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 BROOKLYN,
MI (June14) -- Second generation driver Casey Mears continues to
impress after winning the ARCA RE/MAX Series Flagstar 200, at Michigan
International Speedway on Saturday. Although Mears won the right to
start the 100-lap event from the pole, he and several other drivers
were sent to the back of the field for the start of the race after
failing to get through ARCA's pre-race inspections in time. Mears'
speed in qualifying was 188.073 mph crushing the old M.I.S. record by
over 3 mph. The old one lap record was 185.000 mph set by Jason
Jarrett and both records were established while each driver was riding
on Hoosier tires. Mears won the race from the rear of the field and
won by an impressive seven-second margin over Winston Cup veteran
Hermie Sadler. Series points leader Frank Kimmel rounded out the top
three.
Forty-one cars started the Flagstar 200, but with
front row starters Casey Mears and Kyle Busch sent to the rear of the
field, that left Hermie Sadler and Frank Kimmel starting out front.
Kimmel took command early leading the first 16 circuits before Kyle
Busch had quickly worked his way back to the front. Busch however,
would lead only nine laps before running over some debris on the track
cutting down his right rear tire and seriously damaging the two-time
ARCA winner's #87 Chevrolet. Busch's hard luck handed the lead to
Hermie Sadler who led for two laps before giving way to Michigan's own
Jason Hedlesky who led the next nine laps before relinquishing the
lead back to veteran Frank Kimmel. Kimmel also led for nine more laps
before Casey Mears made his move on lap 46. Mears dominated the rest
of the race winning by more than seven seconds over Hermie Sadler with
Jeffersonville, Indiana's Frank Kimmel settling for third place.
Matt Hagans, from Brownsburg, IN, wound up fourth
after starting 13th, while past ARCA champion and Michigan native Tim
Steele made a successful return to ARCA competition finishing in fifth
place.
Additional race notes: The race had six cautions for a
total of 37 laps and took 1 hour and 42 minutes to complete. Fourteen
of the 41 starters finished the race on the lead lap. Jimmy Henderson
won the Hoosier Tire Hard Charger Award for advancing the most
positions after starting 27th in the field and finishing in seventh
place. With the series nearing its halfway point, Mears becomes the
sixth different winner in the 10 races contested to date in the series
and breaks a four-race string of repeat race winners. Nearly 50
Hoosier employees, friends, and family members made the two-hour trek
from northern Indiana to watch the exciting race as guests of Hoosier
and the ARCA Series.
Frank Kimmel continues to lead in the ARCA Series
point standings with 2900 points followed by Jason Jarrett with 2500
points as Jarrett finished in ninth in the race. Brent Sherman rounds
out the top three in the standings with 2300 points. Sherman finished
sixth on Saturday.
The ARCA RE/MAX Series will next compete at Virginia's
South Boston Speedway on July 2nd.
Hoosier is proud to be the exclusive tire provider for
the ARCA RE/MAX Series for the 2003 season. Hoosier has been the only
tire used in the series for nearly a decade.
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