Craig Goess, Jr. Finishes 34th at Iowa

Handling Problems Keep Team Back

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Craig Goess, Jr. and his No. 2 Greenville Toyota/Team ESR Development team traveled to the Iowa Speedway this past weekend for the running of the US Cellular 200. A large number of competitors turned out for this race, as it was a combination race for the NASCAR Camping World East Series and the NASCAR Camping World West Series. Of the 53 entrants, Goess qualified 27th for the 200-lap race, but finished a disappointing 34th after having high hopes entering the event.

Goess and his Eddie Sharp Racing team had tested at the facility a month earlier and had positive results. However, Goess and the team struggled with the car's handling throughout the weekend and eventually went behind the wall during the race to make some repairs.  Goess and the No. 2 Greenville Toyota/Team ESR Development Toyota returned to the track several laps down and rode around until the finish.

“We struggled all weekend getting a handling on the car,” said Goess.  “We had to make body changes even before we got there and we never could get the car like we had tested it.  The nose wasn't going into the track real well. About halfway through the race, we finally brought it behind the wall to make some repairs. We had to fix the swaybar in the right front. That took about 10 minutes and after that, we just rode around trying to finish the race.”

Goess and the No. 2 Greenville Toyota/Team ESR Development Toyota have a weekend off before returning to action at South Boston Speedway in South Boston, Va. on Saturday, May 31. The team has plans to test before the event either at “SoBo” or at another short track within the next week.