Craig Goess, Jr. celebrated his 28th birthday this past Tuesday by having a low-key affair with his family. Goess was able to leave work at the family’s car dealership, Greenville Toyota, two hours early. Come Sunday afternoon, Goess hopes to turn his birthday celebration into a victory party. Goess looks to tackle “The Rock” for the Carolina 200 at Rockingham (N.C.) Speedway in the ARCA RE/MAX Series’ third race of the 2009 season.
“I can’t wait to get back on the track at Rockingham Speedway,” said Goess. “It’s an awesome place and has so much history behind it. I think it would be pretty cool to run a race where so many great drivers have driven before me.”
The Rockingham Speedway, formerly known as the North Carolina Speedway, first opened in 1965 and hosted NASCAR events up until 2004. Now, the ARCA makes a regular appearance by coming to the high-banked D-shaped oval twice a year. Goess and his No. 81 Greenville Toyota Camry tested at the one-mile oval a couple weeks ago in preparation of this weekend’s event.
“The test went really well,” explains Goess. “I expect us to qualify and run up front. Everybody’s really excited to be running at Rockingham and as long as we can get a little luck to go along with our excitement, we should have a good finish with the No. 81 Greenville Toyota.”
Located in the Sandhills region of North Carolina, the track also carries one specific trait due to the nature of its surroundings.
“The tires fall off from the surface,” describes Goess. “For the first few laps, the tires are great, but then you’ll start to lose grip throughout the run. If we have a good enough car where I won’t have to abuse the tires, we should be good. As long as we can stay up front and not blow a tire from running too hard, we’ll be in decent shape. The car is going to get slippery anyway and with the 40 other cars out there, it should be interesting. As long as we can stay out of trouble and not be around it, we should be able to grab a good finish.”
In Goess’ two prior starts this season, he has finished 17th and 15th. However, Goess sits in sixth position in the points standings, just 25 points shy of fifth place. His Eddie Sharp Racing teammate, Justin Lofton, currently leads the points standings, 140 points ahead of Goess.
Practice gets underway on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. and runs until 1:00 p.m. Menards Pole Qualifying begins at 2:30 p.m. for all positions. On Sunday, driver introductions will take place at 12:30 p.m. with the green flag set to wave at 1:00 p.m. for the 200-lap event.
All action can be followed at www.arcaracing.com with their live timing and scoring, as well as live audio coverage.
Goess Ready to Rock
Rockingham Up Next For ARCA Rookie
Craig Goess is ready to take on "The Rock". (ARCA Photo)
