Pinnacle Racing Group (PRG) | ARCA Menards Series East
Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway | Bristol 200
Fast Facts
No. 28 Pinnacle Racing Group Team:
Driver: Luke Fenhaus
Primary Partner(s): Chevrolet
Manufacturer: Chevrolet
Crew Chief: Shane Huffman
Spotter: Derek Kneeland
Chassis Intel: PRG Chassis No. 410
Engine: Ilmor Engineering
Driver Championship Point Standings: Second (-20)
Team Championship Point Standings: Second (-20)
Notes of Interest:
Inaugural Journey: Pinnacle Racing Group (PRG), a new Motorsports team, continues its inaugural journey with this week’s season finale Bristol 200 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor 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 and participate in select premier ARCA Menards Series events throughout the year.
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).
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¸19, 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 second career ARCA Menards Series East and ARCA Menards Series victory at Iowa Speedway in the Calypso 150 in July. Fenhaus again took advantage of a late-race ARCA overtime restart to take the lead on the final lap and collect his second career ARCA East win in his fifth series start.
Earlier this year, Fenhaus stormed to his inaugural 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.
Combination Race at Bristol Motor Speedway: On Thursday night, and for the fourth time this year, the stars and cars of the ARCA Menards Series and the ARCA Menards Series East will unite for the fourth and final combination race on the 2023 schedule.
The Bristol 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway (Thursday, 6 p.m. ET on FS1 and FloRacing) marks the 18th race of the 2023 ARCA Menards Series season and the eighth race of the East Series season.
The team is bringing Pinnacle Racing Group chassis No. 410. It is the same Chevrolet SS that Fenhaus steered to victory lane at Iowa Speedway on July 15, 2023, and most recently at The Milwaukee Mile on August 27, 2023.
To The Point(s): Entering Bristol, Fenhaus sits second in the championship standings.
20 points separate Fenhaus from first in the championship standings currently held by William Sawalich, with one race remaining this season.
Pinnacle Racing Group’s No. 28 team also secures second in the ARCA Menards Series East owner standings.
A 15th-place finish for Sawalich at Bristol would open the door for Fenhaus to win the title via tiebreaker. In that scenario, if Fenhaus were to win the race and gain all possible bonus points for a General Tire Pole Award, leading a lap and leading the most laps, he would equal Sawalich’s season-long total of wins (three) and top fives (seven) but would pull ahead in top 10s (eight to seven).
Should Fenhaus complete the task, it would be his first ARCA Menards Series East championship, PRG’s first ARCA championship, but second for crew chief and team manager Shane Huffman, who won the premier ARCA Menards Series championship in 2020 with driver Bret Holmes.
100 Percent Attendance: Invading The Volunteer State, Fenhaus is just one of two ARCA East drivers to complete every lap this season.
Championship rival William Sawalich joins him in the same category, with both drivers having completed all 1,188 laps run in 2023. Fenhaus looks to extend that number to 1,388 Thursday night.
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 recently added another top-five finish to his 2023 NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series season on Saturday, September 2.
Sponsor Intel: Chevrolet will serve as the primary marketing partner on Fenhaus’s No. 28 Chevrolet this week at The Last Great Colosseum.
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, 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.
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.
Bristol will officially mark Huffman’s 14th 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 Bristol Motor Speedway: “I am thrilled to go to Bristol, one of the race tracks that’s been on my list since I was a little kid. With all the preparation going into Bristol with Team Chevy behind me and everyone at Pinnacle Racing Group, I know we will be fast!
“Our game plan all week long is to finish the year off on a high and go and dominate and try and bring home the ARCA Menards Series East championship!”
On 2023 Season: “There is just one race left in our inaugural Pinnacle Racing Group season. I feel like we have achieved all our goals except winning the championship.
“Despite the outcome at The Milwaukee Mile, we are still within reach of that. We don’t need to do anything different besides doing what we’ve done all year, and that’s go out there and give it our all.
“It would be a dream season to bring home the ARCA Menards Series East championship to Pinnacle Racing Group, but if we can’t, we still have much to be proud of in our first season together.”
Race Information: The Bristol 200 (200 laps | 106.6 miles) is the eighth of eight races on the 2023 ARCA Menards Series East schedule. Practice begins Thursday, September 14 from 2:00 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. General Tire pole qualifying in a timed session will begin a short time later at 3:00 p.m. The race is set to take the green flag shortly after 6:00 p.m. ET. The event will be televised live on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) with the Motor Racing Network (MRN) and SiriusXM Satellite Radio (XM channel 391 | online channel 981) handling the radio waves. ARCARacing.com will also stream live timing and scoring throughout the entire weekend festivities.
