Empire Racing takes away valuable insight from Daytona opener
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (February 16, 2016) – It wasn’t the finish Empire Racing Group was hoping for, but drivers Dylan Lupton and Sean Corr were able to gain key experience for the team during the ARCA Racing Series season opener at Daytona International Speedway last Saturday. Both drivers were able to race up toward the front before bad luck took them out of contention, relegating the teammates to 24th and 27th place finishes.
“We had two fast hot rods. Luck was just not on our side Saturday,” said Mike “Grumpy” Cheek, team crew chief. “Dylan Lupton did a fantastic job. I could not have asked for anything more from a driver in his first ARCA race. Sean was also phenomenal all day long. He was running solidly up front the whole way until we had a glitch in the ECU unit while pitting and fell six laps down. Really looking forward to taking what we learned in this race to our next two races at Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville and Talladega Superspeedway.”
Prior to the glitch, Corr had a great weekend at Daytona, starting off with a 10th place qualifying effort. The 31-year-old Goshen, N.Y. racer spent the first half of the race competing up front before an unscheduled pit stop caused the team to fall six laps down and finish in 27th place.
Teammate Dylan Lupton also had a strong race until a late-race engine problem took him out of contention. Lupton, a 22-year-old Wilton, Calif. native, started the race from 17th and had a quiet, but solid race until engine issues developed with just over 20 laps to go. Lupton would go on to finish 24th.
The Empire Racing Group now looks to prepare for the next ARCA Racing Series event, the Nashville ARCA 200 on Saturday, April 9 at Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville. To learn more about the group, visit www.empireracinggroup.com.
About Empire Racing
Established in 2009, Empire Racing Group is a driver-development team that strives to identify young racing talent and assist them in the advancement of their careers. While ERG originally focused on the ARCA Racing Series with drivers Sean Corr (team owner) and Mason Mitchell, the team has since expanded its reach into other series thanks in part to its alliance with Grumpy’s Performance, Inc. Under the expertise of crew chief Mike ‘Grumpy’ Cheek, ERG now competes in various Late Model series and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS). In 2016, the team will compete in multiple racing series including the ARCA Racing Series, NCWTS, and NASCAR Late Model Series at Caraway Speedway. Drivers for the 2016 season include notable rising stars Austin Hill and Dylan Martin, as well as racing veteran Sean Corr. To learn more about ERG, call (704) 664-8882 or visit www.empireracinggroup.com.
