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 HAMPTON,
GA (March 8) -- Mark Gibson captured his fourth ARCA win of his career
Saturday after winning the ARCA 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The win
also propelled the Winder, GA veteran into third place in the ARCA
RE/MAX Series standings behind Billy Venturini and defending series
champion Frank Kimmel who are currently tied for first in the series.
After dominating almost the entire race leading 145 of 149 laps, Frank
Kimmel's engine began to loose power giving the lead to Mark Gibson
with just 13 laps to go in the 162-lap race.
Persistent rains kept the ARCA combatants from most of
their practice time and also washed out qualifying. As a result, the
starting grid was determined by last year's car owners points which
placed Frank Kimmel on the pole with Tandy Marlin alongside.
The race began with Frank Kimmel immediately taking
the lead at the drop of the green flag. Kimmel went on to lead 145 of
the first 149 race laps (only giving up the lead once briefly to Jason
Jarrett for four circuits on lap 122). The defending ARCA Series
champion looked to be on his way to another win when his engine lost a
cylinder which handed the lead to Mark Gibson on lap 150. Gibson led
the final 13 circuits for the win in front of a cheering crowd of
hometown supporters. The win was Gibson's fourth of his career and
first at the 1.54-mile Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Young Shelby Howard finished in second place followed
by Jason Jarrett, Brent Sherman and Frank Kimmel in third through
fifth, respectively.
Tandy Marlin, cousin of Winston Cup driver Sterling
Marlin, finished in sixth place in his first-ever ARCA Series start.
Eighteen-year-old Jeremy Clements took seventh place followed by veteran
Ron Cox, Billy Venturini and rookie Bill Eversole in eighth through
tenth place. Eversole, who started 40th, also won the Hoosier Tire
Hard Charger Award for advancing the most positions with his 10th
place finish.
Billy Venturini and Frank Kimmel are now tied in the
ARCA RE/MAX Series standings with 420 points followed by race winner
Mark Gibson with 415 markers. Brent Sherman is in fourth place with
375 points and Ron Cox is in fifth place in the standings with 360
points.
Hoosier ARCA Series Product Manager Jeff Speer was on hand to monitor tire performance throughout the 162 lap event.
Speer commented, "Having our practice and qualifying rained out, many teams
were unsure of what their setup would do to the tires. After the first pit stop, at lap 40, tire wear looked great. The teams could have gone another 20 - 25 laps. Teams then could focus on fuel mileage, and track position."
Speer added, "This is the fourth year using this tire setup, and many of the teams praised the handling and tire wear after the race. This tire setup will also be used for the Lowe's Motor Speedway event in May."
The Atlanta ARCA event was the last scheduled event for Jeff Speer
serving as the series' product manager. He has served in this capacity
since 1995 when Hoosier became the spec tire for the ARCA Series. Jeff has been moved full time to Hoosier's Sports Car division
and will be covering many events within the Sports Car line, like the Porsche Club of America,
the SCCA Club and Solo and Viper Days. As a result, Doug Barnes,
Hoosier's ARCA Track Service Manager who joined Team-Hoosier last
year, will be taking on a greater role within the ARCA RE/MAX Series
with Jeff's reassignment.
Doug has been the ARCA
Track Service Manager since the beginning of the 2002 season. Prior to
coming to Hoosier, Doug served as a District Manager, Regional
Trainer, and National Event Coordinator for NASCAR Marketing events
during his affiliation with Lowe's. He has also served as a Manager
and National Trainer during his service with Best Buy. He also has a
background in quality assurance and testing and is a veteran of the US
Air Force.
Hoosier Vice President of Sales Dennis Sherman
commented on the move, "Jeff has done a tremendous job over the
years in the ARCA Series managing the product, answering questions and
working with the leadership in the ARCA Series to guarantee a
competitive and safe tire." Sherman added, "Jeff has been a
significant factor in the successful relationship between the ARCA
Series and Hoosier Tire over the years. With that said, we are very
excited about Doug's ability to build on the successful foundation
Jeff has developed over the years as our relationship with the ARCA
Series moves forward into the future."
The next ARCA RE/MAX Series race is a night race on
April 11, at Nashville Superspeedway.
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