|
 DAYTONA,
FL (February 10) -- After starting fifth in his own
JamesAuto.com-Truck World Pontiac #5, Bobby Gerhart went on to capture the
rain-shortened ARCA season opener at Daytona International Speedway. Gerhart
won the 39th Annual Discount Auto Parts 200 Sunday afternoon, thanks
in part to his out-of-sequence pit strategy and Mother Nature. The event also marked the first time
ARCA competitors raced on Hoosier's 1" wider (12.0/28.0-15) tire
than that which was
used in previous super speedway events. When the race was completed,
the new tire was met with
extremely positive reviews from the drivers.
Chase Montgomery earned the pole for Sunday's
race after posting a qualifying lap time of 48.769 seconds for a speed
of 184.543 mph. Billy Venturini claimed outside pole honors after
circling the 2.5-mile super speedway in 48.856 seconds (184.215 mph). A
stout 41-car field took the green flag for what was to be an 80-lap,
200 mile race. Billy Venturini quickly took advantage of his high line
position to jump out to the early race lead. But his lead would be
brief, with Bobby Gerhart, who started fifth, charging into the lead on
the second lap. When the caution came out on lap 20, Gerhart
elected to pit while most stayed out on the track. But Gerhart felt
his fuel window was 60 laps. So, with just one pit stop, he would be
in position to go the rest of the way without stopping. Damon Lusk
took over the race lead when Gerhart came into the pits. When the
racing resumed, Lusk led the next 12 circuits to
lap 32, when 16 year-old Shelby Howard took his turn leading the race.
Howard would lead until lap 36 when the showers came down bringing out
a red flag stop of the event. When the race
restarted some 40 minutes later on lap 37, Bobby Gerhart was back out front after the
rest of the field made their
pit stops. When the rain returned and since over half the race
laps had been completed, the race was declared over and ended under caution on lap
54
(26 laps
short of the scheduled 80-lap distance) with Gerhart declared the race
winner. In the winner's circle, a jubilant Bobby Gerhart commented
on the new wider tire Hoosier brought to the event: "It was
wonderful,.... wonderful." Gerhart continued, "It felt like
just when we tested here in August." Bobby Gerhart tested
the new tire back in August of 2001 when the decision was made to
evaluate a wider tire for super speedway applications in the ARCA
Series. Hoosier ARCA Product Manager Jeff Speer attended the
event along with many engineers and managers to closely monitor the
performance of the wider tire. Speer commented after the event,
"The goal of the wider 12.0/28.0-15 tire was to provide the
drivers more stability and better handling characteristics on super
speedway tracks than the narrower 11.0/28.0-15 tire." Speer
added, "The new tire was a huge success today. The tire provided
the drivers a greater comfort level on the track at high speeds due to
the increased traction the wider tire provided. We also saw longer
tread wear which was an added benefit. Overall, we are extremely
pleased with the performance of the new tire here at Daytona and look
forward to similar results at Talladega." Finishing in second
place after starting 12th was Rick Carelli. Carelli also spoke highly
of the tires after his runner-up finish. "The tires were very
consistent. The tires were great, it was really fun!" Defending
ARCA Champion Frank Kimmel finished in third place and commented,
"The tires were good, it felt like they had more grip and
provided more traction." Chad Blount, from Walkerton, IN,
took fourth place, while Damon Lusk finished in fifth. Todd Bowsher,
who raced from 41st to 14th, earned the Hoosier Performance Tire Hard
Charger Award. The next stop for
the ARCA Series is March 9 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Hoosier Racing
Tire Corp. is proud to be the exclusive tire supplier to the ARCA
RE/MAX Series. |
