up their pit stalls, rain came pouring down without warning. Teams scrambled for cover and waited for the downpour to stop, returning to work as soon as it ended. The track dried quickly, but the showers during the driver autograph session sent fans and drivers scrambling for cover. This slightly delayed the start of the Cayuga ARCA 250. Drivers lined up for driver introductions at 1:20 p. m. and the race started shortly before 2:00 p. m. ET.
Lofton quickly jumped out to the lead. The No. 32 of James Buescher managed to pull up tight on the rear bumper of the No. 20 Lofton Cattle Dodge on a couple of occasions, but Lofton held the lead. On lap 28 the No. 32 slipped past Lofton for the first position.
Shortly after the pass, Lofton reported that the fuel pressure was low. When the first caution of the race came at lap 36, Lofton pulled to pit lane on lap 38. The team worked quickly to diagnose the issue and fix it. However, to no avail, the No. 20 Lofton Cattle Dodge was done for the day. Lofton climbed from the Charger and with hands on his hips, could do nothing but shake his head.
“Well, we did the best we could, ” commented Lofton. “We have proven we can win, we have proven we can qualify. We’ll just head to Kentucky now in two weeks and work to be the best at both there. I’m really excited to get back to Kentucky. I think we’ll be very strong there again. ”
| 
|