Gresham Scrambles To Fourth-Place Finish In ASA Southeast Tour Clash At Lanier
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
BRASELTON, GA (June 28, 2009) – There was no question about how Max Gresham felt after finishing fourth in the American Speed Association Southeast Asphalt Tour RC Cola/Moon Pie 100 at Lanier National Speedway Saturday.
“Not bad, not bad at all,” said Gresham as he climbed from his No. 7-11 Gresham Motorsports racer. “The car was amazing all night long. We started in the back and it was tough. It makes running up front seem pretty boring. Back there, you’ve really got to be patient and take care of your car. You can just spin guys out to get past them. You have to work them hard and pass when you have an opening. I was able to do that and honestly, I had a lot of fun back there.”
Gresham was all about having fun on the tight 3/8-mile Lanier paved oval turning in the fastest time in the first practice Friday – a 14.085-second clocking. The 16-year-old Griffin, GA driver then stayed near the top of the practice sheets before a 14.052 time in qualifying – just over a tenth of a second off the pole - placed him 14th in the 30-car starting field.
Undaunted, Gresham quickly steered his way into the top-10 by Lap 20 and was just outside the top-five by the half-way point of the 100-lap race. Later, Gresham narrowly missed disaster when he avoided the spinning car of Austin Hill on Lap 80.
“That was pretty close,” said Gresham. “We were racing hard, but I know I didn’t get into him. It was late in the race. I was waiting for a place to dive underneath him, but then he spun in front of us coming off. I just missed him. Like I said, it was close.”
Now sixth on the restart with 20 laps to go, Gresham made a couple of quick moves to grab the fourth spot. Over the final 10 circuits, Gresham dogged the No. 19 of Casey Roderick for third eventually settling for fourth at the checkered flag behind Paul Kelly, Russell Fleeman and Roderick.
“I think I might have had something for Casey at the end,” said Gresham, who entered the Lanier event second in the division point standings, just 14 markers back of leader Jason Hogan. “I got under him a couple of times and he cut me off. He was doing what he needed to do at the end of the race. I was happy to finish fourth. It was a smart race for us tonight. There were some people around us in the points that had problems tonight. I’m sure we made up a lot of points on Jason and some other guys that had trouble.”
Gresham, who has two ASA Southeast Asphalt Series wins this season, will next take the green flag in ASA competition at Orange County Speedway in Rougemont, NC on July 11.
“Our confidence level has been high all year, but to come from the back and get a top-five finish at Lanier was pretty big,” said Gresham. “We just have a belief that we can do whatever we need to do. Gene Roberts and the guys on this Gresham Motorsports crew are incredible. I can’t wait to get to the next race at Orange County.”
To learn more about Max Gresham and Gresham Motorsports, please log on to www.greshammotorsports.com.
For information about sponsorship/partnering with Max Gresham and Gresham Motorsports, please contact Tony Gresham at tgresham@greshaminc.com.