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 LONG
POND, PA (July 31) -- Six wins in 11 starts, not bad for 22-year-old
Ryan Hemphill who again dominated yet another race in the ARCA RE/MAX
Series winning the Giant 200, at Pocono Raceway in front of many of
his friends and family members. The Apollo, PA driver
pitted just once during the 80-lap race relinquishing the lead
temporarily to
defending series champion Frank Kimmel. Hemphill then motored back
from a lap down to retake the lead for good on lap 64 en route to his
third win in a row and sixth win of the season. Hemphill was followed
to the line by Frank Kimmel and Bobby Gerhart in second and third. The
ARCA RE/MAX Series runs exclusively on Hoosier racing tires.
Thirty-eight cars started Saturday's Giant 200 with
Ryan Hemphill on the pole after earning his fifth Pork Pole Award.
Hemphill circled the 2.5-mile tri-oval in 54.155 seconds (166.190
mph). He was joined in the front row by Frank Kimmel.
The race began with Ryan Hemphill immediately taking
command in the Braun Racing team's TRIMSPA Dodge. Hemphill led the
race's first 40 laps before electing to pit under the green for fuel and four fresh Hoosiers.
The move put the young hot shoe a lap down and handed the lead over to Frank Kimmel.
That's also when Hemphill began his
amazing push back to the front.
The next 23 laps were led by four different drivers,
including Frank Kimmel (41-50), Jason Jarrett (51-52, 60-63), Christi
Passmore (53-54), and Bobby Gerhart (55-59), before Hemphill retook
the lead on lap 64. Hemphill led the final 17 circuits to capture his
sixth win in just 11 ARCA RE/MAX Series starts. Finishing in
second place, 2.449 seconds behind Hemphill, was Frank Kimmel. Tenth
starting Bobby Gerhart captured the final podium spot finishing
in third place.
Brent Sherman finished in fourth place followed by
T.J. Bell, Christi Passmore, Todd Bowsher and Billy Venturini in fifth
through eighth, respectively. After an unscheduled late-race pit stop
for a splash of fuel, Jason Jarrett finished in ninth place--the first
car a lap down, while 18-year-old rookie Brandon Knupp rounded out the
top ten.
The race had just two caution periods for a total of
16 laps. Brad Smith won the Hoosier Tire Hard Charger Award for
advancing the most positions. Smith finished in 17th after starting
28th.
Frank Kimmel continues to add to his lead in the
series driver standings with 3585 points followed by Brent Sherman
with 3140 points. Billy Venturini, T.J Bell, and Jason Jarrett round
out the top five in the rankings.
Next, the challenging ARCA RE/MAX Series will travel
from Pocono Speedway's 2.5-mile tri-oval to Lake Erie (PA) Speedway's
3/8-mile oval this Saturday, August 7th. The next event is the 15th on
the ARCA Series' 22-race schedule.
As always, the race was serviced out of Hoosier
corporate headquarters located in Lakeville, IN under the direction of
Hoosier's ARCA Track Service Manager Doug Barnes.
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