Justin Lofton cuts down on his NASCAR schedule for 2013 season – NASCAR news
Justin Lofton, having made his NASCAR debut in 2009, will cut down on his NASCAR racing schedule, as he will be racing in the recently-founded Stadium Super Trucks Series in 2013.
Lofton’s most recent run in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series was his career best. Lofton started off the season with a 3rd place in the inaugural race NextEra Energy Resources 250 and had moved up to 1st place on drivers’ standings after North Carolina
Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte. Charlotte was Lofton’s first career victory as well. He held the position for three consecutive races after which his place on drivers’ standings consistently dropped following his inconsistent performance. Lofton finished
8th in the final rundown.
Although Lofton got his first NASCAR victory in the 2012 season, still he will not have a full-time schedule in the upcoming season. Instead, he will be focusing his efforts on Stadium Super Trucks Series, a new racing campaign which was formed by NASCAR
driver and team owner Robby Gordon.
The 26-year-old American gladly accepted the chance of a career in off-road racing when it came because it was something that Lofton had fancied even before he started racing in NASCAR. The Stadium Super Trucks deal was as easy as pie because Lofton and
Gordon have been seasoned friends over a long period of time now.
“This is going to be cool. Robby has wanted to do this for as long as I remember and it’s something I also have passion for,” Lofton said while talking to SB Nation on Friday.
According to Lofton, shortage of necessary funds was the primary reason which did not let him run a full 2013 season. However, this does not mark the end of Lofton’s NASCAR career. He plans to resume his full-time NASCAR career at some point in future and
cites his move to Stadium Super Trucks as means of doing so.
“I want to be seen as the NASCAR driver who moved to the Stadium Truck Series and found success. Hopefully my NASCAR fans will follow me on this new venture and I'll take some rally fans with me when I return,” Lofton said.
Lofton has not finalised his 2013 NASCAR schedule yet but does plan on competing in 10 Truck Series races at the least for Eddie Sharp Racing. Lofton further said that he did not feel too excited about the recent changes made to Truck Series where road courses,
dirt and short tracks will be used along with Speedways for Truck Series races.
“We found bulk of our success on speedways. It doesn’t make much financial sense to just run one road course and dirt track because we have to build one-off trucks for those races,” Lofton said.
Tags: