(CHARLOTTE, N.C. - July 30, 2012) - Matt Lofton and the No. 16 Strutmasters.com Chevy Coulter Motorsports team finished 11th in Friday night's Messina Wildlife Animal Stopper 200 at Lucas Oil Raceway.

Lofton spent most of the night towards the front of the pack, but a last lap run-in with a competitor sent him hard into the turn three wall, ending hopes of a top-10 finish.

With all of the racing action packed into one day, Lofton started the event off with a round of practice sessions. Fighting intermittent rain showers, some even producing hail, Lofton quickly adapted to the unique line around LOR. Lofton would pace first practice in 11th at 23.175 seconds at 106.563 MPH and show gained improvements with the fourth fastest time in final practice at 22.373 seconds at 110.383 MPH. After going out 25th in Menards Pole Qualifying, Lofton locked himself into the fifth starting position with a fast time of 22.322 seconds at 110.635 MPH.

ARCA officials waved the green flag over the tight field and Lofton set in towards the front in the No. 16 Strutmasters.com Chevy. Early on, Lofton radioed crew chief Jon Wolfe that his car was free off the corners, especially around all the congested traffic. With the caution waving on lap 51 Lofton brought his car to pit road for some much needed adjustments. His Coulter Motorsports crew gave him four fresh Hoosier tires, fuel, a track bar and wedge adjustment. He would restart in sixth on lap 60, erring on the side of patience with the impending traffic.

Working through traffic while maintaining his consistent times, Lofton resorted to trying several racing grooves to circumvent the .686-mile oval. As the long green flag runs continued, Lofton made note that the car had become very tight on entry and worked best in one groove. With the yellow waving once more on lap 139, Lofton came to pit road for four tires, fuel and another round of track bar and wedge adjustments. He would rejoin the field in ninth on lap 139. Lofton wasted little time moving forward however and quickly found himself closing in on the top-five. Contact with another car on lap 168 forced Lofton to slide back to ninth, but staying undeterred, he would maneuver his way back towards the front once again.

A late race caution on lap 192 bunched the field back up and provided a green, white, checkered finish. While battling for a solid top-five finish, a competitor ran into the back of Lofton, sending him into the turn three retaining wall, forcing him to limp his badly injured No. 16 Strutmasters.com Chevy across the line 11th.

Next up for Lofton and the No. 16 Strutmasters.com Coulter Motorsports team in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards is the Pennsylvania ARCA 125 from Pocono Raceway on Saturday, August 4.

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Also please be sure to support Coulter Motorsports sponsors at:

Rip It Energy Fuel: www.RipItEnergy.com

Shell Shock: http://shellshock.homestead.com/

Wiley X: www.wileyx.com

Tempest Cycles: www.tempestcycles.com

About Strutmasters.com:

Strutmasters.com builds automotive struts and springs for cars and SUVs equipped with air suspension. They also provide both replacement air ride suspension parts, including air springs, air struts, compressors, air bag suspension and dryers, and conversion kits that, convert your car to high quality passive suspension systems. Air shocks, air springs, air struts and other air ride suspension parts wear out. Strutmasters.com gives you the option of replacing them with top quality passive suspension parts engineered to fit your specific application. They have been designing and building suspension kits and conversions since 1999 when they produced their first Lincoln air suspension kit. Strutmasters.com also maintains a fleet of test cars that they try out new products on.

About Darrell Gwynn Foundation (DGF):

www.darrellgwynnfoundation.org

The Darrell Gwynn Foundation (DGF) is a certified non-profit 501(c) 3 agency. DGF exists to prevent, provide for and ultimately cure spinal cord injuries and other debilitating illnesses. To expedite specific cures, the Foundation assists in the funding of targeted research. DGF is also dedicated to injury prevention, with special emphasis on programs targeting children. The Foundation helps improve the quality of life for those already afflicted with injury or illness, by providing necessary equipment or special services. DGF is an official charity of the Barrett-Jackson Auto Auction, National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) and has a close affiliation with NASCAR and the NASCAR Foundation.