Petty’s ARCA Debut: Success Slinging the Dirt
September 9, 2005
Roy and Sandra Shipley
Hixson Motorsports, Public Relations
 

Twenty-three year old ARCA RE/MAX Series Rookie Jeremy Petty made the most of his first trip to DuQuoin, Illinois for the running of the Southern Illinois 100 on Labor Day.  The Smolan, Kansas driver finished 18^th from his 28^th starting position in his first series attempt in the #65 C&C Construction – PNC Chevrolet after turning only one lap in practice.

Petty, who has plenty of experience racing on dirt and asphalt in the Modified Series and Midwestern United States Super Truck Series, had no experience in an ARCA RE/MAX stock car.  The only time that he had driven a stock car was at the Fast Track High Performance Driving School that he attended at Atlanta Motor Speedway.  Arriving at DuQuoin, Petty was under the guidance of veteran ARCA driver Ron Cox.  Cox, who served as Petty’s crew chief for the race, drew on his experience to make the right decisions and provided the guidance that would lead to the solid finish.

When the team unloaded the car, they discovered that the rear end cooler had been damaged in transport, and would have to be replaced.  The pressure was on to get the car ready for tech inspection.  The team had to make a couple of attempts to get the car to pass inspection.  With the clock ticking down, and only minutes remaining in the lone practice session, Petty still had not turned at lap.  Per ARCA rules, Petty had to complete at least one lap in practice to be eligible to qualify for the race.  Just before the session ended, Petty was able to get on the track and complete one lap.  Petty toured the one mile clay in 37.654 seconds at 95.610 mph.  While it was only the 34^th fastest time posted of 38 cars that made attempts, it did make Petty eligible to qualify for the race.  Petty picked it up during qualifying, turning a lap of 35.796 seconds at 100.517 mph, good enough for the 28^th starting position.

At the beginning of the race, Petty reported that the car was tight.  Concerned about freeing the car up too much, the team made minor changes to the race car on the first pit stop.  Reporting that the car was handling better, Petty advanced ten positions during the race by staying clean and making smart moves.  While he did finish 3 laps down to the winner, the 18^th place finish was a solid showing for a rookie driver and crew, and the car finished the race intact.

“I am just proud of Jeremy for qualifying as well as he did with only a couple of practice laps,” Joe Petty, Jeremy’s father, said after the race.  “We where short on horse power, however Jeremy was good in the turns.  Overall, we are very pleased with his first start.  I can’t thank Ron (Cox) enough, this would have not happened with out him.”

The Petty Racing Team would like to thank PNC (Professional Nutrition Center), C&C Construction, Jay P and Sons Landscaping (Jacksonville, FL), Peterson Plumbing (WE’RE PLUMB CRAZY, Smolan, KS), Lawerence Stoskopf, M.D. (Anesthesia Associates of Central Kansas), and  Murphy & Son Farms (Rofehill, KS) for all the support to the team.

Next up for Jeremy Petty is the ARCA RE/MAX Series Eddie Gilstrap Motors Fall Classic by Advance Auto Parts at Salem Speedway on September 17^th.  This race will not be televised, so if you don’t want to miss the short track rubbing and fender smashing, bring out the family to Salem, Indiana and cheer on Jeremy Petty as he looks to make his first short track start on the historic high banks of Salem.