Tuesday, February 4, 2020

ARCA Trucks: Jimmy Potter trails for the 4th time in his SCRL career thanks to late flat tire at Oxford Plains

Jimmy Potter picked up the 1st last place finish of his SCRL ARCA Truck Series career in Tuesday's Season 2 Oxford 50 at the Oxford Plains Speedway when his #50 Corona Extra / Goosebumps Ford finished under power after 27 of 30 laps.

The finish came in his 19th start. In the SCRL ARCA Truck Series, it's the 1st for truck #50 and the 11th where the truck was still running. Across all the series in the SCRL, it's the 8th for the #50 and the 252nd where the vehicle was still running. 

Entering Season 2 of the SCRL's ARCA Truck Series, Potter was one of a few select drivers who had previously raced in the series, having won the series 5th race at Gateway on the path to finishing 16th in the final points standings. Potter would decided to come back and compete for another shot at the championship, choosing to resign and drive for the same team he had in season one. Potter's season got off to a rocky start with a finish of 22nd in the first round at Toledo but he quickly rebounded by leading 14 of the 25 laps and scoring his third career SCRL sanctioned win, and become the first driver to win in both season of the SCRL ARCA Truck Series. The next two rounds with be a struggle for Potter with finishes of 24th at Nashville and a 21st at Lanier. Potter would once again find his footing with a 11th at Flat Rock and then a 6th in the last round at Salem as the series rolled into Oxford, Maine, the site where Potter had finished 12th at one season ago.

In qualifying, Potter would struggled to gain any speed, posting a time of 19.404, 0.941 seconds behind Al Lagasee's pole winning time, placing Potter last on the starting line up.

When the command was given to start the engines, the unsponsored #27 Chevrolet of Kyle Patricks would pull onto pit road on the backstretch, reporting of a flat right rear tire. Patricks crew would quickly give their driver a set of four fresh tires before sending their driver back out on the track just as the green flag waved but hadn't done it fast enough as their driver was quickly lapped. Patricks would get a lucky break as a caution came out when two leaders spun out, giving Patricks a chance to get his lap back, which he would when yet another caution came out on Lap 16, at this point Patricks had already knocked the #4 unsponsored Chevrolet of Gatlin Downey down a lap when he too suffered a flat tire.

Downey's stay in the final spot would last eight laps and only ended when the green flag was brought back out, Potter was racing for the 15th position when he began to slow going into turn 4, spinning out briefly, before coasting back around to the pits, the third victim of a flat tire thanks to a tough track surface. Potter's team would struggle getting the truck onto the jack and was quickly lapped once and then twice, taking the final spot on Lap 21, before it was finally put on and the tires placed on the truck. Potter was sent back out onto the track just behind the race leaders, his only hope was having someone else had problems, but it was not to be, placing Potter last in the final rundown, two laps behind Downey who was able to prevent himself from finishing last thanks to Potter's flat tire, but unable to escape finishing 25th.

The remaining Bottom Five would finish on the same lap as the race leaders: 24th was the aforementioned #27 of Kyle Patricks, 23rd was the unsponsored #17 Chevrolet of Connor Hurley and 22nd was the #72 Big Blue Dodge of Chakat Duskwatcher.

SCRLASTCAR STATISTICS
*This was the first time the #50 has finished last in the SCRL ARCA Truck Series as well at Oxford Plains.
*This marked the first time Potter has finished last in a SCRL since Round 9 of Season 1 of the SCRL Sun Energy Whelen Euro Elite 2 at the Red Bull Ring when his #27 Whelen Chevrolet completed all 9 laps under power.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
26) #50-Jimmy Potter / 27 laps / running
25) #4-Gatlin Downey / 29 lap / running
24) #27-Kyle Patricks / 30 laps / running
23) #17-Connor Hurley / 30 laps / running
22) #72-Chakat Duskwatcher / 30 laps / running

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