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  • Venturini Motorsports files lawsuit against Frank Kimmel, alleging theft of team secrets

    Venturini Motorsports files lawsuit against Frank Kimmel, alleging theft of team secrets

    Venturini Motorsports, a championship-winning organization in the ARCA Menards Series, has filed a lawsuit against two former employees, one of whom was former Crew Chief Frank Kimmel.

    The lawsuit alleges that Kimmel, a 10-time series champion during his driving career, engaged in a scheme with fellow defendant Griffin Rider to steal the team’s secrets before their departure from the team.

    “Just before terminating their employment with VMS, both defendants engaged in a scheme designed to steal VMS’ most sensitive intellectual property,” alleges the complaint.

    The complaint goes on to state that Kimmel is accused of taking pictures of suspension components and setups developed by VMS “through wind tunnel and pull down machine testing for aerodynamic and handling advantages.”

    Kimmel was ordered by a judge on Friday to return any and all documents and photographs he may have taken to VMS by Monday, and he is also required to submit his phone for forensic analysis.

    Kimmel left VMS last month to serve as General Manager for KBR Development, a direct competitor of VMS in the ARCA Menards Series. VMS has asked the court to enter a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction and is seeking to recover damages in excess of $25,000.

  • Chase Elliott and Erik Jones Make ARCA History With One, Two Finish at Pocono

    Chase Elliott and Erik Jones Make ARCA History With One, Two Finish at Pocono

    Two seventeen year olds, Chase Elliott and Erik Jones battled royally at the Tricky Triangle to score a one, two finish in the Pocono ARCA 200.

    And in so doing, they made history, becoming the youngest winner and runner up finisher in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards.

    “It was a lot of fun,” Chase Elliott said of his race win after starting from the 32nd position. “We had to start in the back and had some work to do.”

    “Lance (McGrew, crew chief) made some good calls getting us off sequence,” Elliott continued. “Being able to take advantage of that and get out in front when the cautions fell, I feel worked out to our advantage.”

    “We got out front and stayed there so it worked out.”

    The driver of the No. 9 Aaron’s-Hendrickcars.com Chevrolet admitted that it did not hurt having his father Bill coaching him prior to the race and from atop the hauler, especially with his history of winning at Pocono.

    “I talked to him a lot by phone and then at the track,” Elliott said. “He gave me some good advice about this place.”

    “But the big thing is that he never raced on this surface so a lot of things are different than how they used to be,” Elliott continued. “A lot of things have changed but it is still the same old Pocono and he helped me a lot.”

    What did it mean to have his father with him in Victory Lane at Pocono?

    “It means a ton to me,” Elliott said. “It wasn’t a little over ten years ago that I was in Victory Lane with Dad and I’ve got some pictures from that.”

    “I just think that’s really cool,” Elliott continued. “To come up here to Pocono where Dad raced and to get that opportunity is really cool.”

    “I knew it would mean a lot to win and we were fortunate that it worked out.”

    Proud father Bill Elliott did have some first words for his young race winner in Victory Lane. And Chase Elliott definitely heeded that advice.

    “First thing he said that he was going to keep the champagne because I wasn’t old enough to drink it,” Elliott said. “But I think it meant a lot for dad to go back to Victory Lane with me.”

    “I’m not a dad but I feel like that would be cool,” Chase Elliott said. “I’m glad I could take him there today and hope to do it a lot more this year.”

    Bill Elliott was indeed proud of his young son, who has become the focus of his racing expertise.

    “Someone showed me a picture when I was in Victory Lane in 2002 and here is Chase in Victory Lane now in 2013,” Bill Elliott said. “He did a good job.”

    “Everything came together and he did real well,” Elliott continued. “It’s a dream come true for me.”

    “He’s done a good job in all he’s raced,” Elliott said. “This is just another era.”

    Bill Elliott acknowledged that he was one who pushed the ARCA Series to consider relaxing their rules to allow 16 and 17 year olds to race in the series.

    “The kids today have so much more experience and there was a real void there at age 16 or 17,” Elliott said. “ARCA is giving these kids a little extra time to get their feet wet.”

    Bill Elliott was not the only proud parent with his son’s historic ARCA win.

    “I’m just really thrilled for him,” mom Cindy Elliott said. “They tell me that he is the youngest winner.”

    “So, I’m just thrilled for him and for the team and for Lance McGrew, winning now in every division,” Cindy Elliott continued. “What they’ve accomplished today is just wonderful.”

    Crew chief Lance McGrew was also very proud of his young racer and felt fortunate that he could showcase his skills on the big track of Pocono.

    “Chase is an extremely talented race car driver,” McGrew said. “He is young but he was born and bred that way.”

    “He’s got years and years of experience,” McGrew continued. “We were fortunate enough that ARCA made a rule change this season to where we could run on a bigger race track.”

    “I felt like with the backing we had and Chase’s experience that we could come here and do well,” McGrew said. “And we did.”

    Seventeen year old Erik Jones, behind the wheel of the No. 15 ToyotaCare Toyota, finished runner up to Chase Elliott. And he had to battle his own demons and mistakes before being able to move forward to contend for the lead.

    “We ran ourselves out of fuel right before the first pit stop on Lap 42,” Jones said. “We had the whole field lapped at that time.”

    “We had to start at the tail end and a violation coming off pit road,” We just didn’t have time to run him back down.”

    “We’ll come back in August and see if we can get the win.”

    Veteran driver Frank Kimmel, in the No. 44 Ansell-Menards Toyota, finished third. And he was feeling very good about that finish after just getting a few laps on the track because of the rain.

    “Pretty good day,” Kimmel said. “We were one of the teams that didn’t test so we just had about three laps before the race.”

    “I smacked the wall and I thought I had a flat,” Kimmel continued. “That kind of ruined our day and I couldn’t run with those two.”

    “So, we rode it out.”

    Kimmel had nothing but praise for the youngsters who beat him on the race track. And yes, he acknowledged that they were really young, with both of them combined having less years of life than he had alone.

    “What a remarkable deal these young kids are,” Kimmel said. “I have underwear that old.”

    “Chase is a chip off the old block,” Kimmel continued. “I asked Bill (Elliott) who Chase’s  father was because he’s an awfully nice kid.”

    “These young kids are a lot of fun to race with.”

    Tom Hessert, behind the wheel of the No. 77 Barbera’s Autoland Dodge, and Mason Mitchell, driving the No. 99 Happy Cheeks-BeavEx-Reliance Tool Ford, rounded out the top five finishers in the Pocono ARCA 200.

     

     

     

  • Ken Schrader Just Having Fun as ARCA’s Newest and Oldest Winner

    Ken Schrader Just Having Fun as ARCA’s Newest and Oldest Winner

    Ken Schrader may just be the oldest winner in the history of the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards, but he is no doubt the happiest after taking the checkered flag first in the Menards 200 presented by Federated Car Care this weekend at Toledo Speedway.

    And in Schrader’s own words, he is simply an almost 58 year old driver that is “just having fun.”

    “Well, being the oldest winner is sure better than being the oldest loser,” Schrader said with a laugh. “I love it.”

    “That’s five (at Toledo) and we’ll take it.”

    Schrader started on the outside pole in his No. 52 Federated Auto Parts Chevrolet and led 163 laps in the event on his way to securing the win. Schrader was especially pleased as he has not been in an ARCA car for quite some time.

    “I haven’t run an ARCA race in two and a half years because Tom Hessert from New Jersey has been driving our car,” Schrader said. “He did a good job and ran for us the last two years but he is doing something different this year.”

    “So, we picked out a handful of races that Federated Auto Parts wanted to run and this was the first one,” Schrader continued. “We qualified second and won the thing.”

    Schrader, as one of the older veterans in the field, battled a bit with the youngest pole winner in the ARCA Series, Kyle Benjamin, who took that honor at the tender age of 15 years. But Schrader admitted that his biggest competition was Grant Enfinger, who he battled side by side at one point in the race but who eventually cut down a tire to finish 15th.

    “Kyle, we didn’t fight with too much,” Schrader said. “I just fell in behind him at the start and we went about 20 laps and we got around him and then he had some trouble.”

    “But Grant Enfinger – he looks young compared to me but he’s not young, young – he was really the strongest car all day,” Schrader continued. “I had a lot of fun racing with him.”

    Schrader admits that, while he enjoys racing at the highest levels of NASCAR, the ARCA Series has a special place in his heart.

    “Well, first off I still love the Cup Series but we’re just too old to play that game week in and week out,” Schrader said. “And that takes too much sponsorship.”

    “The ARCA Series, where you run tracks like three-eighths at Elko to Talladega to mile dirt tracks to road courses, I just love the diversity of the ARCA Series.”

    And of course Schrader receives a hero’s welcome whenever he does race in the ARCA events, just like he did at the Toledo event, although he modestly disagrees with that.

    “I’m no hero,” Schrader said. “I’ve just been there lots of times.”

    “It’s different now because there are so many young kids coming up and they’re doing a phenomenal job,” Schrader said. “Veteran Frank (Kimmel) has been there a long time and I’ve been there off and on for quite awhile.”

    “A lot of folks in the grand stands don’t know the young kids yet so they just remember us or their parents told them about us.”

    Although this was Schrader’s 61st ARCA start, he is not so impressed with that. Instead, he would much rather talk about the number of races he won in the series, which he does admit is pretty impressive.

    “61 starts are not very many though,” Schrader said. “I think we ran our first one in 1981 or so.”

    “So, that’s 60 some over all those years,” Schrader continued. “The most I’ve run in a year is five or so.”

    “But we’ve won 16 of them.”

    Schrader is not just running the ARCA Series this year but also has many other races on his dance card. And admittedly being behind the wheel of a race car is what keeps him going and traveling all over the country.

    “We’re running the Sprint Cup car ten times and then we’re going to run a couple of Truck races, Bristol and the Eldora, Ohio Truck race on the dirt,” Schrader said. “And then we’re running four or five ARCA races and my little dirt modified somewhere between 60 to 70 nights.”

    “Last year, we ran in 18 states and the year before in 22 states, Schrader continued. “So, we go all over with that thing.”

    “I don’t know,” Schrader said. “I must not be very smart because I still get up in the morning and want to go race.”

    At this weekend’s race, however, Schrader also paid tribute to Dick Trickle, a NASCAR legend that was lost due to a self-inflicted gunshot wound this past week.

    “There are so many of us across the country that Dick has taught,” Schrader said. “We learned from talking to him and racing with him.”

    “There’s young kids that he has taught, guys my age that he taught, and racers that are now retired that he taught,” Schrader continued. “He was one of the smartest racers there was.”

    “There’s so many of us that Dick raised, like Rusty Wallace and Mark Martin and Kenny Wallace,” Schrader said. “What we learned from talking to him and listening to him as well as watching him was amazing.”

    “I hate, hate what happened there but I know that he had to really be in some pain to do that.”

    In spite of that pain and loss, Schrader was in full celebration mode after scoring the ARCA win. But he puts it all in perspective as only Ken Schrader can.

    “It was a real fun day that obviously put Federated Auto Parts in Victory Lane,” Schrader said. “But when we wake up tomorrow, it doesn’t make any difference and we just have to get ready to go to Elko.”

    “I feel good about our sport though,” Schrader continued. “We had a good weather day and a packed grandstand out at the ARCA race.”

    “It doesn’t get any better than that.”

  • Chad Hackenbracht First Time ARCA Series Winner At Pocono

    Chad Hackenbracht First Time ARCA Series Winner At Pocono

    [media-credit name=”Gary Buchanan” align=”alignright” width=”184″][/media-credit]Chad Hackenbracht, driver of the No. 58 CGH Motorsports Chevrolet, became the second first time winner of the day at Pocono Raceway, scoring his first ever ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards win.

    Hackenbracht used some ‘Tricky Triangle’ strategy to claim victory in the Pennsylvania ARCA 125, his first win in 42 career starts.

    “I’m not sure what to think,” Hackenbracht said. “My parents weren’t able to make it to this race so I’m not sure if we’ll let them come to any others.”

    “Those last ten laps, I was just waiting for the caution,” Hackenbracht continued. “But finally it all played to our advantage and we finally got the monkey off our backs.”

    “I can’t thank everybody enough.”

    Brennan Poole, pole sitter and driver of the No. 25 Cometic Gasket/Midas-Venturini Motorsports Toyota, was runner up to Hackenbracht.

    “Well, we just couldn’t take a chance in pitting that early and not being able to run all 50 laps,” Poole said. “We didn’t have a caution at the end and Chad’s strategy paid off for him.”

    “We were close, but came up a little short on fuel strategy.”

    Poole did, however, secure the points lead and is ahead of the field by 15 points. And he is looking forward to the rest of the season, at tracks where he has been good before.

    “We’re going to a few great tracks for me so I’m looking forward to that,” Poole said. “I just have great people around me.”

    “The Venturini Motorsports is a family and it’s a blessing to be able to work with them,” Poole continued. “I’ve had some of the most fun racing than I ever have this year.”

    Alex Bowman, behind the wheel of the No. 22 St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Dodge, came in third.

    “It’s definitely frustrating with as good as we were in practice,” Bowman said. “We just came up a little bit short.”

    “We got tight and fell back to 3rd or 4th,” Bowman continued. “We made up ground on the green flag pit stop but got beat on strategy.”

    Frank Kimmel, driving the No. 44 Ansell-Menards Toyota, finished fourth and fifth place went to Chris Buescher in the No. 17 Reliance Tool-BeavEx Ford.

     

  • Frank Kimmel Looks For First Trip Success at Mobile Int’l Speedway

    Frank Kimmel Looks For First Trip Success at Mobile Int’l Speedway

    [media-credit name=”arcaracing.com” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]For the first time in the 60 year history of the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards, the series will be running on the half-mile oval located in Mobile, Alabama.

    One of the tracks that Mobile International Speedway has been compared to is Toledo Speedway, as both have a low degree of banking.

    Series veteran Frank Kimmel is hoping the comparison is true in hopes of scoring career win no. 75. Kimmel currently sits second on the all-time ARCA Series win list with 74 victories behind Iggy Katona. Kimmel scored the first victory of his career at Toledo Speedway, Mobile’s sister track, and says he feels real comfortable at Toledo.

    “It makes me feel more confident that I can get up on the wheel from the get go,” Kimmel says. “I mean, face it, at the end of the day, a short track is a short track – if you can’t get up on the wheel, it’s going to be a rough day for your team.

    Kimmel has also been doing his homework as he enlisted help from short track legend Bubba Pollard.

    “Bubba is a legend down here on the Panhandle of Florida and Alabama,” Kimmel explains. “His results speak for themselves in late models and super late models at both Mobile and Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, so I knew who to call when it was time to pick someone’s brain on track facts and logistics. He gave me a lot of great pointers going into this weekend. I’m also looking forward to chatting with our own Grant Enfinger – since this is his home track, he knows the ins and outs too. It’s a little different, I usually have guys coming to me to find out about tracks as the veteran!”

    Practice is set to happen on Friday March 9th from 1:30-5pm CT with Menards Pole Qualifying presented by Ansell that night at 7pm CT. The race will take place on Saturday March 10th with pre-race coverage beginning at 1:30 CT. Speed will not share this race live, but ARCARacing.com will have live timing and scoring.

  • Frank Kimmel Ready To Go After 10th ARCA Championship

    Frank Kimmel Ready To Go After 10th ARCA Championship

    [media-credit id=4 align=”alignleft” width=”112″][/media-credit]As the ARCA Racing Series enters its 60th year of competition, the history books get re-opened to view how the series has grown. Through the last 20 years, one of the drivers that has stood out is Frank Kimmel.

    Going into 2012, Kimmel has his sights set on his 10th ARCA championship as he won the championship in 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007 while leading 10,177 laps in 191 races (most of any active driver). Kimmel will look to increase on both of his records, driving the No. 44 Ansell/Menards Toyota with the same colors, yet with a new team in 2012.

    Kimmel announced near the end of last year that he had signed a deal to drive with ThorSport Racing, who will expand their operation to the ARCA Series. ThorSport Racing had run primarily as a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team, finishing second in points last year with driver Johnny Sauter. This marks the first time that they will be in the ARCA Series.

    Beyond the goal of winning the championship, Kimmel is also focused on another record – most all-time career victories in the series. Currently, Iggy Katona holds the record with 79. Kimmel, meanwhile, currently has 74 wins going into the 2012 season.

    “Every year I get asked what’s important to me to achieve for the season,” Kimmel, who finished third in points last season, says. “Winning Daytona is first on the list for me, and it’s important for my entire family. Being the first race for ThorSport Racing, everyone’s working really hard to achieve some wins – period. Daytona would be great and such an accomplishment, but we all know what can happen there. I can honestly remember racing for two years without ever winning at all, and that’s why it means a lot to have 74 wins under my belt now. The first time at Toledo was such a big thing for us. I have a lot to prove this year to win again, since it has been three years since I’ve been to Victory Lane. Iggy Katona is a huge hero of mine; he raced against my dad for years. He’s the man. It’s a privilege to be in the same class of driver as such an ARCA Racing legend as Iggy.”

    Beyond just the win record, Kimmel is also closing in on the most career poles award. Katona currently holds that with 43, while Kimmel has 42. One of Kimmel’s sponsors, Ansell, will be giving out the trophies this year, along with Menards.

    Throughout his career, Kimmel has 233 top-five finishes and 300 top-10 finishes, but also beyond the statistics, could say a lot about ARCA’s history.

    “Getting the first win is the most amazing achievement,” he says. “I raced many years with Terry Shirley in the 02 car, and we only won one. When Terry left to be a crew chief, I didn’t have a team to drive for at all. I thought I’d be driving late models. Then I was picked up by Dan Faldorf and got with Larry Clement. We ended up putting a hodge-podge of races together by the skin of our teeth, and with blood, sweat, and tears, we ended up fifth in driver points and didn’t even go to every race. When we came back the next year and ran full-time for Larry, being manager, driver, and everything, we were second in the points, so we kept climbing. Then the following year, in 1998, we won our first championship. It just goes to show that the competition is always so fierce, it takes a lot to get there and it means so much. Every one of my nine championship trophies have people and a great story behind them. In my tenure of ARCA Racing Series driving, every year is a great battle. It’s going to be a lot of fun competition in 2012.”

  • ARCA Racing Series Presented by Menards Returns To Winchester Speedway

    This weekend’s ninth race of the 2011 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards season marks the return to Winchester after spending three years without going there.

    After success last year and an eighth place finish back in May at Toledo Speedway, Dakoda Armstrong will once again team up with Cunningham Motorsports for the Winchester 200 presented by Federated Auto Parts at Winchester Speedway in Indiana on Saturday.

    Crew Chief Paul Andrew is expecting good things following a test last week at the half-mile, 37-degree banked track.

    “We did have a good test,” said Andrews. “We started with our Salem setup and tuned on it from there. Winchester is very similar to Salem, just much smoother. Our times on the longer runs were very consistent and our mock qualifying lap was good. With the history of the track and all of the laps that Dakoda has on the track, we are hoping for good things.”

    The Newcastle, Indiana native has had success in ARCA before as he was crowned the 2010 ARCA Racing Series Rookie of the Year with two wins – Talladega and Salem.

    This marks the first race for the ARCA Series at Winchester Speedway since 2007.

    “It’s important for the ARCA Racing Series to go back to Winchester Speedway,” ARCA president Ron Drager said. “It’s exactly the type of Midwestern facility where the ARCA brand is well-known and has the chance to be successful. Winchester is big enough and fast enough to play to the very nature of our cars.”

    When Armstrong got the news, he jumped at the opportunity to run it.

    “(I am) excited about racing again at Winchester,” Armstrong said. “I really like the track. After our test last week and the similarities Winchester has to Salem, where we run well, I am expecting a good run.”

    Meanwhile, series veteran Frank Kimmel has a lot of experience at Winchester and leads the series in victories at Winchester with five.

    “Winchester is exactly the kind of track we need to be racing at,” the Indiana,native said. “It’s perfect for these big heavy stock cars, and what a show. I think Winchester is one of the best half-miles in the country, bar none. When it was repaved, I thought it wasn’t going to be as good, but it actually got a lot better. It made a lane in the middle and made it a really racy race track.”

    Racing began at Winchester in 1914 as it was originally a flat half-mile dirt oval, with the banking added in 1922. It would then become an asphalt oval in 1952, followed by a re-paving in 1995.

    “Before they repaved it, it was a lot like Salem where you had really only one good lane to work with – through the middle in one and two and higher up in three and four,” Kimmel said. “But now, you can put the car about anywhere on the track. You can actually pass someone without running them over.”

    The return to Winchester marks the first race at the track on the short track radial tire, which Hoosier introduced in 2008.

    “The speeds will be up,” Kimmel, who sits second in points behind Ty Dillon, said. “The radial is just a better tire than the bias-ply so I’m curious to see how that could affect the outcome.”

    The Winchester ARCA 200 presented by Federated Auto Parts is a one-day event, with a 90-minute practice session beginning Saturday at 1:45 p.m. Menards Pole Qualifying presented by Ansell will take place at 4:45, with a 45-minute autograph session at 6:45. The 200-lap, 100-mile event begins at 8. Live timing and scoring for all of the events will be featured at ARCARacing.com.

  • ARCA: Ty Dillon Spins Frank Kimmel For Win in Menards 200

    Frank Kimmel looked to have the win in hand in the Menards 200 at Toledo Speedway, though it all got thrown away as Ty Dillon spun Kimmel on the last lap to take the win.

    “It was an awesome day,” Dillon said. “As soon as we unloaded, I felt like we had the fastest car for sure. We even cut short our practice, and I don’t like to do that, but we knew we had the fastest car. Our pit crew did awesome. I went in fifth and came out second. We came in, tightened up, and she took off.”

    Dillon was met in victory lane by Kimmel, who expressed his displeasure in taking the checkered flag from Dillon’s hand and throwing it to the ground.

    “I was approaching behind him for a long time there, probably 40 or 50 laps,” Dillon said. “I was being as patient as I can. We came up on some lapped cars, and he was starting to get loose; I was getting in deeper and deeper. My car was getting better and better.

    “I hate that it happened that way. I wrecked him. It was my fault, but it’s racing. Stuff like that happens. I really look up to Frank and he’s helped me out a lot this year. Hopefully, we can get over this and everything will be alright.”

    Dillon got the fourth win of his career while the spin resulted in Kimmel finishing ninth.

    “I wasn’t blocking or doing anything; I was just running my lap,” Kimmel said. “He just hit me wherever he could and then he got me in the left rear corner and ran me around. It’s just frustrating as heck. You race so hard, and you race clean, and we didn’t have a scratch on the car all day.

    “I just asked him, ‘How can you celebrate a win like that?’ It’ll come back. It’s a long season, and we have to race all year.”

    In the aftermath, Enfinger finished second.

    “We had a great car all weekend,” Enfinger said. “(Car chief) Kelly Kovski and (team owner) Mike Allgaier, I can’t thank those guys enough for letting me drive their car. It’s definitely one of the best cars I’ve driven. It was a great run. The pit crew’s been great all year; that’s definitely not been our weak point, but they just happened to leave a lug nut loose and we had to come back down pit road and that hurt us a little bit.

    Matt Merrell finished third, followed by Tim George Jr., Chris Buescher, John Stancil, CHad McCumbee, Armstrong, Kimmel and Kenzi Ruston.

    With qualifying rained out, Milka Duno was able to start on the pole as she holds the points in the owner’s standings from Patrick Sheltra’s championship run last year.

    The race started with 20 laps under caution due to rain before the race and impending rain coming. Duno dropped back at the start, giving the lead to Kimmel.

    Once the green flag was shown on lap 21, Kimmel held for a lap before Kenzi Ruston, who was making her first ARCA start with Venturini Motorsports, took the lead.

    The first caution came at lap 26 for Todd Bowsher’s spin, who was subbing for Bryan Silas.

    The second caution came out on lap 37 for a multi-car crash which started when Ruston spun out of the lead in turn two. Behind her while trying to slow down and avoid, Tom Hessert, Tim George Jr. and Chris Buescher made contact. With Ruston spinning, Kimmel took the lead back.

    The third caution came out at lap 58, when Buescher and Maryeve Dufault made contact with Tim Cowen hitting Dufault. At this time, Ruston and Matt Crafton pitted to try to get a jump on strategy.

    The restart came on lap 67, and then 11 laps later, Enfinger took the lead while Dillon cracked the top five for the first time.

    On lap 110, the caution came out as Cowen spun, which promoted another round of pit stops. The leaders pitted, while Crafton and Ruston stayed out to take positions first and second. Kimmel and Dillon came off pit road first so they restarted third and fourth.

    On lap 120, the fifth caution came out when Levi Youster spun, in which on the restart, Kimmel was able to take the lead from Crafton. Crafton had to make an unscheduled pit stop at lap 135 due to a left front tre, while Enfinger also made an unscheduled stop for a loose lugnut. The unscheduled pit stop for Crafton relegated him to an 18th place finish.

    Milka Duno spun on lap 180, setting up a 20-lap race to the finish. On the restart, Kimmel got the advantage on the field, though Dillon slowly chipped back into the lead, making the final lap bump-and-run.

    The ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards returns to action Sunday, May 22, in the ModSpace 150 at New Jersey Motorsports Park. The race is the only road course event of the season for the ARCA Racing Series.

  • ARCA Veteran Frank Kimmel Looks Towards Talladega Superspeedway

    ARCA Veteran Frank Kimmel Looks Towards Talladega Superspeedway

    Going into this weekend’s 3 Amigos 250, Frank Kimmel has made 18 starts at Talladega Superspeedway, which included a win in 2006, plus six other top-five finishes.

    “It was nice to get that first restrictor plate victory,” Kimmel said. “We had a really great car that entire weekend. We were fast in all the practices, so we knew going into the race that we had an opportunity to win. We raced up front all day, and I remember close to the end receiving a push from Mike Wallace to the lead. Right after taking the lead the caution flew, and the race was called due to darkness.”

    At Daytona, Kimmel finished 10th after avoiding trouble all day and is taking that same car to Talladega so its no wonder the nine-time champion is looking forward to this weekend.

    “I’m very eager to get back on the track,” he said. “We usually have a race in between Daytona and Talladega, but this year they changed the schedule a bit. However, we’ve kept really busy getting our Ansell/Menards Fords ready for other races that are just around the corner.”

    At the test earlier this month, Kimmel ran into some mechanical issues, though has since found the cause.

    “I guess if anything came from a horrible day then finding the cause of the problem was it,” he said. “Basically, we had a valve that was installed before the test that was not allowing the engines to cool properly. It was an unfortunate mistake on our part but we’ve fixed it and we’re now ready to race.”

    As for when he gets to Talladega, he expects it to be the same as has always been.

    “I think it’s going to be similar to Daytona, though I do believe you’ll see larger packs running together, probably three-deep at some points,” he said. “Talladega is easier to get a grip on, compared to Daytona. It’s so smooth and there’s a ton of room to maneuver around.”

    With his experience, Kimmel offered some tips for rookies this weekend:

    1.  Remain Patient – Talladega is a long race, and the only way to win is to be around at the end.

    2.  Be Smooth – Use your head and make the right moves at the appropriate times. Jumping from lane to lane usually doesn’t get you to the front any quicker.

    3.  Show Respect – Respect the other drivers on the track. Getting in a disagreement at Talladega could cost half the field.

    4.  Follow the Rules – Remember to stay below the blend line coming on and off the track.

    5.  Know Your Car – Be sure to pump your brakes when coming off the track to pit.