Kansas: Eddie Sharp Racing preview

Two to go: The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series has the Chase. NHRA has the Countdown. ARCA may not have a fancy name for their championship, but they definitely have quite a battle. Eddie Sharp Racing's Justin Lofton currently leads the way entering this Thursday's race in Kansas. Lofton maintains the lead in the driver point standings by 25 markers over second place Parker Kligerman. Lofton's teammate Craig Goess sits fifth and ESR's third driver Tim George Jr. is just outside of the top 10, in 11th.

Last race review: Lofton led the ESR No. 6 team to victory for the sixth time this season two weeks ago, taking the checkered flag on the Salem Speedway short track. His teammates unfortunately got caught up in short track run-ins, but the ESR camp's mood was boosted by Lofton's dominating performance. The win secured a 25-point advantage in the standings.

Same as the first: Kansas is very similar to other 1.5-mile tracks on the tour, which is good news for Team ESR. Lofton won the last 1.5-mile race at Chicagoland Speedway at the end of August. Teammate Craig Goess followed him across the stripe within the top 10, finishing eighth. Another 1.5-mile track, Kentucky, provided rookie Goess with his first top five finish of the season in fourth.

What they're saying:

Justin Lofton, driver of the No. 6 Lofton Cattle Toyota
"Kansas reminds me a lot of Chicagoland and that's good news for us since we won there. We've got a lot of momentum going for us and we want to see if we can make up some ground on Parker heading into the finale at Rockingham. It's hard to believe we only have two races left this season but it's been a good one. As a team, we've accomplished a lot. We're going after the win this weekend. We want that championship."

Craig Goess, driver of the No. 81 Greenville Toyota of N.C. Toyota
"Kansas is another intermediate track that we expect to run well at. I had a good run at Kentucky and Kansas is very similar. Some of the track characteristics are a little different but overall, you approach it the same way setup wise."

Tim George Jr., driver of the No. 2 Ruby Tuesday Toyota
"I'm looking forward to Kansas. I've had a hard time on 1.5-mile tracks this season thus far, and part of that is the trust factor in the side force on the car. I had a huge turning point at our private test in Kentucky recently, and I look forward to applying what I learned there to practice, qualifying, and the race at Kansas. I'm looking to continue the learning process through the end of the 2009 ARCA RE/MAX Series season."

-credit: esr