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MITCHELL THIRD AT MICHIGAN
BROOKLYN, MI (June 15) .......... Richard Mitchell recorded his
first ARCA
RE/MAX Series podium finish by driving his Coach USA /
Mountaineer Gaming /
West Virginia Tourism Pontiac Grand Prix to third place in
Saturday
afternoon's Flagstar 200 at Michigan International Speedway.
The West Virginia driver started eighth in the contest, and
charged into
contention following the second pit stop of the race on lap 53.
"I have to hand it to my crew...... I came into the pits running
seventh and
they got me back out third," Mitchell said. "Track position is
the key
element at Michigan. I just can't say enough about our guys.
They have
worked hard to become one of the best over-the-wall crews in
ARCA."
Following the pit stop, Mitchell challenged eventual winner Chad
Blount and
second place finisher Damon Lusk for the top spot around the 2.0
mile
tri-oval.
"We made a bid for the lead, but the car started to get loose in
the middle
of the turns, so we decided to back off to conserve fuel,"
commented
Mitchell. "Our plan was to go the rest of the way without
stopping again.
We were gambling that Blount would need to stop and top-off at
the end."
That strategy went out the window when a caution came twelve
laps from the
finish. "We debated whether to stay out and take the lead, or
pit," Mitchell
concluded, "we decided to pit with the leaders, put on four new
tires and
take a final shot. We just didn't have enough at the end, but I
don't think
we could have held off Chad (Blount) if we would have stayed out
either. I
guess we were destined to finish third."
Mitchell and the Coach USA team will return to the NASCAR BUSCH
Series' wars
in four weeks (July 13) when they compete at the unique 1.5 mile
Chicagoland
Speedway. Mitchell's next ARCA appearance will come at the
Pocono Raceway on
July 27.
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