Coulter Grabs First ARCA Victory in Dominating Fashion

MARNE, MI (8/7/2010) – Through adversity and hardships, low times and struggles, will always be followed by a time of jubilation and happiness. Such was the case tonight as second year ARCA racer Joey Coulter took the checkered flag on his first ARCA victory, at the famed Berlin Raceway in the Berlin ARCA 200.

“We have had our fair share of rough patches this year, but I have believed in my team 100% and knew this day was always right around the corner,” commented an ecstatic Coulter. “Short track racing has always been a great genre of track for me and tonight at Berlin (Raceway) was a great example why. From practice to qualify to the race, we had a great car and my guys never gave up.”

Coulter started the busy racing weekend at Berlin on Friday (08/06/10), for an open test. Coulter Motorsports spent much of the day improving on last year's setup and preparing for the upcoming nighttime race. As the session drew to a close, Coulter would be atop the board and ready for racing action to resume on Saturday.

Saturday saw an action packed day ahead for the team with the days only practice session quickly followed by qualifying. Coulter would post the fifth fastest time in practice, and then go on to qualifying fourth for the evening’s main event.

“I am really glad we came out a day early for the test here at Berlin (Raceway),” said Coulter. “This track is very interesting, and the fact that it is a circle can really throw some curve balls at you. My team got the car dialed in and it really showed in practice and qualifying on Saturday.”

As the darkness of nighttime quickly approached, the green flag waved over the ARCA field to start the Berlin ARCA 200. Coulter would waste no time moving forward, and found himself in the second position before reaching turn four. He would closely trail the leader for the first ten laps, before radioing Coulter Motorsports crew chief, Harold Holly, that the “throttle is hanging up and causing me to have to overdrive the turns.” The throttle issue would force Coulter to drop back to 11th before a timely caution on lap 153 would wave.

Holly and Coulter discussed the throttle problem under yellow and diagnosed it as some rubber stuck in the linkage. Holly would bring Coulter and his No. 16 Darrell Gwynn Foundation, Rip It Energy Fuel Chevrolet down pit road for two right side tires and sent the PME (Pro Motor Engines) tuner under the hood to jar the rubber loose. Coulter would restart on lap 59 in the 13th position and quickly radioed Holly that the car was “getting already better and the throttle problem has disappeared." He wasted no time getting back to the front and worked his way back into the top ten by lap 66.

Coulter spent the ensuing long green flag run picking through lap-down traffic and chasing down the leaders. By halfway at lap 100, he worked his way into fifth and kept charging towards the front. Shortly after taking fifth, Coulter would methodically pass cars until he found himself on the leader's bumper on lap 140. He would work his way around the leader on lap 145 before the caution would wave, finding himself in first coming to pit road for four fresh Hoosier tires and a splash of Sunoco racing fuel.

The green flag would wave over Coulter and his No. 16 Darrell Gwynn Foundation, Rip It Energy Fuel Chevrolet on lap 158 in the leader's seat and he would never look back. Through two ensuing cautions and lap-down traffic, the 20 year old Miami Springs, FL native would pull away with a comfortable lead en route to his first career ARCA Racing Series victory as he crossed the finish line on lap 200.

“It feels so good I can’t even describe the feeling right now,” said a jubilated Coulter. “I want to thank my sponsors, Rip It Energy Fuel, Darrell Gwynn Foundation, Tempest Cycles, Mad Industry and METAL Jeans for all of their support. I also want to thank my entire team, pit crew, family and all of my fans. Without all of you none of this would be possible. This is truly an amazing moment for me and my team, and Rip It Energy Fuel tastes amazing in victory lane!”

The ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards visits New Jersey Motorsports Park on Sunday, August 15. The 67-lap, 150-mile Garden State ARCA 150 presented by American Red Cross begins at 1 p.m. Eastern, with live timing and scoring and live audio coverage presented by ARCA Nation at ARCARacing.com.

You can also get LIVE updates wherever Joey goes by following Joey on Twitter at http://twitter.com/joeycoulter

Please log onto www.LiftUpEllie.com to help support the Potvin family.

You can also vote for Joey Coulter as the most popular ARCA driver for 2010 at www.arcanation.com/joeycoulter

Please be sure to check out Joey’s official website at www.joeycoulter.com

Catch Joey’s LIVE radio show, 5 @ 5 with Joey Coulter, every Wednesday at 5:00 PM EST exclusively on www.RaceFanRadio.com

Also please be sure to support Joey’s sponsors at:
Rip It Energy Fuel: www.ripitenergy.com
Tempest Cycles: www.tempestcycles.com
MAD Industry: www.areumad.com

About Darrell Gwynn Foundation (DGF)
www.darrellgwynnfoundation.org
The Darrell Gwynn Foundation (DGF) is a certified non-profit 501(c) 3 agency. DGF exists to prevent, provide for and ultimately cure spinal cord injuries and other debilitating illnesses. To expedite specific cures, the Foundation assists in the funding of targeted research. DGF is also dedicated to injury prevention, with special emphasis on programs targeting children. The Foundation helps improve the quality of life for those already afflicted with injury or illness, by providing necessary equipment or special services. DGF is an official charity of the Barrett-Jackson Auto Auction, National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) and has a close affiliation with NASCAR and the NASCAR Foundation.

MEDIA CONTACT
Nic Moncher
Coulter Motorsports
Director of Public Relations
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