Grant Enfinger celebrates in victory lane at Mobile Speedway
Photo – GrantEnfinger.com
Fairhope, AL native Grant Enfinger found himself in a familiar place at Mobile International speedway – in victory lane.
Enfinger won the ARCA Mobile 200 for the second straight year and once again in dominant fashion. He led 185 laps on the day and even the caution-filled race did not halt his progress. The Daytona ARCA winner pulled away by 1.125 seconds over second place at the finish.
Enfinger is also the first driver to win the first two ARCA races of the season since Jimmy Horton in 1990.
Finishing runner-up was Kyle Benjamin for the second straight year, but this time driving for the Roulo Brothers.
Mason Mitchell stayed out during a caution mid-way through the race. He grabbed the lead, but fresh tires would prevail. On the next caution, his No. 98 team put four tires on the car and Mitchell was able to claw his way through the field to finish third.
Along with Benjamin, Anderson Bowen also made his ARCA début at Mobile in 2013, finishing third. He wheeled the No. 77 Dodge to a fourth-place finish in this year’s race.
Along with youngsters being a majority of the top-five, the caution flag flew 11 times for 70 laps.
Venturini cars did not have the best of luck. Pole-sitter Justin Boston’s bad luck continued as a gear broke in the No. 25 car, forcing the team to fix the car and Boston only completing 55 laps on the day.
Cody Coughlin had a long day in his ARCA début by being involved in two wrecks, but still recorded a 13th-place finish.
Teammate Michael Self was another driver making his ARCA début and showed speed right off the bat. He nearly got under Benjamin for second, but a few laps later, the transmission went on the No. 66 car.
John Wes Townley was the highest Venturini driver finishing in eighth.
Enfinger is the points leader, but Team BCR Racing team still needs to find more funding for him to run the full ARCA schedule and compete for the championship.
The ARCA Racing Series will head to Salem Speedway for their next race on Sunday, April 27.
Mobile ARCA 200 Top Ten