Salem, IN (April 25, 2004) – Louisville, Kentucky native Chuck Barnes Jr. made it two straight victories at Salem Speedway in the Kentucky Clutch & Performance Late Model Division winning the 50 lap feature that was ran in conjunction with the ARCA RE/MAX Series Kentuckiana Ford Dealers 200 Sunday afternoon. Barnes had to start in the inverted sixth position, which he got to roll as the division’s point’s leader after qualifying was canceled because of weather. Barnes appeared headed for a second place finish when leader Keith Gardner lost a cylinder with two laps to go giving Barnes the lead over hard-charging Muncie, Indiana native Evan Jackson.

"We got lucky today with Keith falling out there towards the end," remarked Barnes Jr. "There’s no way I was going to pass him in those last two laps, but we had to race hard to be in the position to get the win. Evan was real fast, he made it a pretty exciting race all the way to the end. I want to thank all my sponsors including Cowboys Food Stores which came on board for our Salem Speedway races starting with this race!"

Barnes, in his Cowboys Food Store/Clifty Farm Country Hams/Sunoco/Hawk Performance Monte Carlo, managed to get by three wreck filled starts to the event, which resulted in three complete restarts. The 16-car field was down to 11 before one lap had been scored. The field was narrowed down to 9 cars on lap three after a hard crash that took out John Wood, in a car owned by Jim Winters. The car was the same car Chris Gabehart used to finish 6^th last Saturday night with the Sunoco Super Series.

The first half of the race saw the top four positions running the same first to fourth lead by Louisville, Kentucky native Robert Ohlman. At the same time Evan Jackson, who has thirty-six starts with the Sunoco Super Series with one victory, was coming through the field from his last place stating position because of having no points prior to Sunday’s event. Barnes and Gardner worked past Ohlman and Joe Williamson to set up the surprising finish for Barnes. Joe Williamson hung on to finish third.

Five time ARCA RE/Max Series Champion Frank Kimmel won the ARCA RE/MAX Series Kentuckiana Ford Dealers 200. Former Sunoco Super Series Competitor Matt Hagans day ended on lap 28 when his brakes failed resulting in a hard first turn crash. Chuck Barnes Sr. won the 50 lap Salem Super Stock feature also held on Sunday.

Barnes has two wins and a second, which occurred in the Sunoco Super Series opener last Saturday, in his first three 2004 late model starts. Barnes’s next event will be the Steve Keller Tri-Axle Trucking 100 at Indianapolis Raceway Park on Sunday, May 16^th. That 100-lap event will be run in conjunction with a 200-lap Hooters Pro Cup Northern Series event, also on Sunday afternoon May 16^th.

More information is available on Chuck Barnes Jr. at www.chuckbarnesjr.com.