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 LONG
POND, PA (June 12) -- In his first-ever ARCA RE/MAX Series start,
NASCAR Nextel Cup rookie Scott Riggs won Saturday's Pocono ARCA 200,
at Pocono Raceway
after starting 30th in the 39-car field. Riggs finished ahead of
fellow Nextel Cup competitor Kenny Schrader. Schrader started back
in 32nd place before finishing runner-up to Riggs. A.J. Henrikson
finished in third place after starting 31st. As is many times the
case, gas mileage played a key roll in the race outcome with 3-time
ARCA winner Ryan Hemphill closing in on Riggs in the closing stages of
the race only to run out of gas with just two laps remaining.
Hemphill, after a gas-and-go pit stop settled for a seventh place
finish. Hoosier is the official tire of the ARCA RE/MAX Series.
The starting grid for Saturday's race was set by
owner's points after rain washed out qualifying on Thursday. That
placed Frank Kimmel on the pole with rookie and previous race winner
Ryan Hemphill alongside.
The race on the 2.5-mile tri-oval began with Hemphill
taking the lead over Kimmel as the green flag waved. Hemphill led the
race's first 37 circuits before Scott Riggs took over the lead after
passing 29 other cars en route to the front. Riggs led for seven laps
before Hemphill moved back into the race lead for two more circuits
before 32nd starting Kenny Schrader took over leading the event. Schrader
led for eight laps before Riggs regained the top spot for good leading
the final 25 laps of the event with Kenny Schrader finishing in second
place--the only two cars on the lead lap at the finish. A.J. Henrikson
finished in third place after starting 30th in the field. Billy
Venturini and Bobby Gerhart finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
Jason Jarrett finished in sixth with Ryan Hemphill,
Mark Gibson, Frank Kimmel and Brent Sherman finishing seventh through
tenth, respectively--two laps down. The race had just two cautions for
a total of nine laps.
The event was held in conjunction with the NASCAR
Nextel Cup race which was won by Jimmy Johnson. Unlike the Nextel Cup
race, all the competitors in the ARCA race used Hoosier's 5100 left
side and 5580 right side radial tires with one inch of stagger. The
same codes will be used in the July race at Pocono, after which, the
codes will be retired.
Despite being involved in a rental car/deer accident
prior to Thursday's scheduled qualifying, Hoosier's ARCA Track Service
Manager Doug Barnes attended the race and commented, "The tires
performed very well this afternoon. The tires had excellent wear
characteristics and were consistent on the track." Barnes added,
"It was good to also hear the comparative comments from drivers
competing in both races. Those comments show Hoosier continues to
provide the best racing tires and service in the world." (Barnes
was not injured in the accident.)
In addition to Barnes who attends all series events,
trackside service was skillfully provided by engineer Rick Tostevin,
Dave Wroblewski, Larry "Toots" Merrill, Chris Grossman, Mike
"Moonpie" Haenes, Eddie Ashworth and Jacob Hartle.
Frank Kimmel continues to lead the ARCA RE/MAX Series
standings with 1965 points followed by Billy Venturini (1790), Jason
Jarrett (1655), Brent Sherman (1610) and Ryan Hemphill (1560).
The ARCA RE/MAX Series will be back in action this
weekend, June 19th, for the Flagstar 200, at Michigan International
Speedway. The close proximity of the Brooklyn, Michigan facility will
allow many Hoosier employees from Indiana to attend the race via pit
passes provided to all Hoosier employees.
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