 MADISON,
IL (July 29, 2005) -- Rookie Joey Miller bounced back after a disappointing
34th place finish last week at Pocono Raceway to win Friday night's ARCA RE/MAX
Series "Shop 'n Save 150" at Gateway International Raceway. Miller
dominated all night leading 107 of the 120 race laps en route to claiming his
second win of the season. Miller's victory also closed the gap between the
20-year-old driver and veteran Frank Kimmel after Kimmel's seventh place
finish. The Farmington, MN driver is now just 245 points behind the 6-time
champion with nine races remaining in the 23-race schedule. With the NEXTEL Cup
Series taking the week off, Kenny Schrader also participated in the event.
Never one to rest during an off-week, Schrader captured the pole for the race
and finished in third place behind rookie David Ragan. All competitors raced on
Hoosier radial tires. Hoosier has been the exclusive tire provider to the ARCA
RE/MAX Series for the past decade.
Forty-five cars were entered in the "Shop 'n Save 150" with 42
cars actually making the trip to Madison (IL). Ken Schrader won the Pork Pole
Award as the event's fastest qualifier. The veteran circled the 1.25-mile oval
in 34.058 seconds (132.128 mph). Forty-one cars took the green flag shortly
after 8:00 pm Friday.
The race featured five leaders among three different drivers including Joey
Miller (1-36, 42-78, 87-120), Kenny Schrader (37-41), and Chase Miller (79-86).
The race was slowed for various cautions nine times for 44 laps. Miller's
margin of victory was .538 seconds at the finish line.
Miller commented, "I really didn't mind the cautions. It gave my car
and tires a chance to cool down." Miller added, "We were
really good on restarts all night."
Second place finisher David Ragan stated, "I had a great time out
there. These (Hoosier) tires are great!"
Following Miller and his Country Joe Homes-Eagle Creek Aviation Dodge to the
line was fellow rookie David Ragan in the Spectra Metals/31-W Insulation Ford.
Kenny Schrader came home third in the Federated Auto Parts Chevrolet. Rookie
Chad McCumbee claimed the fourth spot with Erik Darnell coming from tenth place
to finish fifth.
Danny O'Quinn finished in sixth place followed by Frank Kimmel, Mark Gibson,
Brandon Knupp and Jason Jarrett in seventh through tenth. Ken Weaver and Bobby
Gerhart finished in 11th and 12th, respectively, as 12 of the 41 starters finished
the race on the lead lap.
TIRES: The ARCA Series was making its annual stop at Gateway with all
competitors using Hoosier 12.0/28.0-15 radials. The cars used 5120 (compound)
codes on their left sides, while it was the only event the 5580 right side
compound will be used this year.
All ARCA Series events are serviced out of Hoosier headquarters
in Lakeville, IN. Hoosier track service manager Doug Barnes made the trip to
Madison (IL) to oversee the service for the event. Barnes was assisted by Rick
Tostevin, Dave Wroblewski, Kevin Wroblewski, Mike Haenes, Larry Merrill and
Chad Wright who performed mounting/dismounting and balancing activities for the
42 cars on hand.
Barnes commented, "This was an exciting race with a lot
of side-by-side racing. Barnes added, "I also would like to
congratulate Joey Miller on his second win and Mike Guerity who won the Hoosier
Tire Hard Charger Award (for advancing the most positions) for finishing 13th
after starting 28th."
The ARCA RE/MAX Series is back in action this Friday, August 5th, at Lake
Erie Speedway in North East Pennsylvania. The series heats up this Friday
contesting four races in just 17 days. For complete race results and more
information about the ARCA RE/MAX Series visit their website at www.arcaracing.com.
|
