A. J. Fike
| A.J. Fike | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | December 29, 1980 Galesburg, Illinois |
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| Awards | 1999 USAC National Midget Series Rookie of the Year | ||||||
| NASCAR Xfinity Series career | |||||||
| 7 races run over 1 year | |||||||
| 2005 position | 68th | ||||||
| Best finish | 68th (2005) | ||||||
| First race | 2005 Hershey's Take 5 300 (Daytona) | ||||||
| Last race | 2005 Sam's Town 250 (Atlanta) | ||||||
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| Statistics current as of June 18, 2008. | |||||||
A.J. Fike is an American racecar driver. He was born on December 29, 1980 and resides in Galesburg, Illinois.[1] He is the older brother of NASCAR driver Aaron Fike. Fike won the 1999 United States Auto Club (USAC) Midget Car rookie of the year title[1] and his younger brother Aaron Fike won the award the following season making them the first brothers to win the award in back to back season. He later drove in several NASCAR races.
ARCA
In Chevrolets and Pontiacs fielded by former ARCA RE/MAX Series driving champion Andy Hillenburg, he finished 7th in ARCA RE/MAX Series points in his first season on tour. In 50 career ARCA Series starts, he has 8 top-5 finishes and 19 top-10s with a career-best finish of second at Berlin Raceway in 2004.[2]
Open Wheel
He finished tenth in the Indianapolis Speedrome midget points in 1997. In 1998 he finished second in NAMARS Midgets points with three feature event victories. He joined the USAC National Midget Tour in 1999 and was the Rookie of the Year. Fike finished a career-best second in USAC Midget points in 2001[1] with two victories at Lakeside Speedway in Kansas and at the Belleville Midget Nationals, also in Kansas. He finished runner-up in USAC Midget Copper World Classic at Phoenix in 2001. He also finished sixth in USAC Midget national points in 2002; posting a win at Limaland Motorsports Park in Ohio. His career-best Silver Crown finish was a third in the Copper World Classic at Phoenix International Raceway in 2002. Fike also posted three top-10 Silver Crown finishes in 5 starts in 2002. He finished 11th in USAC Sprint national points in 2002 with two runner-up finishes.
He was the Pork Pole winner at the Springfield mile-dirt track. Fike also qualified second at DuQuoin & Berlin. His best superspeedway qualifying effort was tenth at Gateway. Fike led for 48 laps in two races. A veteran of USAC Sprint, Midget and Silver Crown Series competition, NAMARS, Badger and ARCA Midgets and go-karts.
After racing in NASCAR, he resumed racing in ARCA and Open Wheel. In 2009, he finished second in the USAC Silver Crown points.[3]
Truck Series
Fike made two career NASCAR starts in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.[4] In 2003, Fike drove the #82 Ninetynine Racing Chevy at Phoenix. He started last in his debut, 36th in the field and finished 27th in the race, 6 laps off the pace.[4] The next year, Fike would compete again for one race. He drove the #08 1-800-For-A-Phone Chevy at Bristol Motor Speedway for Green Light Racing. He once again started 36th and finished 33rd.[4]
Busch Series
Fike began running the Busch Series in 2005, filling in for his brother Aaron in seven races.[5] He made his debut at the Hershey's Take 5 300, starting 25th and finishing 30th. At Phoenix, A.J. made the field in 36th, but finished in 30th, one lap off the pace. He would race again at Nashville in June, securing his best career finish at that time of 28th. He was 32nd at Milwaukee Mile, 30th at Pikes Peak International Raceway and 33rd at IRP. A.J. started his last race of the season at Memphis Motorsports Park, finishing on the lead lap for the second time that season and finished 21st in his Liberty Village Dodge.
Personal
Fike is single and has a daughter Kylie.
References
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