Kimmel's Second Runner-Up of 2012 Comes in Team's Backyard
For Immediate Release: Monday, May 21, 2012 News & Notes from Menards 200 at Toledo Speedway (TOLEDO, Ohio) - Without question, second-place finisher Frank Kimmel wishes he had won the Menards 200 presented by Federated Car Care at Toledo Speedway. Still, he enjoyed several positives after Sunday's race. |
Kimmel's winless streak extended to 68 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards events since September 2008, but his runner-up result was his second in five races for new team ThorSport Racing, which is housed just an hour's drive east of Toledo Speedway in Sandusky, Ohio. "In the big picture, it's a good day for us and the Ansell/Menards car," Kimmel said. "We're really close to Sandusky, where ThorSport is, and we had big contingents out here from Ansell, Menards, and ThorSport. We ran well for them, and that's what we needed to do." Kimmel led 20 laps, bringing his ARCA career record total to 10,354 laps led. He had not led in any of the series' first four races this year. Race winner Chris Buescher passed him just after a restart on Lap 153 and drove off to victory. "Out in the front, (the car) was really good on new tires," Kimmel said. "The thing was fast, but it seemed like the longer the run, the tighter it would get. It just stopped turning a bit, and the same thing happened at Mobile. These guys aren't going to stop; they're going to keep working to figure it out. It ran so well most of the day, and there at the end, we were still the second-best car. Congratulations to Chris and those guys. They did a great job." Hessert's Lead His First in 28 Races: Tom Hessert last led the ARCA Racing Series point standings after the September 6, 2010 race at the DuQuoin (Ill.) State Fairgrounds, and is back on top after finishing fifth in the Menards 200. That DuQuoin race, 28 races ago, was followed by an event at none other than Toledo Speedway. Hessert finished eighth, falling out of a tie for the lead with eventual champion Patrick Sheltra. Hessert went on to finish third in the standings that year, just behind Craig Goess. When the standings become official Tuesday, Hessert's latest Toledo performance will have him 15 points clear of Chris Buescher (No. 17 BeavEx/Reliance Tool Ford), 1195-1180. "This was by far not our best race car we've had (at Toledo), but we raced really smart," said Hessert (No. 52 Federated Auto Parts Chevrolet). "(Crew chief) Donnie Richeson and all the guys did a really good job making adjustments." Incoming points leader Brennan Poole (No. 25 CJ Solar Band Chevrolet) is now third, 20 points behind Hessert. Chad Hackenbracht (No. 58 Tastee Apple Chevrolet) is fourth at -30, and Frank Kimmel (No. 44 Ansell/Menards Toyota) is in the top five for the first time this season at -45. Ryan Reed (No. 15 JDRF Toyota) is sixth, ahead of Mikey Kile (No. 1 ModSpace Ford), Alex Bowman (No. 22 St. Jude Children's Research Hospital Dodge), Matt Lofton (No. 16 Strutmasters.com Chevrolet), and top-10 newcomer Josh Williams (No. 02 Southwest Florida Cable Construction Ford). Williams is 210 points behind Hessert through five races. 16 drivers earned a 250-point bonus for entering and competing in each of the series' first five races. Drivers outside the top 10 who earned those points were Larry Barford Jr., Darrell Basham, Nelson Canache, Milka Duno, Spencer Gallagher, and James Hylton. Buescher Wins Aaron's Lap Leader Award: Chris Buescher led 106 of 200 laps in his Menards 200 win to seal the Aaron's Lap Leader Award for the race. Buescher is second in the season-long Lap Leader standings, 99 laps behind Alex Bowman, who led 55 laps from the pole Sunday. Buescher has led 313 of 1006 laps in his four wins over the last five races at Toledo, including 126 in his first Toledo win on May 23, 2010. He spoke after the race about his dominance at the track from 2010-2012, representative of major improvement after finishing 16th and eighth in two Toledo races in 2009. "The first two races, I could not get out of my own way, and it was something I struggled with all year," he said. "We brought a different car back, and this one has really come alive. It's a track that suits the Roulo brothers, and suits me, I guess." Sixty in Sixty: In ARCA's 60 years of competition, exactly 60 drivers have won six or more ARCA Racing Series races, and Chris Buescher's Menards 200 victory made him the latest to join that group. Other drivers with exactly six wins are A. Arnold, Bill Baird, Earl Balmer, Bob Dotter, Ed Hage, Ryan Hemphill, Ralph Latham, Paul Parks, and Mike Wallace. Roulos Win Cometic Crew Chief, Klotz Mechanic Race Awards: Chris Buescher's win after starting third delivered a near-perfect points performance for Gary Roulo in his pursuit of the race's Cometic Crew Chief Award. Roulo earned 390 points (190 for qualifying, 200 for the race) and captured the award for the first time this season. He trails Kevin Reed of CGH Motorsports by 25 points, 1465-1440, in the year-long standings. Likewise, Russell Roulo earned the Klotz Mechanic of the Race honors for the first time in 2012. Enfinger a Hard Charger in ARCA Return: Grant Enfinger (No. 99 Hylant Group Ford) could be forgiven for being a bit rusty in Menards Pole Qualifying presented by Ansell on Saturday afternoon. After all, he had not entered an ARCA event since March 10 at Mobile. Despite qualifying 14th, Enfinger finished third in the Menards 200. His 11-position rise gave him the CGS Imaging Hard Charger of the Race Award, just miles from the award sponsor's headquarters in Maumee, Ohio. "I feel good," Enfinger said after the race. "I'm disappointed we didn't have anything for Buescher and Kimmel there but all these guys worked really, really hard on a last-minute deal that got put together. Hylant Group and Hewes Concrete Polishing, I can't say enough for those guys and everybody that made this happen. There's a lot of people behind the scenes and last year's car with Mike Allgaier helped with this deal, like Kelly Kovski and a lot of the guys from last year. It makes it special." Enfinger hopes to race again soon in the ARCA Racing Series, with sponsorship pending. After Enfinger's race award win, Buster Graham leads Will Kimmel and Clint King in the season-long CGS Imaging Hard Charger Award standings. King Takes Third Top-Five: Still just 16 years old, Clint King (No. 66 Jaclyn North Chevrolet) earned his third top-five in six starts for Venturini Motorsports. He traded positions with Grant Enfinger in the race's late stages, ultimately finishing fourth. He had started 13th. Gaining on a short track was nothing new to King, who started 20th and finished fifth at Mobile in March. "We missed our qualifying trim a little bit, but our race trim was spot on," he said. "We just had to be really patient and work our way through this field. It was such a tight field, but a blast to drive. It was one of the hardest times I've had in ARCA so far. "Big thanks to Grant Enfinger; he's an awesome race car driver. We battled back and forth so many times today, and both of us have clean race cars and didn't take each other out, so he's an awesome driver. I appreciate the opportunity to run with him. (Crew chief) Teddy Brown and Venturini Motorsports, everybody there, did a fantastic job preparing this race car." Bowman Top Rookie for Third Time: Alex Bowman's eighth-place finish made him the highest Toledo Speedway finisher of those competing for Team Messina Rookie Challenge honors. He has won the race award and the accompanying 30 points three times in five events, but trails leader Brennan Poole by 14 points and Ryan Reed by eight in the overall standings. Local, National ARCA Champions Recognized: As part of ARCA's 60th Anniversary Season and the only "home track" race for ARCA's premier tour this season, the pre-race ceremonies at Toledo Speedway included the recognition of 34 past champions and notable personalities from the ARCA Racing Series, ARCA Truck Series, ARCA touring series, and ARCA-owned Toledo and Flat Rock Speedways. The drivers recognized were Chris Bailey, Rollie Beale, Bobby Bowsher, Danny Byrd, Randy Cornett, Randy Cronenwett, Michael Dailey, Bill Forney, Jack Franzil, Dave Golembiewski, Chuck Hall, Rick Harrell, Joe Hawes, Pat Haywood, Dick Huston, Jeep Iacobucci, Terry Jones, Frank Kimmel, Rick Knowles, Jerry Makara, Dave Miller, Jeremy Miller, Moose Myers, Jerry Nemire, Brian Norton, Landon Schuster, Dick Simmons, Robbin Slaughter, Scott Stovall, Bob Studt, Brad Turner, Bill Venturini, Roger Vroman, and Paul Wensink. "To me, it's an honor to be out here with guys like Moose Myers and Bill Venturini Sr. and Bobby Bowsher. Those guys are just awesome racers and people I look up to - everybody but Bobby; I hated running against him because he was always so good," Kimmel said with a smile. "It's a pleasure to be out there with them." Bowsher was a central figure in Kimmel's early ARCA history, winning championships in the year of Kimmel's first full season (1992) and first ARCA win (1994). Venezuelan Canache Earns His Best Finish: Nelson Canache (No. 35 Venezuelan Tourism Toyota) earned his first top-20 finish in five races for Venturini Motorsports after finishing 16th. He was the only top-20 driver with a career-best result Sunday. As has become customary this season, Canache was one of two drivers - along with Milka Duno (No. 6 MilkaWay/CanTV Toyota) - from Caracas, the capital and largest city in Venezuela. Venezuela was one of four nations represented in the Menards 200, along with Canada, Mexico, and the United States. The last time four nations were represented in one ARCA race was almost exactly one year ago, on May 22 at New Jersey Motorsports Park. Canadian Andrew Ranger edged Australian George Miedecke in a thrilling finish to a race featuring drivers from five countries. Twenty states were represented. Three Make Debut Starts: In line from 28th through 30th in the finishing order were three drivers making their ARCA Racing Series debuts. Korbin Forrister of Cedartown, Ga. led the group in the No. 68 Tilted Kilt Ford. Following him were Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico's Juan Carlos Blum (No. 18 VMP Nutrition Dodge) and North Canton, Ohio's Ronnie Souders Jr. (No. 94 Power Bore Cylinder Sleeves Chevrolet). Unknown Elko the Next Hurdle: The ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards will visit Elko Speedway in Minnesota for the first time on Saturday, June 2, in the Akona 200 presented by Federated Car Care. In 60 seasons, the tour has hosted races in 28 states, and Minnesota will be the 29th. ARCARacing.com will feature live timing and scoring and live audio coverage from the race, which will begin at 8 p.m. Central. Several drivers provided basic outlooks for the 200-lap, 75-mile race, even if the track remains an unknown for most. "I don't know a whole lot," said Brennan Poole, who finished 22nd in the Menards 200. "I know it's really tiny, and might be a little similar to (a race at Toledo), as far as strategies go. I hear it's got a pretty good surface. It should be fun. It'll be tight, short track racing, with a lot of bumping and running. I'm looking forward to getting up there; I haven't been to Minnesota in a long time." Tom Hessert is trusting his crew chief, Donnie Richeson, for an idea on what the track might be like. "Donnie says it's a little like South Boston (Speedway in Virginia)," he said. "It's always fun going to new tracks. I like short tracks. Mikey Kile overcame a Lap 4 spin and four pit stops to finish sixth for Andy Belmont Racing at Toledo. He, too, is unfamiliar with Elko Speedway. "I've seen pictures of it; that's about the extent of it," Kile said. "It looks fairly smooth, and like a circle track. Turn left. It's one of those deals where (crew chief) Jeff (McClure) has some good stuff for there. We'll go there, turn left, and get a handle on it." Speaking from Sun Drop Winner's Circle at Toledo Speedway, Chris Buescher compared Elko to another track on the ARCA Racing Series schedule. "I know it's a bullring, and I know it's in...Minnesota," he said. "I hear it's something like Berlin, but probably with more bite. We've got a car that we haven't run before, and we're going to try it out there. We're looking forward to it." 2012 is the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards' 60th Anniversary Season, featuring 20 races at 18 tracks. The complete 2012 event schedule is available at ARCARacing.com. The ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards has crowned an ARCA national champion each year since its inaugural season in 1953, and has toured over 200 race tracks in 28 states since its inception. The series has tested the abilities of drivers and race teams over the most diverse schedule of stock car racing events in the world, visiting tracks ranging from 0.4 mile to 2.66 miles in length, on both paved and dirt surfaces as well as a left- and right-turn road course in its most recent season. This year, the series visited Alabama's Mobile International Speedway for the first time. In June, the first event at Minnesota's Elko Speedway will give ARCA a race in a 29th state. Founded by John and Mildred Marcum in 1953 in Toledo, Ohio, the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) is recognized among the leading sanctioning bodies in the country. Closing in on completing its sixth decade after hundreds of thousands of miles of racing, ARCA administers over 100 race events each season in three professional touring series and local weekly events. CONTACT: Griffin Hickman, ARCA Don Radebaugh, ARCA |
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