Rockingham: Tim George Jr. race report

Tim George Jr. Concludes 2010 Season Ninth in Points

ROCKINGHAM, North Carolina (October 9, 2010) -Tim George Jr. was hoping for a solid finish in Saturday's ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards season finale, but a lap-145 accident relegated the Richard Childress Racing development driver to a 34th-place finish at Rockingham Speedway.

Despite the undesirable ending to the 2010 season, George maintained his ninth-place position in the Driver's Point Standings and will be honored at the 2010 Championship Awards Banquet in Covington, Kentucky on December 4.

The Rockingham race weekend began with a full day test session on Thursday, where George and the No. 31 RCR Development team were 28th fastest among 39 participating teams. The team suffered a minor setback during the afternoon portion of testing when George made contact with the wall, causing the team to resort to a back up car. On Friday morning, the 29-year-old driver was 24th on the speed charts during a final practice session, and was able to support his practice speeds by posting the 24th-fastest time during qualifying on Friday afternoon.

Beautiful weather greeted George and the ARCA Racing Series drivers on Saturday afternoon, and the 41-car starting field took the green flag live on SPEED at 1:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.

Shortly into his initial run, George indicated to crew chief P.J. Bryant that his Chevrolet was tight, and he hovered between 22nd and 26th during the first 49 laps of the 200-lap race. He was running 22nd when the caution flag was displayed on lap 45, and Bryant directed George down pit road during the ensuing caution for four Hoosier tires, Sunoco fuel, and a track bar adjustment.

Quick work by the RCR development team allowed George to gain four positions on the race track, and he restarted 18th on lap 64. Over the next 80 laps, George held his own among the ARCA Racing Series competitors, focusing on tire conservation while maintaining track position.

He was running 16th with just over 50 laps remaining in the 200-lap race, but drove over oil left on the race track from another competitor's car, and crashed into the turn four wall on lap 145. With heavy damage to the No. 31 RCR Development Chevrolet, the team was forced to retire to the garage area.

George finished 34th, 55 laps down.

George's RCR teammate, Ty Dillon, earned his second consecutive ARCA victory, while Kevin Swindell finished second. Chad Finley finished third, followed by Patrick Sheltra and Craig Goess.

George will join the top 10 ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards drivers at the championship awards banquet on Saturday, December 4, at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center in Covington, Kentucky.

TIM GEORGE JR: "This was not the ending to the season I was hoping for, but we were able to maintain a top-10 finish in the ARCA point standings, so I am happy about that."

-source: rcr