Let the Top 5's Roll

7/5/2016

Let the Top 5’s Roll
July 5th, 2016 Troutman, NC- As the World of Outlaws Craftsman Late Model Series took a few days off, Joey Coulter and Rum Runner Racing picked up the DirtCar Summer Nationals “Hell Tour” at LaSalle Speedway in LaSalle, Illinois. 
In search of valuable seat time, and determined to keep the momentum from the team’s first top 5 at Rockford Speedway rolling, Coulter and his crew set their sights on another good finish. 
On the 4th of July, under the lights and fireworks of LaSalle Speedway, Joey Coulter drove his No. 2 Broward Armature & Generator, Simpson Race Products, Molecule, Rum Runner Racing XR1 Rocket to another 4th place finish.
The night started out in spectacular fashion as Coulter posted the fast time in his hot-lap group followed by a qualifying time that was just short of the track record! Setting fast time in his group and fast time overall gave Coulter the pole for his heat race. After a questionable start by the outside pole sitter, Coulter finished 2nd, lining him up 4th for the 40 lap feature.
After a patriotic 4 wide salute, the green flag waved and Coulter charged to the high side and into second place. The top 6 would battle two wide for laps until the bottom lane proved stronger. Coulter dove to the bottom in the 5th position and mounted his charge toward the leaders. As the field approached lap 15, Coulter had moved into the 3rd position, using the high grip of his XR1 Rocket Chassis and the horsepower of his 430 cubic inch Cornett Thunder engine. Now approaching lap 25, Coulter closed in on the two leaders, eventually pulling a long side and passing 2nd place! Unfortunately, an untimely caution pushed Coulter back into the 3rd position. The track began to change drastically over the next 20 laps, challenging Coulters in-experience on the dirt. He was able to adapt quickly holding his 3rd place spot until a green, white, checkered finish, where he and the top 4 battled for every inch of racing surface. Coulter would keep the team’s momentum moving forward with a 4th place finish for the second consecutive race. 
“To get our second top 5 in a row, really shows how hard everyone on this team has worked this season. We got off to a slow start, with all of us, especially me having so much to learn in such a short time. The slow start never got us down though. We have all taken are licks and as Harold likes to say, “gotten our teeth kicked in.” We have a great, really young team, full of racers that want to win, and will win. Harold, Karl, P.L., Stix, and Daniel have been awesome on this tour and we are all looking for more to come in the rest of the season.” -Joey Coulter-