Mark Thompson No. 4 ARCA Post-Race Report: Talladega

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Mark Thompson’s 17th-career start at Talladega Superspeedway got started in the right way, as he was able to qualify in the fourth position for the International Motorsports Hall of Fame 200. Thompson went into the race looking to stay towards the front and stay out of any trouble before making a move for the win at the end. In the first half of the race, it looked as though this strategy was going to work out for the No. 4 Phoenix Air Chevrolet. Thompson fell in line with the leaders and held strong in the seventh position for the opening 10 laps. By the time the Turner Scott Motorsports (TSM) team brought Thompson down pit road to top off the No. 4 machine with Sunoco fuel during green-flag pit stops, the veteran was running in the fifth position. From there, the TSM team ran into a little adversity. Thompson was caught speeding coming down pit road and was forced to make a pass-through penalty. This became exceptionally costly to Thompson’s race, as the veteran was ticketed once more while serving the initial pass-through penalty. Thompson lost one lap while serving the penalties levied against him before coming back onto the track as the first car one lap down, scored in the 16th position. This benefited Thompson on lap 56, as the first caution of the race would fly, allowing the veteran to regain his lap. When the race resumed, Thompson was running in the 15th position and looked poised to work back into the top 10. As the laps continued to wind down, Thompson worked his way up to sixth and looked to make a late-race charge for the win. However, his charge was halted on the last lap as Thompson tangled with another competitor on track, pushing his No. 4 Phoenix Air Chevrolet into the outside wall and ending his day one lap early. Thompson was ultimately scored in the 15th position.

 

Mark Thompson on his race at Talladega:

“It’s unfortunate that we got caught up in the incident on the last lap. I was hoping to make it to the checkered flag and see if we could gain a few more positions in the tri-oval. All in all, I have to thank the entire Turner Scott Motorsports organization. They put together an extremely fast racecar, and if it weren’t for some unfortunate events and bad luck, I think we would’ve put the No. 4 Phoenix Air Chevy into victory lane.”

 

TSM PR

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