After nearly a decade and a half away from the Charlotte Motor Speedway, the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards returned to the 1.5-mile track Thursday evening for the General Tire 150. Mason Mitchell Motorsports teammates Quin Houff and Max Tullman both made their 1.5-mile debut in the 100 lap event. Houff led the way earning a career best sixth-place finish in just his third ARCA start. Teammate Max Tullman finished in the 12th position.
Houff started in the 17th spot and moved into the top-ten early by lap-five. He raced the No. 98 BeatinCancerWithDuke.org Chevy as high as the fifth spot. Houff’s next race will be in two weeks at the 2.0-mile Michigan International Speedway.
This was the day we needed,” driver Quin Houff explained. “We came here with a goal to get more comfortable on the 1.5-mile tracks and we definitely completed that. It feels great to be able to get a strong finish and have something to build off of for the Pocono test and then the race at Michigan in two weeks. I can’t thank everyone enough for their hard work during the test and here this week to make the car better. I’m looking forward to being back behind the wheel at Michigan.”
After qualifying in 19th, Tullman showed the patience of a veteran. Improving every lap and working his way toward the top-ten. After the halfway portion is when Tullman shined, moving into the top-ten with 35 laps remaining. He was able to race as high as the 8th position. Late race restarts shuffled Tullman just outside of the top-ten in 12th.
Max Tullman brought in the momentum of back-to-back top-ten finishes from the Daytona International Speedway and earlier this month at the Talladega Superspeedway with the ARCA Racing Series. But this weekend provided a different challenge as the road course racer had never raced on a 1.5-mile track.
“This was a great learning experience for me this weekend,” Max Tullman stated. “I was honestly learning something new with the car every lap on the track. I’m looking forward to being back behind the wheel again at Pocono next week.”
Now the team prepares to make the first stop of the 2018 season at the Pocono Raceway. The teams will test next Wednesday, May 30th with Max Tullman, Blaine Perkins and Quin Houff. Tullman and Perkins will be racing in next Friday evenings General Tire #AnywhereIsPossible 200. Houff will race in the July Pocono race.
The General Tire #AnywhereIsPossible 200 will be live on Fox Sports 2 on Friday, June 1st beginning at 5:30 PM. Arcaracing.com will have live timing and scoring for all on-track activities throughout the day from Pocono.
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