Luke Fenhaus | Pinnacle Racing Group Flat Rock Speedway ARCA East Race Preview

Inaugural Journey: Pinnacle Racing Group (PRG), a new Motorsports team continues its inaugural journey with this weekend’s Dutch Boy 150 at Flat Rock (Mich.) Speedway.

PRG has built a solid foundation to compete in the ARCA Menards Series East in its first season of competition. The team has named Luke Fenhaus as the driver and veteran crew chief Shane Huffman to lead the No. 28 Chevrolet team.

The team will compete for the 2023 ARCA Menards Series East championship, as well as compete in select premier ARCA Menards Series events throughout the year.

Meet Luke: With a long line of racing history, it’s no surprise he found success at a young age. Now, at 18, Fenhaus’ name is among the elite young, up-and-coming talents on the short tracks of America with eyes set solely on success both on the track and off.

Fenhaus, a Chevrolet development driver and under the tutelage of respected Motorsports scout Lorin Ranier has quickly gained notoriety for his on-track performance which includes the 2021 ARCA Midwest Tour Rookie of the Year, pole sitter and winner of the 2021 historic Supply Zone Slinger Nationals at Slinger (Wisc.) Speedway and the 2021 Kulwicki Driver Development Program champion.

And his success doesn’t stop there.

Fenhaus¸18, received a “Golden Ticket” to compete in the nationally-televised Superstar Racing Experience (SRX Series) after his triumph at Slinger Speedway. He capitalized on the opportunity, finishing second behind IndyCar winner Marco Andretti but finished ahead of Motorsports icons Tony Stewart, Bobby Labonte, Greg Biffle, Bill Elliott, Helio Castroneves, Paul Tracy and Michael Waltrip.

Most recently, Fenhaus added to his racing resume with his first career ARCA Menards Series East victory at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway in the Music City 200. Fenhaus took advantage of an ARCA overtime restart to take the lead on the final lap for his first career ARCA East win in just his third series’ start.

The PRG Brand: Headquartered in Mooresville, N.C., Pinnacle Racing Group (PRG) is a professional multifaceted Motorsports team specializing in providing productive and fulfilling careers for team members, while also being a leader in on-track performance and driver development primarily in the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series (NAAPWS) and the ARCA Menards Series (AMS).

Sweet Nashville Tune: The ARCA Menards Series East returned to competition this past weekend at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway and it was a huge weekend for the Pinnacle Racing Group team.

After practice and qualifying inside the top-five, Fenhaus utilized patience through the race and found himself in the right position at the right time on an overtime restart.

Utilizing the high lane to his advantage, Fenhaus was able to clear race dominator William Sawalich off Turn 2 and set sail to the checkered flag earning the team their first career ARCA Menards Series East triumph and Fenhaus’s first career ARCA East victory in just his third series race.

The East win is the second checkered flag for the Pinnacle Racing Group this season joining Landon S. Huffman’s accomplishment – earning his first PRG checkered flag in a Late Model event at Hickory (N.C.) Motor Speedway.

To The Point(s): Entering Flat Rock, Fenhaus sits second in the championship standings.

Just six points separate him from first in the championship standings currently held by William Sawalich with five races remaining this season.

Pinnacle Racing Group’s No. 28 team also secures second in the ARCA Menards Series East owner standings.

100 Percent Attendance: Invading the Great Lakes state, Fenhaus is just one of three ARCA East drivers to complete every lap this season.

He is joined by racing rivals Jake Finch and William Sawalich in the same category with all three drivers having competed in all 532 laps so far in 2023. Fenhaus looks to extend that number to 682 Saturday night.

Fenhaus also leads the ARCA Menards Series East drivers with a 2.0 average finish. Sawalich is next at 2.33 and Finch is third at 3.0.

PRG Minute: In addition to their full-time ARCA Menards Series program, PRG is also fielding an entry in the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series at Hickory (N.C.) Motor Speedway for teenager Landon S. Huffman.

Huffman, who has already won at Hickory this season will return to Late Model competition on Saturday, June 3, 2023.

Pinnacle Racing Group kicked off their double-duty week of competition by competing in Wednesday night’s CARS Tour race at North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway with NASCAR Cup Series points leader and Trackhouse Racing driver Ross Chastain at the helm of the team’s No. 28 Ambetter Health Chevrolet.

Sponsor Intel: Chevrolet will serve as the primary marketing partner on Fenhaus’s No. 28 Chevrolet this weekend at Flat Rock Speedway.  

Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 79 countries with more than 3.2 million cars and trucks sold in 2020. 

Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heartbeat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value.

More information on Chevrolet models can be found at chevrolet.com.

ARCA East at Flat Rock Speedway: For the first time in ARCA Menards Series East history, the tour heads to Michigan’s Flat Rock Speedway this Saturday, May 20 for the running of the Dutch Boy 150.

While this is the first time the East Series will visit the popular quarter-mile asphalt oval, it’s far from the first time an ARCA platform division has raced at Flat Rock Speedway.

The ARCA Menards Series visited Flat Rock Speedway during its inaugural 1953 season, and Julian Petty won the first of his two ARCA events, which coincidently came on back-to-back at Flat Rock. Flat Rock quickly became a staple of the ARCA schedule, hosting a total of 56 events from 1953-2000.

Among the other drivers to earn ARCA victories at Flat Rock were Les Snow, Iggy Katona, Ramo Stott, Ron Hutcherson, Moose Myers, Bill Kimmel, Lee Raymond, Bob Dotter, Bill Venturini, Bob Keselowski, Bobby Bowsher, Grand Adcox, Harold Fair, Gary Bradberry, Andy Hillenburg, Joe Ruttman, Tim Steele, Bill Baird and Frank Kimmel.

Calling The Shots: Guiding Fenhaus as crew chief of the No. 28 Pinnacle Racing Group Chevrolet is veteran Shane Huffman.

Huffman joined Pinnacle Racing Group at the end of the 2022 racing season after an instrumental tenure at Bret Holmes Racing.

With over 98 combined starts as crew chief in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series and Xfinity Series, Huffman has two wins, 24 top-five and 44 top-10 finishes, including a third-place finish most recently at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway with Bret Holmes in October 2022.

In addition to NASCAR, Huffman is the 2020 premier ARCA Menards Series championship crew chief.

Flat Rock will officially mark Huffman’s 10th career race under the ARCA East banner.

Follow on Social Media: For more on Luke Fenhaus, please visit lukefenhausracing.com, like him on Facebook (LukeFenhausRacing) and follow him on Instagram (@superluke04) and Twitter (@luke_fenhaus).

For more on Pinnacle Racing Group, please like them on Facebook (Pinnacle Racing Group) and follow them on Instagram (@RacePRG) and Twitter (@RacePRG). 

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