Pinnacle Racing Group (PRG) | ARCA Menards Series East
Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway | Music City 200
Fast Facts
No. 28 Pinnacle Racing Group Team:
Driver: Luke Fenhaus
Primary Partner(s): Chevrolet
Manufacturer: Chevrolet
Crew Chief: Shane Huffman
Spotter: Lorin Ranier
Chassis Intel: PRG Chassis No. 408
Engine: Ilmor Engineering
Driver Championship Point Standings: Third (-7)
Team Championship Point Standings: Third (-7)
Notes of Interest:
Inaugural Journey: Pinnacle Racing Group (PRG), a new Motorsports team continues its inaugural journey with this weekend’s Music City 200 at Nashville Fairgrounds 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.
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).
Conquering Miles: The ARCA Menards Series East returned to competition on April 29, 2023 at Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway after Mother Nature washed away any track activity on April 28.
With the ARCA Menards Series field set per the rule book and with no owner points to fall back on from the 2022 ARCA Menards Series East season, Fenhaus and the No. 28 Pinnacle Racing Group Chevrolet started from the 14th position.
Fenhaus, however, entered the top-10 by the completion of Lap 1 and utilized the 127-lap race to not only adhere to Dover’s unique driving style – but work through a tight racecar to wrestle himself inside the top-five by the competition break.
In the second half of the race, Fenhaus continued his presence inside the top-five and contended for the race win in an overtime restart but settled for third behind race winner Jake Finch and teenager Landen Lewis.
To The Point(s): Entering Nashville, Fenhaus sits third in the championship standings.
Just seven points separate him from first in the championship standings currently held by William Sawalich with six races remaining this season.
Pinnacle Racing Group’s No. 28 team also secures third in the ARCA Menards Series East owner standings.
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, a rookie in the Late Model division and the PRG team competed in a double-header at the famed North Carolina short track this past weekend. After qualifying sixth, the rising phenom encountered a mechanical failure in the first race – putting their attention towards the second 40-lap race where he started 15th and finished 14th.
Huffman, who has already won at Hickory this season will return to Late Model competition on Saturday, June 3, 2023.
Pinnacle Racing Group also announced over the weekend that the team will compete in the upcoming CARS Tour race at North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway on Wednesday, May 17, 2023, with NASCAR Cup Series winner 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 Fairground Speedway Nashville.
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 Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway: After a thrilling finish in the most recent ARCA Menards Series East event at Dover Motor Speedway, the series heads to Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway this Saturday night for the running of the Music City 200 (9:30 p.m. ET on FloRacing).
Saturday’s race marks the fifth time the ARCA Menards Series East will visit the historic 0.596-mile asphalt oval dating back to 2007. The inaugural series race was won by Rogelio Lopez, with Matt Kobyluck scoring a win at Nashville the following season.
After more than a decade away, the East Series returned to Nashville in 2021. Sammy Smith triumphed in that event, which he followed with a second Nashville win one year ago. No previous winners are entered this year at Nashville, meaning a new face will grace Victory Lane at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway.
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.
Nashville will officially mark Huffman’s ninth 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).
Luke Fenhaus Quoteboard:
On Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway: Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway is one of my favorite tracks for sure, I enjoy being in Nashville, and we had a lot of success there sitting on the pole and finishing second last year in the All-American 400 has me going into the race with a lot of confidence.
“Leading up to this weekend, I’m feeling good, I have a lot of confidence with this team and these race cars and I’m excited for it, we should have a winning opportunity for sure!
“Another great opportunity to show what this team is made of and what we are trying to accomplish. I’m blessed to be in the spot I am!”
On 2023 Season: “In two races this season, we have an average finish of 2.5. That is not bad by any means, but we go to the track believing we can win races. I believe we will soon capture that checkered flag and Nashville would be the perfect place.
“From a performance standpoint, I believe we have exceed everyone’s expectations so far, but once we get a win under our belts, I believe we will elevate ourselves to a legitimate championship contender in our inaugural season.”
Race Information:
The Music City 200 (200 laps | 119.2 miles) is the third of eight races on the 2023 ARCA Menards Series East schedule. Practice begins for the one-day show on Saturday, May 13th from 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. ARCA Menards Series East General Tire pole qualifying will begin at 4:00 p.m. The event will take the green flag just after 8:30 p.m. (9:30 p.m. ET) with live streaming coverage on FloRacing and taped delay coverage on CNBC on Sunday, May 21, 2023, at 12:30 p.m. ET. All event times are local (Central).
