A. J. Fike

Infobox NASCAR driver
Name = A.J. Fike
Birthdate = birth date and age|1980|12|29
Birthplace = Galesburg, Illinois
Prev_Busch_Year = 2005
Prev_Busch_Pos = 68th
Best_Busch_Pos = 68th - 2005 (Busch Series)
Busch_Wins = 0
Busch_Top_Tens = 0
Busch_Poles = 0
First_Busch_Race = 2005 Hershey's Take 5 300 (Daytona) | Last_Busch_Race = 2005 Sam's Town 250 (Atlanta)
Total_Busch_Races = 7
Years_In_Busch = 1
Awards = 1999 USAC National Midget Series Rookie of the Year
Updated_On = June 18, 2008

A.J. Fike is an American racecar driver. He was born on December 29, 1980 and resides in Galesburg, Illinois. He is the older brother of suspended Truck Series driver Aaron Fike.

He drove the #43 Curb Agajanian Performance Group Dodge for 7 races in 2005.

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 22 career RE/MAX Series starts, he has 3 top-5 finishes and 9 top-10s with a career-best finish of second at Berlin, Illinois. He also finished third at Gateway, fifth at Nashville, sixth at Toledo & Lake Erie, eighth at Chicagoland, eighth at Salem, ninth at South Boston & tenth at Speedway.

Open Wheel

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. 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 also finished sixth in USAC Midget national points in 2002; posting a win at Limaland Motorsports Park in Ohio. Fike finished a career-best second in USAC Midget points in 2001 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. Fike was named 1999 USAC National Midget Rookie of the Year. In 1998 he finished second in NAMARS Midgets points with three feature event victories. He finished tenth in the Indianapolis Speedrome midget points in 1997.

Truck Series

Fike made two career major NASCAR starts before 2005. Both were in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

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.

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 fared worse than the previous year. He would finish 33rd, after DNFing for being black flagged for lack of speed.

Busch Series

Fike began running the Busch Series in 2005, filling in for his brother Aaron in select races. He made his debut at the Hershey's Take 5 300, staring 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. It would prove to be a good race. He finished on the lead lap for the 2nd time that season and finished 21st in his Liberty Village Dodge. Fike's NASCAR future is unsure for the time being.

Personal

Fike is single at the moment, but has a daughter Kylie.

External links

* [http://www.racing-reference.info/driver?id=fikea.01 Career Stats]
* [http://www.ajfike.com A.J. Fike's Site]