Special from 51 Sports

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John Bolen Finishes Second in the CRA Budweiser 150 at Nashville

Southern Super Late Model Young Gun Shows Some Muscle Against Talented Field 

CONCORD, NC (August 24, 2009) – All season long, John Bolen has been knocking on the door in the Super Late Model ranks in the South.  Several strong runs have given him good publicity during the last few weeks, and now a second-place run at the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway (TN) with the CRA Super Series prove that he is ready to crack into victory lane.  In fact, considering the level of competition at the Nashville race, a second-place finish is more impressive than a win at most other places. 

“We started the weekend off right, when we unloaded with a fast car and won the pole,” said Bolen.  “We

knew we had to pace ourselves with 150 laps of racing.  Our car was really good on long runs, and Scott (Hantz) had a really good car on short runs.  We ran him down late in the race.  We got to within two car lengths, and the caution came out with like 15 laps to go.  We ran with him the rest of the way, but we need a longer run.  Second is a great finish for us, and we’re happy with it.”

Bolen started fifth, after winning the pole at Nashville.  He slowly worked his way into the top three, as the laps ticked off.  The race was a four-tire event, which meant all drivers would have to run all 150 laps on the same set of tires. 

“We really worked hard to take care of the tires,” said Bolen.  “About the last restart, you could tell that the tires had really gone away.  We never really pushed our car.  Some guys did, and they paid for it.  Tire conservation was key, and we were in the good at the end.”

The finish was really not a surprise for Bolen, who has run very well in the past at the Nashville Fairgrounds track.  Last year, he logged a pair of top-10 finishes in Nashville.  That was highlighted by a fourth-place run last July. 

“It’s a great multi-groove racetrack,” said Bolen.  “You can move around and work in different lanes.  You can move the car around and make it fast when it doesn’t handle.  We really worked on that all weekend, and our car was good all weekend.”

Bolen hopes to carry this success into the CRA Super Series All American 400 at the Fairground Speedway on November 1^st.  The game plan is to come home one position higher and win that famous guitar trophy.

“This does a lot for our confidence heading into the All American 400 later this year,” added Bolen.  “We think we will be a strong contender if can have the same type of car we had this past weekend.  We have really been on a roll for the last few weeks, and now it looks as if all the pieces are coming together.”