CLERMONT, Ind.: Luke Fenhaus was 16 laps away from winning his second ARCA Menards race in as many starts.
The 19-year-old racer from Wausau, Wisc., who wheeled his way to a win at Iowa Speedway last month in the No. 28 Pinnacle Racing Group Chevrolet, appeared to be headed to Victory Lane again—this time at Indianapolis Raceway Park.
But a late-race caution was all Jesse Love needed to erase Fenhaus’ lead and even the playing field with 10 laps remaining in the Reese’s 200. Love executed a better launch on the restart and shot out to the lead and the win.
“Screwed up on my part,” said Fenhaus, who finished second. “Obviously, it came down to a restart. I thought I did everything I could with brake bias and fans. I’ve got a great team around me—that supports me and helps me through those restarts.
“It was just tough. I got a bad launch compared to the 20, and he nailed it perfectly. When you don’t have a box, it’s hard to go out of line. So the leader is definitely at a disadvantage. I’ve had good starts and I’ve had bad restarts this year.
“Gave away a couple of big super late model wins. But it’s hard. It stings. At this top level and being here with the truck series, you want to put on a good performance, obviously do good and win. We had a wining car tonight, just didn’t need the caution.”
Rajah Caruth was one of the first drivers to come over to congratulate and console the driver. Caruth works out with Fenhaus in North Carolina and has witnessed the short-track ace’s talent and work ethic first-hand. Daniel Dye also dropped by to shake Fenhaus’ hand before heading to his truck.
ARCA points leader Love, who scored his seventh win of the season on Thursday has been impressed by what he’s seen from Fenhaus in his limited time in the league.
“He’s a phenomenal race car driver,” Love said. “I’ve raced with Luke over the last few years–one of the best Super Late drivers in the country, one of the best short-track racers that I’ve ever raced with. I think very highly of Luke.
“He’s a great friend as well, a very clean and hard racer from Wisconsin. I always appreciate racing with him. I always know what he’s going to do. I always know he’s going to run me harder than anybody else, but cleaner than everybody else, too.”
Fenhaus obtained national notoriety after finishing second to Marco Andretti in an SRX race at Slinger (Wis.) Speedway two years ago. Four days earlier, he became the youngest racer to win the Slinger Nationals.
Not long after, Fenhaus moved to North Carolina in hopes of gaining an opportunity in NASCAR. Most recently, he’s been recruited as part of Chevrolet’s development program.
“There’s a lot of pressure on me without having a lot of funding,” Fenhaus said. “It’s hard to put deals together like this. I got a break with Jeri and Mark Webb wanting to start a good team. With Team Chevy behind me—Eric Warren, Shane Martin, Dayne Pierantoni—everybody over there does a good job of prepping me for these races.
“I just have to keep winning to get more of these opportunities.”
Fenhaus worked with veteran spotter Derek Kneeland on Thursday. He considers Kneeland “the best spotter” he has had. Fenhaus has two ARCA races remaining on his schedule—Milwaukee and Bristol. After joining forces with PRG, Fenhaus’ average finish is 1.5 in his first two starts.
“The guys hit it right today,” Fenhaus said. “I had really good race speed and thought I adapted to the track pretty well. And everything went smoothly. We thrashed to get the car where I wanted during practice. Then to start from the rear (24th), pass that many cars, put on a good performance, and then take the lead with 20-30 to go, it was just hard to come up short.”
Follow Lee Spencer on Twitter @CandiceSpencer or email her at: [email protected].
