ARCA Wraps Up 3-Day Test at Daytona

ARCA RE/MAX Series Wraps Up 3-Day Test at Daytona Int’l Speedway

3^rd-Generation Racer Will Kimmel, Veteran Patrick Sheltra Quickest Overall

Logano, Carmichael, Hamilton, Gerhart, Jones Among the Testers

 

DAYTONA BEACH FL (12-21-08) – On the heels of a race event title sponsorship announcement, the ARCA RE/MAX Series wrapped up a three-day open test at Daytona Int’l Speedway over the weekend during which 62 drivers participated in preparation for the 46^th annual and newly-named Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 coming Saturday, February 7^th, 2009.

 

Several series regulars, an abundant collection of newcomers and an interesting combination of big names shared headlines throughout the open test under sunny skies and high temperatures in the low 80s.

 

Morning and afternoon test sessions Friday, Saturday and Sunday were divided up in separate single car runs and separate drafting runs.

 

Among the drivers who tested in the single car runs, third-generation ARCA racer Will Kimmel, nephew of nine-time series champion Frank Kimmel, circled the “World Center of Racing” quickest overall with a time of 49.730 seconds, for an average speed of 180.977 mph.

 

Kimmel, in the no. 44 Kimmel Racing Ford Fusion, attributed his on-track performance to, “Ford” and “an experienced crew.”

 

Steve Blackburn, in his own Dodge Charger, was second quickest overall among those who made single car runs with a speed of 180.955 mph. 

 

“We put on a new set (of tires) and they hooked up,” said Blackburn. “The test was a real boost to our team; we can walk out of here with our heads held high. Just hope we can come back in February and do it again.”

 

Blackburn was also second quickest overall among those who made runs in two separate drafting sessions Saturday and Sunday afternoon.

 

However, ARCA RE/MAX Series regular Patrick Sheltra, in a Dodge Charger, posted the quickest time of the entire three-day test in the Saturday afternoon drafting session during which the Indiantown, Florida driver set the bar with a top speed of 183.846 mph.

 

“We weren’t planning on drafting right away but we found ourselves right in the thick of the draft in our first three laps on the track and the car drafted brilliantly,” Sheltra said. “We just wanted to make sure it could suck up. It did that and more. I can’t take credit for everything. These guys that work on these racecars are the best and it’s because of their hard work that we’re sitting atop of the charts.”  

 

Newcomers’ JR Fitzpatrick, Parker Kligerman, Mikey Kile, and Beau Slocumb also showed promise in the draft as each spent time near the top of the charts.

 

Several teams with multi-car efforts participated including Bobby Gerhart Racing, Eddie Sharp Racing, TRG Motorsports, Venturini Motorsports, Andy Belmont Racing and Jones Group Racing to name a few.

 

Gerhart, a five-time ARCA winner at Daytona, tested several different drivers including Gomez, AJ Henriksen and Joey Coulter.

 

Gerhart’s team was one of the first to drive through the gates and one of the last to leave Sunday night.

 

“If there were five days, I would be here for all of them,” said Gerhart. “We try to get here first and we’re always the last to leave. That lesson was taught to me a long time ago.”

 

Gerhart, who hails from Lebanon, Pennsylvania, works tirelessly on his Daytona International Speedway cars and says that every year the field of drivers only gets tougher.

 

“The field is great,” Gerhart said of the 2009 entry list. “I know when I come here I become a very unpopular guy. In a way, it’s going to sound odd, but that’s a pretty big complement. That really goes to the level of exposure that this place has brought to this race.

 

“I’ve always felt that coming here to Daytona is a huge privilege for anybody. Just coming to the garage and be a part of this thing let alone get on the race track and in my case be unbelievably fortunate to win one (race) and looking back on it to be where we’re at today. I never could have envisioned that.”

 

Big names garnering headlines during the test included Joey Logano, Ricky Carmichael, Bobby Hamilton, Jr. and PJ Jones, all of whom spent time behind the wheel over the weekend.

 

Logano, testing under the Joe Gibbs Racing banner with Venturini Motorsports, took his first laps around the legendary motorsports facility.

 

“I’m just getting as many laps as I can and learn as much as I can,” Logano said, who will replace Tony Stewart as the driver of the Home Depot Toyota in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in 2009. “I’ve got a big year ahead on the Cup side . . . whatever I can do to make myself better.”

 

Logano is preparing to pull off the Saturday night doubleheader at Daytona.

 

“I’m doing it,” Logano added of his busy DIRECTV Speedweeks 2009 schedule. “I’m running both races (ARCA and Budweiser Shoot Out) and then I’ve got the Nationwide race with the Game Stop Toyota and then running the Cup race with the Home Depot Toyota. Between all that, I’ve got my hands full.”

 

Toss in the Gatorade Duel At Daytona 150-mile qualifying races, Logano will be racing five events during DIRECTV Speedweeks.

 

Carmichael, a five-time Daytona Supercross By Honda champion, added stock cars to the list as he too participated in the three-day ARCA RE/MAX Series test.

 

“This is what it’s all about; when you hear about Daytona, it’s stock car racing,” Carmichael said. “I’m having a great time here. This race track has a lot of character and a lot of history. This is what I want to do. I’ve been around here in a sports car and obviously a motorcycle a time or two. I’m just glad to be in a stock car. This is a dream of mine and I’m glad to have the opportunity to do that.”

 

Carmichael, utilizing the Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 ARCA RE/MAX Series race at Daytona as a tune-up for the 250-mile NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Daytona, tested a Chevrolet for Kevin Harvick Inc.

 

“We want to obviously get the car as fast as we can for qualifying and then drafting practice and see how the car drafts and make it handle as good as we can and do good in the actual race,” Carmichael said of this weekend’s testing goals. “For us, the main thing is going to be drafting practice and see how the car handles.”

 

Local Daytona Beach native/favorite Alli Owens was also on hand for the three-day test. The 20-year graduate from Atlantic High in Port Orange, in a D’Hondt Motorsports-prepared Toyota, was fourth fastest in the Saturday morning session.

 

“Every time I come back to Daytona, it’s always a special thing because I’m the hometown girl,” Owens said. “This is the first year in a Toyota and a new team with D’Hondt Motorsports and my sponsors that we still have with Electrifying Careers.com.

 

“Coming out here and seeing my name up front on the sheets for the last couple of days is exciting and cool. That’s something that’s never been never done before by me. It’s nice to see my name up there and hopefully it’s going to stay there.”

 

The Saturday afternoon, February 7^th Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 at Daytona Int’l Speedway is LIVE on SPEED.

 

CONTACT: ARCA 734-847-6726

 

ARCA RE/MAX Series Open Testing
Daytona Int'l Speedway, Daytona Beach FL
December 19, 20, 21, 2008
Overall Single Car Runs
POS	NO	NAME	TIME	SPEED	MAKE
1	44	Will Kimmel	49.730	180.977	Ford
2	69	Steve Blackburn	49.736	180.955	Dodge
3	14	Tom Hessert III	49.738	180.948	Ford
4	74	JR Heffner	49.751	180.901	Chev
5	60A	Patrick Sheltra	49.813	180.676	Dodge
6	19	Alli Owens	49.849	180.545	Toyota
7	30B	Dominick Casola	49.861	180.502	Dodge
8	25	Joey Logano	49.870	180.469	Toyota
9	5A	Bobby Gerhart	49.906	180.339	Chev
10	30A	Terry Jones	49.954	180.166	Dodge
11	5B	AJ Henriksen	49.965	180.126	Chev
12	95	Chase Mattioli	49.997	180.011
13	09	John Wes Townley	50.006	179.978	Ford
14	1A	Brett Butler	50.026	179.906	Ford
15	33	Ricky Carmichael	50.027	179.903	Chev
16	30C	Jesse Smith	50.036	179.870	Dodge
17	00	Ed Kennedy	50.038	179.863
18	11A	Bryan Silas	50.044	179.842	Ford
19	32B	James Buescher	50.092	179.669	Toyota
20	20	Steve Arpin	50.092	179.669	Dodge
21	5C	Jonathan Gomez	50.100	179.641	Chev
22	71B	Beau  Slocumb	50.137	179.508	Chev
23	51	Eddie Mercer	50.176	179.369	Chev
24	99A	John Ferrier	50.210	179.247	Ford
25	07	AJ Frank	50.279	179.001	Chev
26	15B	Marc Davis	50.296	178.941	Chev
27	07A	Matt Lofton	50.322	178.848	Chev
28	99	Randy Baker	50.336	178.798	Ford
29	5D	Joey Coulter	50.352	178.742	Chev
30	71A	JR Fitzpatrick	50.353	178.738	Chev
31	29	Mikey Kile	50.356	178.727	Chev
32	39	Mark Thompson	50.372	178.671	Ford
33	77	Parker Kligerman	50.391	178.603	Dodge
34	47	Peyton Sellers	50.421	178.497	Chev
35	7A	Stephen Mccurley	50.467	178.334	Chev
36	54	Roger Carter	50.520	178.147	Dodge
37	15B	Justin Lofton	50.564	177.992	Chev
38	37	PJ Jones	50.574	177.957	Chev
39	96	Todd Hoddick	50.590	177.901
40	9	Derek Murphy	50.630	177.760	Dodge
41	75B	Benny Chastain	50.643	177.715	Ford
42	80B	Scott Alves	50.651	177.687	Ford
43	80D	Charlie Vest	50.664	177.641	Ford
44	9A	Matt Merrell	50.703	177.504	Dodge
45	81B	Craig Goess	50.740	177.375	Toyota
46	80E	Mark Easton	50.751	177.336	Ford
47	4	Nur Ali	50.791	177.197	Dodge
48	0	Butch Jarvis	50.937	176.689	Dodge
49	80	Rick Clifton	50.965	176.592	Ford
50	31	Troy Wangerin	50.989	176.509
51	62	Larry Hollenbeck	51.099	176.129
52	27	Dicky Williamson	51.204	175.768	Ford
53	75A	Bob Schacht	51.208	175.754
54	80C	Alex Ciompi	51.340	175.302	Ford
55	75C	Charles Walker	51.355	175.251	Ford
56	2	Tim  George Jr.	51.485	174.808	Toyota
57	48	Leilani Munter	51.857	173.554	Ford
58	34	Darrell Basham	52.080	172.811	Chev
59	80A	Barry Fitzgerald	52.437	171.635	Ford
60	14A	Marcus Fux	52.674	170.862
61	7	Donny Kelley	53.075	169.571	Chev

 

 

ARCA RE/MAX Series Open Testing
Daytona Int'l Speedway, Daytona Beach FL
December 19, 20, 21, 2008
Overall Drafting Runs
POS	NO	NAME	TIME	SPEED	MAKE
1	60A	Patrick Sheltra	48.954	183.846	Dodge
2	71A	JR Fitzpatrick	49.183	182.990	Chev
3	15A	Ryan Fischer	49.205	182.908	Chev
4	71B	Beau  Slocumb	49.229	182.819	Chev
5	69	Steve Blackburn	49.335	182.426	Dodge
6	29	Mikey Kile	49.391	182.219	Chev
7	4	Nur Ali	49.414	182.135	Dodge
8	25	Joey Logano	49.471	181.925	Toyota
9	32B	James Buescher	49.480	181.892	Toyota
10	15B	Justin Lofton	49.486	181.870	Chev
11	20	Steve Arpin	49.500	181.818	Dodge
12	09	John Wes Townley	49.528	181.715	Ford
13	19	Alli Owens	49.529	181.712	Toyota
14	37	PJ Jones	49.547	181.646	Chev
15	47	Peyton Sellers	49.577	181.536	Chev
16	51	Eddie Mercer	49.579	181.528	Chev
17	33	Ricky Carmichael	49.583	181.514	Chev
18	14	Tom Hessert III	49.588	181.496	Ford
19	74	JR Heffner	49.603	181.441	Chev
20	77	Parker Kligerman	49.624	181.364	Dodge
21	95	Chase Mattioli	49.650	181.269
22	81A	Craig Goess	49.681	181.156	Toyota
23	30A	Terry Jones	49.720	181.014	Dodge
24	44	Will Kimmel	49.728	180.985	Ford
25	30B	Dominick Casola	49.813	180.676	Dodge
26	5C	Jonathan Gomez	49.826	180.629	Chev
27	1A	Brett Butler	49.886	180.411	Ford
28	11A	Bryan Silas	49.889	180.400	Ford
29	00	Ed Kennedy	49.926	180.267
30	99A	John Ferrier	49.944	180.202	Ford
31	5A	Bobby Gerhart	49.972	180.101	Chev
32	54	Roger Carter	49.981	180.068	Dodge
33	62	Larry Hollenbeck	50.005	179.982
34	2	Tim  George Jr.	50.071	179.745	Toyota
35	5D	Joey Coulter	50.102	179.634	Chev
36	48	Leilani Munter	50.125	179.551	Ford
37	30C	Jesse Smith	50.261	179.065	Dodge
38	99	Randy Baker	50.405	178.554	Ford
39	07A	Matt Lofton	50.474	178.310	Chev
40	14A	Marcus Fux	50.536	178.091	Ford
41	96	Todd Hoddick	50.549	178.045
42	9	Derek Murphy	50.552	178.034	Dodge
43	5B	AJ Henriksen	50.622	177.788	Chev
44	80C	Alex Ciompi	50.624	177.781	Ford
45	75C	Charles Walker	50.757	177.315	Ford
50	0	Butch Jarvis	50.873	176.911	Dodge
51	80A	Barry Fitzgerald	50.923	176.737
52	75B	Benny Chastain	50.960	176.609	Ford
53	31	Troy Wangerin	51.030	176.367
54	27	Dicky Williamson	51.337	175.312	Ford
55	34	Darrell Basham	51.989	173.114	Chev
56	7A	Stephen Mccurley	52.459	171.563	Chev
57	7	Donny Kelley	53.024	169.734	Chev

 

From  Don Radebaugh  PR/Media Director