TALLADEGA, Ala., (April 13, 2011) – – Chad McCumbee, driver of the No. 1 ModSpace Ford, and his Andy Belmont Racing (ABR) team line up Friday at Talladega Superspeedway for the longest race on the 2011 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards schedule. Although superspeedway racing is unpredictable, the team brings plenty of experience to the 2.66-mile paved oval, including a top-10 superspeedway finish at Daytona International Speedway in February.
“Racing at Talladega is as exciting as it is unpredictable,” stated McCumbee. “Restrictor plate racing is a mental game – – a high speed chess match, as some have said. The most rewarding, but biggest task we’re facing this race is staying out of trouble on the track.”
The No. 1 ModSpace team will have superspeedway racing experience on their side when the green flag waves on Friday for the 94-lap event. The team participated in a test at Talladega prior to the ARCA Racing Series season opener at Daytona.
In addition to testing, McCumbee has led 48 laps in six superspeedway ARCA races, raced at the venue in ARCA V-8 powered stock cars, NASCAR Sprint Cup entries as well as NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series events and ABR owns a pole and outside pole in the last three events at Talladega.
“Having superspeedway experience should be a plus,” stated McCumbee. “I have raced on this track in Trucks, ARCA cars and Cup cars. Last year, Talladega seemed to be pivotal for me because I ran my first ARCA race for ModSpace and later in the season ran my first Cup race for them. This experience should help make us race contenders on Friday.”
Race strategy will be the team’s key focus, and team manager Andy Belmont expects to spend the majority of the 250-mile event making adjustments based on track position since superspeedway racing is a gamble.
“We are racing for points at Talladega,” stated Belmont. “Superspeedway racing is a crap shoot at best, but our strategy is to lay low early and race for track position late in the race. I expect Chad to have a methodical approach to the race and we plan to work with our corporate Ford teammates to get to the front.”
In McCumbee’s two ARCA career starts, he started 31st and finish 41st in 2005 and in 2010, his first ARCA race for ABR under the ModSpace banner, he started 17th but exited the race on Lap 40 as a result of rear-end damage resulting in a 33rd-place finish.
“Hopefully we can position ourselves to be up front at the end of the race and get what we can in the last few laps,” stated McCumbee. “Daytona turned out good and I intend to approach Talladega the same way.” The team will line up Friday with the car nicknamed Bodacious, named after the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) Association bull that no one could ride for the full eight seconds. This car sat on the pole the first time out at Talladega at a speed of 186.520 mph.
“ModSpace Motorsports is very excited about Talladega,” stated William Mann, Director of ModSpace Motorsports. “Chad, Andy and the entire ABR team have worked diligently on preparing for this event and have experience that should help them be up front at the end of the race.”
The second event on the 2011 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards schedule gets started this Friday, April 15, with the 3 Amigos 250 at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Ala. Watch the race live on SPEED TV at 5 p.m. EST with additional coverage on ARCARacing.com.
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About ModSpace: Modular Space Corporation (ModSpace), based in Berwyn, Pa., is a leading provider of modular buildings, portable storage and services for temporary and permanent space needs. With more than 40 years of experience, ModSpace serves a diverse set of customers and markets through a network of 80 branches throughout the United States and Canada.
About Andy Belmont Racing (ABR): Andy Belmont Racing is a competitive and respected motorsports operation who fields race cars in the ARCA Racing Series, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, the NASCAR K&N East Series and the USARacing Pro Cup Series. ABR has been serving the motorsports community and winning for nearly 25 years. AndyBelmont.com
