LOFTON FINISHES 14TH IN ATLANTA AFTER A HARD-FOUGHT BATTLE, MAINTAINS HIS POINTS POSITION IN THE NO. 6 J6INK CHEVROLET
It was a wild weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway for Justin Lofton and the No. 6 J6INK team. With a wild new look on their Chevrolet, Lofton and the J6INK team worked hard through changing track conditions to dial-in their truck throughout the day and came home with a 14th-place finish in the Jeff Foxworthy’s Grit Chips 200. With eight races remaining, Lofton is still in the heat of the championship battle, just 31 points behind first.
With two practice sessions during the heat of the afternoon and a night race at the 1.5-mile oval, competitors in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) were challenged to keep up with the handling of their trucks. Lofton was no exception as they battled a tight No. 6 J6INK Chevrolet during the opening segment of the race. After rolling off 20th, Lofton maintained his position on the 1.5-mile track, but couldn’t get his truck to rotate through the corners the way he needed.
The championship contender utilized the lap 31 caution period to come down pit road for adjustments. When the caution flag was displayed for a second time just three laps after the field went green, Lofton brought the J6INK Chevrolet down pit road a second time for another round of adjustments. With a wedge and air pressure adjustment and more tape added to the nose of their Chevrolet, Lofton was ready for another long green flag run. Just before the field went green, Lofton came down pit road to top off his fuel tank.
As another long green flag run progressed, Lofton’s strategy paid off and he was able to stay on track and lead five laps before having to pit under green. The No. 6 J6INK Chevrolet team lost a lap while pitting under green, but maintained his position close to the leaders to be awarded the lucky dog award during the lap 106 caution. Before going green, Lofton visited pit road one last time for four fresh tires.
Following the caution, Lofton picked up six positions during the closing laps to cross the finish line in the 14th position. The championship contender maintained his fourth-place position in the points battle, and is still scored just 31 points out of first place.
“The J6INK Chevrolet didn’t handle as well as we had hoped,” commented Lofton. “We found a few things that we could do during the race to improve the handling, but it just never came to us. I had my hands full most of the night, but we battled for every position. At the end of the race, although we didn’t gain any points, we also didn’t lose any.”
The NCWTS will take on Iowa Speedway on Saturday, September 15. Live coverage of the American Ethanol 200 presented by Hy-Vee will begin at 8:00 p.m. ET on SPEED, MRN Radio and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio, channel 90. Qualifying from the 0.875-mile oval will get fans ready for the race with a broadcast on SPEED at 6:30 p.m. ET on Saturday evening. Fans can visit www.teamesr.com, www.twitter.com/teamesr, or www.facebook.com/TeamESR for the latest news and updates about Justin Lofton and the No. 6 J6INK Chevrolet Silverado team.
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About Eddie Sharp Racing: Eddie Sharp Racing (ESR) (TeamESR.com) is a championship winning racing team housed in a 45,000 square-foot facility in Denver, N.C. After getting its start in the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) Racing Series, ESR has accumulated upwards of 20 race wins, the 2009 ARCA Racing Series Championship, and countless top five and top-10 finishes in just five years of competition. By 2010, ESR began to make the transition into the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) with a partial schedule before racing in the series full-time in 2011. By 2012, the team expanded to be a multi-truck team and secured its first victory in just the team’s 35th NCWTS race. Additionally, ESR continues to build its driver development program fielding various drivers in the ARCA Racing Series, the United Auto Racing Association (UARA) STAR Series and other late model events across the southeast.
About J6INK: J6INK is a graphic design and vinyl installation company based in Denver, N.C. Owned by NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver Justin Lofton, J6INK specializes in custom design, printing and installation of vinyl wrapping for all types of vehicles-both racing and non-racing, as well as helmets, service equipment, vending machines, and windows.
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Visit us online at LoftonRacing.com & TeamESR.com
