Photo – Courtesy of Michael Lira
Michael Lira is our next guest on Fan4Racing Fan2Fan NASCAR & Race Talk on Monday, April 14th at 9 pm ET. Call 347-996-5176 during the LIVE broadcast to interact with Michael Lira and our Fan4Racing panel.
Florida high-school student and racecar driver Michael Lira kicked off his ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards racing season with a strong 9th place finish in the ARCA Mobile 200 at Mobile International Speedway on Saturday. Lira started 14th and survived 11 caution periods to post the strong result in the No. 68 Gary Yeoman’s Ford Fusion.
“We knew we had a strong car after our test here last week,” Lira said. “The Kimmel Racing team did a great job getting us ready and we had a good clean race with smooth pit stops. I am very happy with our result today and proud of the work this great team did.”
The race was the second race of the year for the series, but due to age restrictions in the ARCA series, Lira was unable to take part in the season-opener at Daytona International Speedway. Due to a late race caution, the race went four laps beyond the scheduled 200 laps and ended with a “green-white-checkered” finish that saw Grant Enfinger take the win.
“It was a great race for the fans and it was a great day for Kimmel racing too,” Lira said. “I really enjoyed my first race here in Mobile.”
Lira is also participating in the PEAK Stock Car Dream Challenge, a contest supported by some of NASCAR’s biggest names, like Michael Waltrip, Clint Bowyer and Danica Patrick.
“The PEAK Stock Car Dream Challenge is a great opportunity,” Lira said. “I’m excited to be a part of it. The finalists are chosen by fan voting, and, so far, my fans have been really great in participating. I’m always trying to do as much as I can to keep improving and show what I can do.”
Fans can cast their votes for Michael Lira at http://peakstockcardream.com/contestant-bio.php?CID=639.
Lira will face a variety of tracks this season, from ARCA short-track staples like the famous Berlin Speedway and Lucas Oil Raceway, to NASCAR Sprint Cup Series mainstays like Pocono Raceway and Kentucky Speedway. He will also be racing at two dirt tracks, as well as the New Jersey Motorsports Park road course.
This past weekend, Michael raced his late-model stock car at New Smyrna Speedway with a top-five finish to his credit.
Lira’s next race will be the Federated Auto Parts ARCA 200 at Salem Speedway on April 27. More information including live audio and scoring from the track is found at ARCARacing.com.