 LONG
POND, PA (July 23, 2005) -- Frank Kimmel took a huge step Saturday in his bid
to claim his 7th ARCA RE/MAX Series championship. The veteran driver dominated
the "Pennsylvania 200" at Pocono Raceway leading 63 of 80 laps en
route to claiming his 4th win of the season and 60th series win of his career.
This, combined with Joey Miller's 34th place finish, helped propel the
Clarksville, IN driver to a commanding lead in the driver standings. Kimmel
entered Saturday's race 130 points ahead of Miller. But when the race was over,
Kimmel's lead ballooned to 295 points over the talented rookie driver. Kimmel
also benefited by the decision of ML Motorsports and driver Chad Blount to move
on to Busch Series competition after they were penalized points after last
week's race at Berlin for violating series rules. Blount had been in third
place in the standings and well within striking distance of the championship.
Blount, like Kimmel, each have four wins this season with ten
races remaining in the 23-race ARCA RE/MAX Series schedule.
Another huge field was on hand at Pocono's 2.5-mile asphalt tri-oval with 44
cars entered and 42 making the trip to the picturesque Pennsylvania track. In qualifying,
Joey Miller won his 3rd career pole making just his 14th series start. Miller's
time was 54.238 seconds or 165.935 mph. By winning the pole and earning five
bonus points, Miller edged to within 125 points of points leader Frank Kimmel.
Kimmel, however, was second in qualifying and joined the rising star in the
front row.
Miller jumped out to the early race lead before giving way to Kimmel after
just five miles of competition. Miller's day ended after just six laps when his
engine expired. As bad as Miller's day was, Kimmel's day was just that good
leading four times for 63 laps en route to dominating the race. Other race
leaders included Chad McCumbee (15-18), David Ragan (30-35) and Ken Weaver
(48-52).
Following Kimmel to the finish line 34th starting rookie Chad McCumbee.
McCumbee had to use a provisional starting spot to get into the 39-car starting
grid after wrecking his primary car in qualifying. Erin Crocker was once again
a model of consistency finishing in third place after starting third. Although
it took a last-lap pass of David Ragan to secure the position.
David Ragan finished in fourth place followed by Ken Weaver, Jason Jarrett,
Bobby Gerhart, Mike Guerity, Mike Harmon and Johnny Leonard in fifth through
tenth place, respectively, as seven cars finished on the lead-lap. The race was
slowed for cautions just four times for 20 laps.
Brad Smith won the Hoosier Tire Hard Charger Award for non-provisional
starters advancing the most positions. Smith finished 17th after starting
30th.
Frank Kimmel increases his lock on first place in the driver's standings
with 3380 points, while Joey Miller remains in second place dropping to 295
points behind Kimmel. Though not competing Saturday, Chad Blount retains the
third position with 2870 points. Rounding out the top ten in the rankings is
Ken Weaver (2585), Mark Gibson (2430), Chad McCumbee (2430) Brandon Knupp
(2330), Mike Harmon (2250), Jason Jarrett (2175) and Todd Bowsher (2155).
TIRES: At Pocono, all 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 compound codes with one inch of stagger. Hoosier is the
"official tire" for the ARCA RE/MAX Series.
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, Mike
Haenes, Chad Wright, Jacob Hartle, Larry Merrill and Eddie Ashworth.
The ARCA RE/MAX Series is back in action this Friday, July 29, at Gateway
International Raceway in Madison, IL for the Shop 'n Save 150." There are
already 45 cars pre-registered for this event. For complete race results and
more information about the ARCA RE/MAX Series visit their website at www.arcaracing.com.
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