Jared Marks Gets Down To Business At Madison; Rallies Top-15 Run
“Tony Marks Racing Development Driver Keeping Presence Alive” OREGON, Wisconsin (August 29, 2011) - - After forging the most recent ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards event at the Illinois State Fairgrounds (Springfield) on August 21st, the team returned to action in the series’ return to Madison International Speedway (MIS) for the running of the Herr’s Live Life With Flavor! 200 With Tony Marks Racing (TMR) development driver Jared Marks taking the temporary reins of the No. 12 Mad Croc Energy / Dodge Motorsports Dodge Charger for the 15th race of the season, the Napoleon, Ohio native wasn’t really sure what to expect when arrived at the half-mile oval. Unable to make the trip to Wisconsin to test at MIS, the TMR team did however partake in a private test at a North Carolina to shake down their automobile. |
Feeling confident about the setup underneath him, Marks entered the open practice session on Friday afternoon with optimism. During the hour and a half practice session, the 17-year old under the direction of crew chief Ryan Chism was able to muster a respectable 15th place in the overall rundown. Marks informed his crew chief that his No. 12 Mad Croc Energy / Dodge Motorsports Dodge Charger was tight throughout the race track. After making some adjustments to their automobile before qualifying, the team turned their faith over to their rookie to deliver a strong lap that would keep them out of the “eye of the storm.” During his two laps of time trials, Marks maneuvered a fast lap of 18.677 seconds or 96.375 miles per hour. The effort was a solid pick-up by the avid Late Model racer from practice just a few hours prior. Ironically, after all said and done, Marks would line up 12th in his No. 12 Mad Croc Energy / Dodge Motorsports Dodge Charger – maybe giving an early sign that the team was going to have a good night. With the engines fired and the green flag waiving shortly after 8:30 p.m., it didn’t take long for the action to get fierce. Struggling with the handling of his automobile during the first couple laps, he slipped back to 16th by lap four and remained there when the yellow flag waived on lap six. Restarting safely in the top-20, Marks would continue to hold steady on the track until another yellow caution waived on lap 17 where Chism opted to bring his driver to pit road and make some air pressure adjustment. Nine laps later, racing resumed with Marks settling in 18th. The High School student was able to make up a few spots on the track until the yellow flag waived on lap 30 which offered another opportunity for Chism to bring his protégé to pit road for four tires, a wedge adjustment and fuel. When racing resumed, Marks placed 22nd but quickly moved into the 20th position four laps later. Continuing to inch up the ladder, Marks had moved up into the 12th position before an incident with the No. 23 and the No. 12 would ultimately force the field to come to a freeze. With some of his competitors opting to duck down on pit road, Marks would restart in the 10th position on lap 68 but gave way to a hungry pack of competitors on fresher rubber to hunker in 15th by lap 75. Able to hustle his way up to 13th by lap 82 where he settled in until the caution waived on lap 87. Under the slower pace, Marks informed his team that his car was good. With much of the field pitting ahead of him, Marks would jump to third for a lap 92 restart. Despite having older tires than his competitors, the racer wasn’t willing to go down without a fight as tight racing saw Marks keep his car inside the top-five before eventually slipping back to eighth by lap 98. Just after the halfway mark, Marks found himself in the 13th position waiting for the yellow to waive again so a trip to pit road could be executed. Despite a caution waiving on lap 108, Chism kept his driver out there informing his pilot he needed to stay out on the track a little longer before he could bring him back to pit road. The driver acknowledged but informed him that the No. 12 Mad Croc Energy / Dodge Motorsports Dodge Charger was loose off. Hovering comfortably in the top-15 until a yellow waived on lap 30, Chism thought this was the perfect time to bring the No. 12 Mad Croc Energy / Dodge Motorsports Dodge Charger to pit road for four scuff tires and fuel. Restarting in 15th, the used rubber proved to be better than what he had on before which showed with his lap times and the attack on his competitors. Inside the final 50 circuits, Marks was able to work his to seventh only to be trapped on the race track by the No. 63 which was a lapped car easily opened the door and allowed seven competitors to overtake him. Extremely frustrated that he fell back to 14th, Marks wasn’t willing to give up. After duking it out with Ron Cox (No. 28) and Grant Enfinger (No. 36) over the course of the final 30 laps, Marks was able to take the checkered flag in 12th. It was Marks’ fourth top-13 place finish in five races this season. “Our No. 12 Mad Croc Energy / Dodge Motorsports Dodge Charger was pretty good for most of the night. The car wasn’t taking to the track earlier, but we kept working on it all throughout the night and we were able to find ourselves in the top-10,” explained Marks. “Milka (Duno) happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time and it cost us dearly. From there we didn’t have a lot of time to recover but we did finish 12th, so I guess I can’t complain about that too much. I still have a couple chances to bring home a top-10 finish for Tony Marks Racing, so I hope I can do that before seasons end.” For owner and father Marks, he was incredibly pleased with the effort shown by the entire team this weekend. “We came to a completely new track to us and didn’t really know what to expect and we were competitive. We didn’t have the brakes go our way when we needed them to, but Jared and all the guys on pit road did their job and we were able to bring the car home in 12th. We’ll take that. I not only want to thank my guys, but everyone else who makes this team possible.” Next up for the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards is the second and final installment on the dirt when the sanctioning body makes their annual trip to the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds for the running of the Southern Illinois 100 presented by Federated Auto Parts on Labor Day, Monday, September 5. Tony Marks Racing plans to return to competition next month when the ARCA Racing Series takes on brutal Salem (Ind.) Speedway for the next to last short track race of the season, The Kentuckiana Ford Dealers ARCA Fall Classic by Federated Car Care. Earlier this season, Maryeve Dufault reeled in a respectable 13th place finish after starting 19th. To learn more about Tony Marks Racing and Jared Marks please click over to Tmr-racing.com. For more on Maryeve Dufault, please log on to Maryeveracing.com. Get Mad with Mad Croc Energy by visiting the World Wide Web at Madcroc.com. For additional information on TMT, Inc. please visit; tmtcompanies.net. PHOTO CAPTION 1: The No. 12 Mad Croc Energy / Dodge Motorsports Dodge Charger driven by Jared Marks in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards for Tony Marks Racing (TMR) at Madison International Speedway. PHOTO CAPTION 2: Jared Marks, driver of the No. 12 Mad Croc Energy / Dodge Motorsports Dodge Charger in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards for Tony Marks Racing (TMR). TEAM COMMUNICATIONS CONTACT: NAME: Chris Knight, Knight Motorsports Management |
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