BROOKLYN, Mich. — One thing you can say about Justin Lofton, who won the ARCA RE/MAX Series Racing For Wildlife 200 Saturday at Michigan Int’l Speedway is he learns quickly.
The 22-year old rookie from Westmoreland, Calif., recorded his first top 10 finish, his first victory and his first leading lap in the same race, besting series point-leader Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. by 1.85 seconds.
“I came into this series a young driver from California,” Lofton said. “I knew that I had the talent to be successful (with ARCA), but I came in a little too aggressive and trying too hard. The last couple of weeks I just relaxed, spent some off time to myself and regrouped. I came into this a lot more relaxed and just let the race come to me.”
Lofton, who started on the front row next to pole winner Scott Speed, chased the leaders for 89 laps before finally moving to the front. Once there, he held off Stenhouse and nine-time ARCA champion Frank Kimmel for the victory.
“I had Eddie Sharp as my crew chief the last two weeks,” Lofton said. “Eddie is the best crew chief and car owner in the ARCA RE/MAX Series. This was an emotional win for us.”
Prior to his MIS victory, Lofton had four finishes of 20th or worse, and his best was a 12th-place finish at Kansas.
Stenhouse, a three-time winner in 2008, has an eye on the ARCA Series title.
“I started out the year just trying to finish laps and getting as much experience as I could,” Stenhouse said. “We’ve been doing that and it has put us up front. Every time we run every lap, it’s going to put us up front. If we can stick to our game plan, run every lap, we can get up front. We want to get more wins, but we’re definitely looking at the big picture, winning the championship, now that we’re in a position to do it.”
The 21-year-old driver from Olive Branch, Mo., has seven top-seven finishes in nine races this year and they have propelled him to the point lead.
The race was a rare morning event. Postponed from Friday afternoon by rain, the race saw the green flag at 8:39 a.m. Saturday.
The finish:
Showing driver, car, laps completed: 1. Justin Lofton, Dodge, 100; 2. Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Ford, 100; 3. Frank Kimmel, Ford, 100; 4. Scott Speed, Toyota, 100; 5. Brian Scott, Chevrolet, 100; 6. Patrick Sheltra, Dodge, 100; 7. Ken Butler III, Toyota, 100; 8. Jesse Smith, Dodge, 100; 9. Dexter Bean, Chevrolet, 100; 10. A.J. Henriksen, Ford, 100; 11. Robb Brent, Chevrolet, 100; 12. Matt Carter, Ford, 100; 13. John Wes Townley, Ford, 100; 14. Bryan Reffner, Chevrolet, 100; 15. Gabi DiCarolin, Toyota, 100; 16. Chris WImmer, Dodge, 100; 17. Bobby Gerhart, Chevolet, 100; 18. Tayler Malsam, Dodge, 100; 19. Sean Caisse, Toyota, 99; 20. Michael Phelps, Dodge, 99; 21. Bryan Silas, Ford, 99; 22. Michael Simko, Ford, 98; 23. Tom Hessert III, Ford, 98; 24. Alli Owens, Chevrolet, 97; 25. Terry Jones, Dodge, 96; 26. Ryan Fischer, Chevrolet, 96; 27. Donny Kelley, Chevrolet, 95; 28. Larry Hollenbeck, Chevrolet, 94; 29. Matt Hawkins, Dodge, 93; 30. Brad Smith, Ford, 93; 31. Billy Leslie, Ford, 92; 32. James Hylton, Dodge, 92; 33. Darrell Basham, Chevrolet, 91; 34. Mike Harmon, Chevrolet, Chevrrolet, 84; 35. Tim Mitchell, Ford,  Ford, 84; 36. Todd Hansen, Chevrlet, 84; 37. Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 77; 38. Brian Kaltreider, Ford, 29; 39. Norm Benning, Chevrolet, 28; 40. Greg Seevers, Chevrolet; 41. John Graham, Ford, 1.