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 SPARTA,
KY (May 8) -- Over 23,000 fans were witness to rookie Ryan Hemphill
etching his name into the ARCA RE/MAX Series record books as a
first-time winner capturing the "Channel 5-205" at Kentucky
Speedway Saturday night. The Apollo, PA driver took the lead on lap
22, after previous race winner Frank Kimmel hit oil on the track which
sent the defending series champion into the turn three wall. Once out
front, Hemphill steered his #64 Trim Spa Dodge to perfection stopping
just once for fuel and a fresh set of Hoosiers. The 137-lap race was
also carried live on SPEED Channel which allowed many more race fans
to enjoy the exciting event and Hemphill's eventual victory.
Forty-one cars were entered in the race with 40 of
them taking the green flag. Frank Kimmel earned the Pork Pole Award as
the events fastest qualifier after circling the 1.5-mile oval in
31.702 seconds (170.336 mph) with rookie Ryan Hemphill starting
alongside the series veteran in the front row.
The race began with Kimmel taking the race lead with
Hemphill in tow. Kimmel was in command of the race until disaster
struck on lap 22. That's when Kimmel's #46 Advance Auto Parts-Pork
Ford hit a patch of oil from an earlier blown engine which sent the
champion driver into the outside retaining wall. The crash handed the
race lead to Hemphill who knew exactly what to do with it.
Hemphill led the remaining 116 laps stopping just once
for fuel and tires on lap 60, en route to his first career ARCA RE/MAX
Series win in only his third series start. Eleventh starting Billy
Venturini finished in second place followed by Mark Gibson, Ken Weaver
and Christie Passmore. Interestingly, three of the top five finishers
set or tied their career best finish. Joining Hemphill, Ken Weaver had
his best series finish in fourth, while Christie Passmore matched her
career-best finish in fifth--this, despite spinning early on in the
race.
Rounding out the top ten and completing the list of
lead-lap finishers were Keith Murt, Todd Bowsher, Blake Feese, Brian
Keselowski and Jason Jarrett in fifth through tenth, respectively. The
race had eight cautions for a total of 58 laps.
Hemphill now joins Frank Kimmel, Blake Feese and Kyle
Busch as 2004 ARCA winners. The fifth race on the ARCA RE/MAX Series
schedule is this Sunday, May 16, at Toledo (OH) Speedway.
Hoosier's ARCA Track Service Manager Doug Barnes, who
attended the race, commented. "The (Hoosier) tires performed
flawlessly today. The track surface was ground last month and it
actually improved the performance of the tire codes we brought to this
weekend's event. The tires just appeared to get better and better as
the race laps mounted." Barnes added, "On behalf of the
entire Hoosier organization I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations
to Ryan (Hemphill) and the entire Trim Spa Dodge team."
The event was serviced by Hoosier Racing Tire's
traveling track service team which attends every ARCA Series event.
Those in attendance included Doug Barnes, engineer Rick Tostevin, Dave
Wroblewski, Mike "Moonpie" Haenes, Chris Grossman, Ray
Grant, Larry "Toots" Merrill and Jake Hartle who was making
his first appearance at a speedway race.
Frank Kimmel, despite finishing a disappointing 20th,
retained the ARCA RE/MAX Series points lead with 870 points followed
by Billy Venturini with 825 points. Ryan Hemphill is in third place
with 650 points followed by Brent Sherman and Todd Bowsher.
Since 1995, the ARCA RE/MAX Series has run exclusively
on Hoosier tires .
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