Following a 10-month ARCA hiatus, Michael Lira strapped in behind the wheel of the No. 36 MOMO Motorsport/NexGen Fuel/ Ford Performance Ford Fusion for his 2016 season debut in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards during the Menards 200 at Toledo Speedway.
Lira had one of the fastest machines of the weekend. He ran in the top-5 during final practice, and he also qualified in the sixth position. His confidence heading into the race was high. He felt he had a top-3 car for Sunday’s race; however, fate didn’t fall that way.
“We had a little mishap on pit road, but I felt like the guys made really good adjustments on the car all day,” Lira said. “They took it from a 10th place car to a fifth or third place car just with the great adjustments that they made. That part has me feeling very positive about it. I’m happy with our finish and the gains we made.”
Despite the pit road troubles, Lira was able clinch a 12th place finish in Toledo.
Coming into the race, Lira was anxious about how the weekend would go considering he hasn’t been in an ARCA since Iowa last July, where he unfortunately couldn’t finish the race due to an on-track incident.
“Coming into the weekend, I was definitely a little concerned about falling out of the seat or getting tired. I haven’t been to the gym or been eating well since I’ve been out of the car for a long time. I haven’t done one of these long races since July, but I hung in there pretty good, felt good. I’m really satisfied with how it went, not only for my first time back since July, but also in general. If we didn’t have that pit mishap, there’s no doubt in my mind that we would have been up there competing for the top five in the end.” Lira said.
He hopes that this race will be one of many on his schedule this season, but is thankful for the opportunity to have been able to run this weekend. While he’s not in an ARCA car, Lira runs the team’s pro-late model at New Smyrna Speedway where he has had consistent finishes this season.
Lira Motorsports and Michael Lira would like to thank MOMO Motorsport, Ford Performance, NexGen Fuel, Safecraft, and TraqGear for hopping on board of the No. 36 Ford Fusion this weekend as Toledo Speedway.
“I also can’t thank my parents enough for allowing me to get behind the wheel again this weekend. It means so much to me.”
Lira Motorsports PR
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