Pinnacle Racing Group (PRG) | ARCA Menards Series East
Iowa Speedway | Calypso 150
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. 410
Engine: Ilmor Engineering
Driver Championship Point Standings: Second (-13)
Team Championship Point Standings: Second (-13)
Notes of Interest:
Inaugural Journey: Pinnacle Racing Group (PRG), a new Motorsports team continues its inaugural journey with this weekend’s Calypso 150 at Iowa 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.
Most recently, Fenhaus added to his racing resume with his first career 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.
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).
Slinger Nationals Update: Before focusing on his ARCA Iowa Speedway debut this weekend, Fenhaus participated in the 44th Annual Cobblestone Hotels Slinger Nationals Presented by Lynch Buick GMC West Bend on Tuesday night.
After qualifying inside the top-10 at Slinger (Wisc.) Speedway, Fenhaus wasted no time – hunting down the leaders and inheriting the race lead and dominating the race until a caution flag waved inside the final four laps of the race.
On the restart, Fenhaus was overtaken by Late Model ace Ty Majeski leaving Fenhaus to settle for second place in the iconic race.
Combination Race at Iowa Speedway: On Saturday, for the first time this year, the stars and cars of both the ARCA Menards Series and the ARCA Menards Series East will unite for one of four combination races on the 2023 schedule.
The Calypso 150 at Iowa Speedway (Saturday, 8 p.m. ET on FS2 and FloRacing) marks the ninth race of the 2023 ARCA Menards Series season and the fifth race of the East Series season. Saturday’s race also marks the 17th time the ARCA Menards Series will visit Iowa Speedway and the 20th race at the 0.875-mile oval for the East Series.
The East Series first visited Iowa Speedway in 2007 as part of a combination race with the West Series. That event was won by future NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano. Other East Series victors at Iowa include Kyle Busch, Brett Moffitt, Chase Elliott, Corey LaJoie, Cole Custer, Ben Rhodes, Todd Gilliland, Tyler Ankrum and Sam Mayer.
To The Point(s): Entering Iowa, Fenhaus sits second in the championship standings.
Just 13 points separate him from first in the championship standings currently held by William Sawalich with four races remaining this season.
Pinnacle Racing Group’s No. 28 team also secures second in the ARCA Menards Series East owner standings.
100 Percent Attendance: Invading the Hawkeye State, Fenhaus is just one of two ARCA East drivers to complete every lap this season.
He is joined by championship rival William Sawalich in the same category with both drivers having competed in all 682 laps so far in 2023. Fenhaus looks to extend that number to 832 Saturday 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.
The Late Model team will take this weekend off from NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series but return to action on July 22, 2023.
Sponsor Intel: Chevrolet will serve as the primary marketing partner on Fenhaus’s No. 28 Chevrolet this weekend at Iowa Speedway.
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.
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.
Iowa will officially mark Huffman’s 11th 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 Iowa Speedway: “I’m very excited to get back with our Pinnacle Racing Group, it’s been a long wait and it will be good to be back with them. I’m excited to get to Iowa, I feel like we have prepared well as a team and kept me in a constant vehicle throughout the past couple weeks.
“Iowa has been a bucket list race track for a long time so I’m excited to get there and perform and hopefully do a good job for our PRG race team!”
On 2023 Season: “It feels so good to get a win very early in the season, but we hope this is just the beginning. Since the drop of the green flag of the season in March, we have made great gains on our program and were rewarded with our first career win last weekend in Nashville.
“It’s been a while since we last raced at Flat Rock Speedway and although we did not have the finish we were content with, we’re incredibly focused on Iowa Speedway this week in hopes of we can earn our second win of the season and tighten the points gap with just four races remaining this season.”
Race Information:
The Calypso 150 (150 laps | 132 miles) is the fifth of eight races on the 2023 ARCA Menards Series East schedule. Practice begins Saturday, July 15 from 4:00 p.m. – 4:45 p.m. General Tire pole qualifying in a timed session will begin a short time later at 5:00 p.m. The race is set to take the green flag later in the day shortly after 7:00 p.m. CT (8:00 p.m. ET). The event will be televised live on FOX Sports 2 (FS2), while also streaming on FloRacing. ARCARacing.com will also stream live timing and scoring throughout the day’s festivities. All event times are local (Central).
