Lee, Sargeant Battle Ups and Downs in the Music City

By admin April 10, 2017 ARCA Menards Series, Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville

 MOORESVILLE, N.C. (April 10, 2017) – The ARCA Racing Series opened the 2017 short track season with the Music City 200 at Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville this past weekend. The two Big Tine Ford Fusion drivers Shane Lee and Dalton Sargeant for Cunningham Motorsports drove solidly within the top 10 all night, but ultimately did not get the results they were hoping for. After qualifying third and sixth, and breaking into the top five multiple times, Sargeant and Lee took both of their Big Tine Ford Fusions to ninth (Sargeant) and 12th (Lee) place finishes.

Race Recap

  • First caution came out on lap 14 with Sargeant in second-place and Lee in sixth.
  • On the second caution of the night at lap 40, Lee and Sargeant both come in to pit taking two General Tires and Sunoco Racing Fuel.
  • Sargeant reports that his No. 77 Big Tine Ford Fusion gets a little loose on entry, but still hangs on to third around lap 75.
  • Halfway through, on lap 104, Lee and Sargeant pit under caution taking four tires and fuel.
  • Lee reports being tight in center…make track bar adjustments on lap 152 under caution.
  • With 10 laps to go, Lee moved back into the top 10 with Sargeant at P5.
  • A late-race caution ended the night with a green-white-checkered finish. Sargeant ends his night in ninth-place with teammate Lee in 12th.

Driver Thoughts

  • Shane Lee: “We had a really strong No. 22 Big Tine Ford Fusion going into the night and we battled all race to get to the top, but it just wasn’t our night. We did break into the top five which was good and we had some opportunities to get ahead, but just couldn’t capitalize on it. I think we had learned a lot throughout the race and I think we’ll be able to take that and build on it for the rest of the season. We head to Salem next and I’m confident we’ll have another shot to win one.”
  • Dalton Sargeant: “I’m disappointed to come away with a ninth-place finish after qualifying third. I’d had high expectations going into the race especially since I knew we had a really fast No. 77 Big Tine Ford Fusion and the changes and adjustments we’d made on pit stops would have helped if we’d been able to get longer green flag runs. My crew chief Chad Bryant helped me a lot throughout the entire race and it was really cool to have Chase (Briscoe) spot for me and hear some of what he had to say about the track and how to handle it. Overall, we did come away in the top 10 which is good and I know we’ll take what we learned and head to Salem a little better off than we were before.”

Up next for the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards is the Kentuckiana Ford Dealers 200 at Salem Speedway on April 30. Stay up to date with all Cunningham Motorsports news by following on social media through Facebook (@cunninghamrace), Twitter (@cunningham_race) and Instagram (@cunninghamrace). Also be sure to head to the website at www.cunninghamrace.com for the latest news and photos.

Sources: Katie Wernke/Cunningham Motorsports PR