Cleary Motorsports; Gary Sherman A Threat Again; Finishes Seventh At Salem

Surprise, Surprise  Cleary Motorsports; Gary Sherman  
A Threat Again;  Finishes Seventh At Salem 

Salem, Indiana  (09-18-05) - - While it wasn’t an  exact performance of 
Berlin Raceway it was pretty darn close for the Cleary  Motorsports team as the 
Michigan-based operation racked up their third top-ten  finish of the season in 
Saturday night’s Eddie Gilstrap Motors Fall Classic 200  by Advance Auto Parts 
at Salem Speedway.   
The team entered  the final short track event of the season looking to 
improve on their  misfortunate at Toledo and prove to everyone despite any  
set-backs they were still contenders.  The team was the first car to hit the .5-mile 
bullring in the only  practice session for the ARCA RE/MAX Series Saturday with 
Sherman posting a lap  of 18.603 seconds amounting to a speed of 107.402 MPH 
good enough for the  28th position of the speed charts.   “We’ve got to pick 
up the pace,�??  said the former American Speed Association driver.  “The car 
is good, we’re a little off in  the handling, but we’ll pull it together and 
be ready to go for  qualifying.�?? 
Indeed, the team  was quite prepared for time trials.  Gary was  the tenth 
car to make a qualifying attempt.  With the first lap not as comfortable as  
Sherman would  have liked, he picked up the pace considerably on his second 
go-around notching  a time of 17.992 seconds or 111.049 MPH good enough for 14th on 
the  board.  “I’m very happy with that  lap,�?? explained Sherman, a native of 
Holt, Michigan.  “We needed to make this race on time as  it is a very 
competitive field and we did it very comfortably. I’m proud of the  hard work that 
the Cleary Motorsports team has put up this weekend; we’re ready  to go racing.�??
 
35 ARCA RE/MAX  Series superstars took the green flag shortly after 7:15 CDT 
with Sherman quickly falling in  line and into a rhythm.  Sherman continued to 
be  patient during the first half of the event guiding his way through lap 
traffic  and fellow competitors.  However,  Stan Boyd in the No. 08 machine 
nailed the No. 76 machine hard in the rear  bumper during one of the early caution 
flags as Gary slowed down for an incident in front of  him.  The damage was 
massive but  would not play havoc on the team.   
For a majority of  the race it was all the same, Sherman raced clean and 
fair.  With guidance from up-above from his  father in the spotter’s tower, he 
avoided much of the battered machines closing  in on the finish.  But, it wasn’t  
all a smooth night for the team.  As  the team elected to make routine pit 
stops, ARCA officials decided to return to  racing the next lap.  The Cleary  
Motorsports team would have to hustle to make pit stops on the No. 76 sending  
the driver back onto the track with the leaders coming off of turn two and  
Gary off turn  four.   Like a veteran, he was  able to slice and dice his way 
through traffic and maintain a comfortable  position ahead of the leaders.  
Despite having the same circumstance happen twice, they never fell off  the lead 
lap. 
Sherman would race hard  for the remainder of the event despite some lengthy 
late race cautions and cross  the line seventh in his ARCA Salem debut.  “Wow, 
what a night,�?? said a smiling Gary Sherman climbing from the  car.  “We were 
a little tight, but  she was fun to drive.  The crew did  a good job tonight; 
we were on our toes on the track and have another finish to  boast about.  I 
can’t say enough  about this Cleary Motorsports team, they are the real  deal.�??
 
The finish garnered  the team their third top-ten finish in the ARCA RE/MAX 
Series in only four  races. The team finished a brilliant fifth at Berlin, and 
a solid tenth at Lake  Erie before tonight’s performance. Participating at 
Gateway wasn’t  as successful but did net a 24th place finish. “Three out of 
four  isn’t bad,�?? said Gary when notified of the fact.   
Gary wasn’t the only  one seen with smiles as car owner Rob Cleary was in his 
glory.  “To come out of the box in a very short  amount of time and be able 
to put a program together like we have should say  volume.  Gary is a talented 
and  gifted race car driver and not only was he on top of his game tonight, 
the  entire crew as and I couldn’t ask for anything more.�?? 
In addition to the  team, both driver and car owner extended a huge thanks to 
their sponsors for the  weekend Quality Auto, Northside Service, Trackside 
Restaurant and Advantage  Snowplowing.  “Without our sponsors  we would not have 
been able to produce this good finish,�?? continued Cleary.   
“I hope they know  how much this team appreciates what they have done.  We’
re trying to expand our schedule a  lot next year and this finish only boosts 
our morale and hopes for that to  happen.�?? 
The Cleary  Motorsports team will skip the 2005 ARCA RE/MAX Series finale 
from Talladega  Superspeedway choosing to focus on their 2006 commitment to the 
series.  “Right now ARCA is where we want to be,�??  said both driver and car 
owner.  “We’re talking to some sponsors trying to turn this part-time schedule  
into a full-championship contender operation for next season.  We only hope 
that our dream becomes a  reality.�??