2013 ARLA Elite Series: Races 42 & 43 (Sleezy Cheezy 160)

Howard in the Hunt After Sleezy Cheezy 160 1st Race Victory, Hayes Stays in Rookie of the Year Race After Top 5

Joseph Howard put on a strong showing in the first race of the Sleezy Cheezy 160...that is, until the last lap. Despite a minor crash on the final lap, Howard strolled to victory, and put himself firmly in position to potentially take the ARLA Elite Series championship for 2013. "Joseph ran one of the turns wide on the final lap, then he hit a wall. We suspect something broke, but I suppose it didn't break hard enough because he was able to negotiate the final corners and cross the line without further incident" Tom Delgado said afterwards.

Meanwhile, Howard's teammate Jim Hayes finished 5th after having to stop one more time on lap 19 despite running in 2nd. Hayes got into an incident early in the race, but recovered nicely to grab a much-needed top 5 and some momentum heading into Rockford. "Jim's gonna have to race especially hard to get into the 200 and give himself a real shot at Rookie of the Year honors, but if there's anyone who can get the job done and dig out of the hole the 77 team dug itself, it's Jim" Delgado said of Hayes' performance.