 LONG
POND, PA (June 11, 2005) --Nextel Cup rookie Travis Kvapil took full advantage
of his opportunity to get some "seat time" on Pocono Raceway winning
the 80-lap "Pocono ARCA 200" on Saturday in his first-ever ARCA
RE/MAX Series start. Kvapil, the 2003 Craftsman Truck champion, led four times
for 56 laps en route to the win. Kvapil now becomes the series' sixth different winner
in first eight races of the 2005 season.Driving the #27 Kodak/Jasper Engines Dodge, Kvapil started the weekend by
earning the Pork Pole Award as the event's fastest qualifier circling the
2.5-mile tri-oval in 54.133 seconds or 166.257 mph. Forty cars took the green flag Saturday
afternoon with Kvapil and Joey Miller leading the field to the starting line.
Drivers leading during the race included; Travis Kvapil (1, 4-28, 33-37,
56-80), Joey Miller (2-3, 29, 38-40, 49-55), Ken Weaver (30-32), Chad McCumbee
(41-48). The race had just four cautions for a total of 26 laps.
Following Kvapil to the finish line was fourth starting Frank Kimmel after
battling back from a lap down. Kimmel was just 2.017 seconds behind Kvapil at
the finish line. Joey Miller finished in third place followed by Chad McCumbee
and Michael Guerity in fourth and fifth place, respectively. Christi Passmore
finished in sixth place--the first car a lap down.
Frank Kimmel continues to lead the driver standings with 2000 points
followed closely by Joey Miller with 1965 points. Chad Blount remains in third with
1720 points after suffering an engine failure and finishing 32nd in Saturday's
race.
TIRES: After three consecutive races on bias-ply tires, the ARCA competitors raced on Hoosier's 12.0/28.0-15 radial tires
used on speedway tracks. The cars used 5120 left side and 5755 right side tires
with one inch of stagger. The left side tire code will be used again this
weekend at Michigan International Speedway.
All ARCA Series events are serviced out of Hoosier headquarters
in Lakeville, IN. The service team for the Pocono event included; ARCA RE/MAX
Series Track Service Manager Doug Barnes, Rick Tostevin, Dave Wroblewski, Jake
Hartle, Larry Merrill, Chris Grossman and Mike Haenes.
QUOTE from Hoosier's Doug Barnes: “Everyone
loves the (Hoosier) tires we bring to Pocono. I would also like to congratulate
Darrell Basham who earned the Hoosier Tire Hard Charger Award for advancing the
most positions. Darrell finished 14th after starting back in the 30th position.”
QUOTE from ARCA driver Brian Kaltreider car #36: “Hoosier
brings an awesome tire. They have great grip with very little wear. I could
have run the entire race on one set of tires.”
The "seat time" Kvapil enjoyed in Saturday's
ARCA race may have helped the 29-year-old driver on Sunday when he tied his
second best Nextel Cup finish of the season when he finished 17th.
The ARCA RE/MAX Series is back in action this Friday, June 17,
at Michigan International Speedway. The race will be carried LIVE on SPEED
Channel beginning at 5:00 pm (ET). For complete race results and more
information about the ARCA RE/MAX Series, visit their website at www.arcaracing.com.
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