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Team ESR has ride ready and waiting for next young talent
Eddie Sharp Racing has proven it is the place to be for young drivers looking for a jumpstart to their stock car careers. Team ESR currently houses four teams, but one may soon be sidelined if the next young talent doesn’t step forward and embrace the opportunity to climb behind the wheel of one of the most competitive rides within the ARCA RE/MAX Series.
To date, ESR’s four teams sit within the top 10 of the point standings. Justin Lofton, who drives the No. 6 Toyota for Eddie Sharp, has garnered two race wins so far this season, spanning the superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama and the Berlin short track in Michigan, showcasing the team’s diversity on the tour’s various tracks.
Lofton has guided the No.6 car to the top spot in the owner point standings, and second in the driver standings. His teammate Craig Goess, driver of the No. 81 Toyota for ESR, has made his transition from the Camping World East Series look easy, settling into the fifth spot in the points. The two remaining ESR-backed entries, the No. 20 and the No. 2, are also within the top 10 of the points, sitting seventh and 10th respectively.
The 20 however, is missing one thing, a driver. Following the Berlin race last weekend, Steve Arpin, who had piloted the No. 20 to four consecutive top-10s in recent weeks, vacated the ride, leaving it open for the next up and comer.
“I wish Steve the best of luck. We put together a very strong team and the results have shown that. All of our cars are within the top 10 in the points, that says a lot,” car owner Eddie Sharp said. “We’ll wait and see what comes along. With the economy the way it is, I am lucky to have the three teams out there but I would hate to see the 20 sidelined.”
As the hunt for a replacement driver in the No. 20 continues, Kevin Belmont will climb behind the wheel in Pocono this weekend in order to keep the car in contention in the point standings for the next hungry racer. Whoever it is has big shoes to fill, as ESR has quickly become the best at producing new talent. Over the last few seasons, ESR has ushered along the careers of Michael McDowell and Scott Speed. McDowell nabbed four race wins in 2007 driving for Sharp while Speed tallied four wins in 2008.
As a whole, Eddie Sharp Racing has 12 wins spanning four drivers over the last three seasons.
For more on Eddie Sharp Racing, please visit www.TeamESR.com
About Eddie Sharp Racing
Eddie Sharp set up shop in 2005 after several years of transforming young, talented drivers into ARCA championship contenders. Today, Eddie Sharp Racing has evolved into the rite of passage for any serious upcoming driver with an ambition for professional stock car racing. Located in Denver, North Carolina just north of Charlotte, Eddie Sharp Racing occupies a top-notch facility that closely resembles a five-star NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team, both inside and out. The two ESR buildings each contain two teams where on any given day, championship contending cars are assembled, engines tuned and teams strategize to score the next race day victory. |
