After the ARCA RE/MAX Series swung through a few dirt track events, the series headed to New Jersey Motorsports Park (NJ) for some asphalt road course racing action. Craig Goess, who is a rookie on the road course racing circuit, turned in a 10th-place finish in the #81 Greenville Toyota Camry, despite some trouble on pit road during the event.
Goess qualified ninth for the feature event, which was a solid result, considering the limited time he was on the track for the qualifying session.
“It was misting pretty bad, and one of the cars went off track twice and there was mud everywhere on the track,” said Goess. “Typically your third or fourth lap is your fastest (during qualifying), and we really only got to make the first lap. The rest of the time was basically useless to be out there, so we didn’t qualify quite as good as we wanted to.”
In the race, Goess and his team had a few miscues on pit road, which cost him positions on the track and a lap to the leaders, but he was still able to bring his machine across the finish line in the 10th position.
“We probably should have finished around sixth,” said Goess. “We as a group messed up in the pits. The guys messed up on the left front and I stalled the car, so it was a group effort deal that put us back a few spots and got us a lap down. Then, we came in to pit near the end thinking it was going to be the right move, and it ended up not being the right move. All things considered, I am not terribly disappointed with a 10th-place finish in my first road course race.”
With the dirt and road course races in the rear view mirror, Goess is looking forward to the final three races on the ARCA RE/MAX Series 2009 schedule.
“We have three tracks I am looking forward too, being asphalt ovals after dirt and road course racing. We had a good run at Salem the last time. We qualified outside pole and were running up towards the top five and blew a tire, which destroyed that car. I am hoping the car we are going to bring there will be just as good, if not better.”
The next ARCA RE/MAX Series race for Goess and the #81 Greenville Toyota Camry will take place on Saturday, September 19th, at Salem Speedway in Salem, Indiana.
Craig Goess Satisfied With 10th-Place Finish at New Jersey Motorsports Park
Post Race Report
Craig Goess in the #81 Greenville Toyota Camry. (51 Sports Photo)
