Monday, July 6, 2009

Nu South Lemonade Teams up with Matt Carter in 2009

NEWTON IA (7-1-09) - Nine-time ARCA RE/MAX Series car owner champion Larry Clement and veteran driver Matt Carter will be reuniting for the running of the Prairie Meadows 200 at Iowa Speedway July 11.
The event will mark the return of both to ARCA RE/MAX Series competition since the season-opening ARCA 200 at Daytona.
Clement, who was instrumental in the creation of Iowa Speedway, was born and raised in Newton, Iowa, where the track resides.
"I've been trying to put a package together for this race," said Clement (below). "This is my hometown, and the track is very important to me. Stine Seed came on board for the race, Nu South Lemonade, the Pork Producers and Cookie's BBQ Sauce.
"Matt's a great racecar driver," added Clement. This is just something I've wanted to do. Right now, it's just this race, but I'd sure like to put him in one or two more this year. Love to put him in that Rockingham race at the end of the season. Of course, our ultimate goal is to return fulltime."
Carter and Clement, in their first season together, finished third in championship points in 2008; however, sponsorship dollars dried up and the program came to halt.
Carter (left) has one ARCA RE/MAX Series victory at Toledo Speedway, and also won a Pro-Cup Series race at Iowa Speedway two years ago.
"We're going (to Iowa); that's the plan," said Carter. "Larry wanted to race, and he was able to find some sponsorship. It's his home track, and he wanted to be there. And we're certainly glad to be back running in the ARCA RE/MAX Series."
Carter will be a busy guy during the Iowa race weekend as he will also be running in the NASCAR Nationwide Series Dollar General 300 Powered by Coca-Cola race at Chicagoland Speedway Friday night. As a result, Carter will not be able to participate in the ARCA RE/MAX Series practice session at Iowa Friday afternoon.
"We just got the deal to run the (NASCAR) Nationwide Series for Specialty Racing; then Larry called and said he had put together the program to run the Iowa race. So we're going to have to find someone to practice our car (at Iowa) on Friday.
"We're running the same car we ran last year. Car's in good shape; just got the motor in yesterday. Just need to set it up and go."
Carter recently replaced Brandon Whitt as the driver of the no. 61 Specialty Racing Ford Fusion in the Nationwide Series starting with the event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway where Carter finished 24th.
In the interim between the Daytona opener and the event at Iowa, Clement (left), in addition to running his businesses, has found time to climb in the driver's chair himself. Clement won a 64-lap stock car race at Iowa Speedway in the Great American Stock Car Series (GASS) on June 13th. Clement started last in the 16-car field by way of a qualifying draw, but quickly moved to the front. He took the lead on lap six and led the rest of the way. Clement had built a half-straightaway lead when the checkered flag fell.
"The Pork, Cookies BBQ Sauce Ford Fusion was great in the race," commented Clement. "Our fastest lap in the race was half-second faster than the previous series track record at 24.9 seconds, 126 mph average. The three and four car traffic was wild."
The GASS Series, owned by Chris Evans of Portland, Oregon, has 22 cars based in Newton, Iowa and is operated by Iowa partner Barney Bushore. The cars are identically prepared by the GASS crew and are available for rent on a season or single car basis.
"These are really good racecars that can be rented at a very good price. I'm running a 135-lapper this Saturday night (July 4). I really like the way these cars are identically prepared; the driver makes the difference here, not so much the car."
Clement won nine ARCA RE/MAX Series car owner championships 1998 through 2007 (including eight consecutive), all with Frank Kimmel driving.
The Prairie Meadows 200 at Iowa Speedway is scheduled to go off Saturday, July 11 at 8:00 PM local time. Menards Pole Qualifying presented by Ansell precedes the race at 4:00 PM. The ARCA Lincoln Welders Truck Series will join the ARCA RE/MAX Series for an ARCA double-header with the IMTA 50 scheduled to go at 6:00 PM. The first on-track activity for the ARCA RE/MAX Series is a practice session on Friday, July 10 from 4:30 - 6:00 PM. The Star Mazda Series will join the race card on Friday with practice, qualifying and a race at 8:30 PM.
All on-track activity for the ARCA RE/MAX Series and the ARCA Lincoln Welders Truck Series will feature live streaming audio and video on the ARCA Racing Network at ARCAracing.com.

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