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ARCA RE/MAX Series
CONSTRUCT
CORPS / PALM BEACH GRADING 250
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James
Buescher Battles ARCA Warriors for USA Int’l Victory
16-Year-Old
Wins in Career-First Start
LAKELAND
FL (3-24-07) – Two days shy of his 17th
birthday, James Buescher, in his career first ARCA RE/MAX
Series start, steered his way into the history books with a
stunning victory in the Construct Corps-Palm Beach Grading
250 Saturday night at USA Int’l Speedway in Lakeland,
Florida.
The
Plano, Texas driver, after dodging several bullets,
out-dueled rookie Bryan Clauson in the closing laps to score
the thrilling victory for his Country Joe Racing team and
the near capacity crowd on hand for the inaugural event.
“What
a great night,” said Buescher in victory lane. “We got
up front early and stayed up front. I just want to thank all
these guys at Country Joe Racing, and my family. They all
made this happen. What a great birthday present; we just had
a really good night.”
Buescher,
in the Mercedes Homes-Red Line Oil Dodge, raced underneath
Clauson 11 laps from the finish, and then held off the
hungry pack through a green-white-checker finish. Clauson,
in a Chip Ganassi Racing Memorex-sponsored Dodge, finished
two lengths away in second after leading 61 laps. It was
also Clauson’s career-first series start.
“James
drove a great race,” said Clauson, who battled back from
an earlier race incident. “Our tires were just used up. We
stretched our last run 125 laps, so we were really slipping
and sliding out there. But what a great night overall. I
want to thank Ganassi Racing and Memorex for the
opportunity; I think we’ll be back this year for five to
eight more ARCA races.”
Wildwood,
Florida driver Wayne Anderson, in the McDowell
Construction-Airframe Int’l Dodge, gave the locals
something to cheer about with a career-best third place
finish.
“Wow,
what a night,” said Anderson. “It was like bumper cars
out there all night; I think we hit everything but the pace
car. This is such a neat little racetrack. This is where
this series belongs, at places like this. I really hope ARCA
comes back.”
Anderson
wasn’t the only driver who landed against another machine
as 18 cautions for a variety of thrills and spills shook the
field up constantly throughout the 250 lap race, which was
extended three laps to accommodate the ARCA-mandated green
flag finish. There were no injuries, but plenty of sparks to
continually light up the southern skies.
Justin
Allgaier, in the Hoosier Midwest-AG Tech-Trashman-USAF
Chevrolet, raced his way from 19th to fourth in
the final running order ahead of Brian Keselowski, who
finished fifth in the Holloway-Dusty’s Collision Dodge
after leading 35 laps. As a result of Allgaier’s solid
effort, the Springfield, Illinois driver is tied with Frank
Kimmel for the championship points lead headed to Nashville
Superspeedway for event number three of the 23 race
schedule.
ARCA
Pole Award winner Bobby Santos III, in the Bill Davis Racing
Toyota, was impressive early leading the first 116 laps
before getting tangled up with Patrick Sheltra on a restart,
an incident that also collected Billy Venturini and Clauson.
All but Santos were able to return to competition. The
occasion marked the career-first Pole Award for Toyota in
ARCA RE/MAX Series competition as well as the first time a
Toyota led laps in RE/MAX Series competition.
Apopka,
Florida driver Tim Russell finished sixth in the Rinnai
Tankless Water Heaters-Eagle Creek Aviation Dodge with
Kimmel, in the Tri-State Motorsports-Pork Ford, trailing in
seventh. Kimmel, who started 25th, was also
awarded the Hoosier Tire Hard Charger Award for advancing
the most positions. Ellenton, Florida driver John Jackson,
who led seven laps, finished eighth in the Fixatire-James
Carter Attorney Chevrolet. Justin South, in the HD Supply
Chevrolet, finished ninth with Stuart, Florida driver Bryan
Silas, in the Nortrax-Holland Pump Chevrolet, trailing in 10th.
The
next event for the ARCA RE/MAX Series will be the Nashville
ARCA 150 at Nashville Superspeedway on April 7th.
Top-10
ARCA RE/MAX Series points after the Construct Corps-Palm
Beach Grading 250 at USA Int'l Speedway (3-24-07)
1)
Frank Kimmel 405; 1) Justin Allgaier 405; 3) Phillip
McGilton 350; 4) Bobby Gerhart 345; 5) Mario Gosselin 340;
6) Michael McDowell 320; 7) Darrell Basham 275; 8) Dexter
Bean 240; 8) James Buescher 240; 10) Brian Keselowski 230;
10) Bryan Clauson 230.
CONTACTS
ARCA PR/Media
Don Radebaugh (419)
450-0611
Jackie L. Franzil (419)
574-2685
http://www.arcaracing.com
Official Finish
| FIN |
STR |
NO |
DRIVER/HOMETOWN |
TEAM
& CAR |
LAPS |
STATUS |
| 1 |
2 |
32 |
James
Buescher/Plano TX |
Mercedes
Homes-Red Line Oil Dodge |
253 |
Running |
| 2 |
3 |
40 |
Bryan
Clauson/Noblesville IN |
Memorex
Dodge |
253 |
Running |
| 3 |
6 |
8 |
Wayne
Anderson/Wildwood FL |
McDowell
Construction-Airframe Int'l Dodge |
253 |
Running |
| 4 |
19 |
16 |
Justin
Allgaier/Springfield IL |
Hoosier
Midwest-AG Tech-Trashman-USAF Chevrolet |
253 |
Running |
| 5 |
5 |
29 |
Brian
Keselowski/Rochester Hills MI |
Holloway-Dusty's
Collision Dodge |
253 |
Running |
| 6 |
14 |
9 |
Tim
Russell/Apopka FL |
Rinnai
Tankless Water Heaters-Eagle Creek Dodge |
253 |
Running |
| 7 |
25 |
46 |
Frank
Kimmel/Clarksville IN |
Tri-State
Motorsports-Pork Ford |
253 |
Running |
| 8 |
16 |
72 |
John
Jackson/Ellenton FL |
Fixatire-James
Carter Attorney-DGM Chevrolet |
253 |
Running |
| 9 |
13 |
59 |
Justin
South/Hueytown AL |
HD
Supply Dodge |
253 |
Running |
| 10 |
18 |
11 |
Bryan
Silas/Stuart FL |
Nortrax-Holland
Pump Chevrolet |
253 |
Running |
| 11 |
17 |
60 |
Patrick
Sheltra/Indiantown FL |
Premier
Motorsports Chevrolet |
253 |
Running |
| 12 |
4 |
12 |
Mario
Gosselin/Lake Wales FL |
Guaranteed
Concrete-James Carter Chevrolet |
252 |
Running |
| 13 |
27 |
47 |
Phillip
McGilton/Marion IL |
SIPerformance
Ford |
252 |
Running |
| 14 |
26 |
25 |
Billy
Venturini/Chicago IL |
Remax.com
Chevrolet |
252 |
Running |
| 15 |
21 |
48 |
Nick
Tucker/Kannapolis NC |
FreeFeds.org
Dodge |
252 |
Running |
| 16 |
23 |
00 |
Robb
Brent/Shelby Twp MI |
Keselowski
Racing Ford |
252 |
Running |
| 17 |
22 |
1 |
Dominick
Casola/Wall Twp NJ |
Casola
Farms Ford |
251 |
Running |
| 18 |
7 |
2 |
Michael
McDowell/Phoenix AZ |
Z-Line
Design-Make-A-Wish Dodge |
249 |
Running |
| 19 |
30 |
34 |
Darrell
Basham/Henryville IN |
Anti
Monkey Butt Powder Chevrolet |
248 |
Running |
| 20 |
9 |
22 |
Ken
Butler III/Sherrills Ford NC |
ESR
Development Team Dodge |
242 |
Running |
| 21 |
20 |
23 |
Josh
Krug/Omaha NE |
Big
Ford Enterprise-Johnson Hardware Chevrolet |
239 |
Running |
| 22 |
28 |
90 |
Gabi
DiCarlo/Vail CO |
Great
Clips Ford |
238 |
Running |
| 23 |
34 |
84 |
Norm
Benning/Pittsburgh PA |
Benning
Motorsports Chevrolet |
237 |
Running |
| 24 |
29 |
38 |
Mike
Harmon/Birmingport AL |
All
Sports Armour Chevrolet |
236 |
Accident |
| 25 |
37 |
06 |
Tim
Mitchell/Fayetteville TN |
Star
Wheels Skate Center-Reid's Auto Color Ford |
234 |
Running |
| 26 |
24 |
5 |
Bobby
Gerhart/Lebanon PA |
Lucas
Oil Chevrolet |
218 |
Accident |
| 27 |
35 |
7 |
Dicky
Williamson/Savannah GA |
BreastCancer.org
Ford |
184 |
Running |
| 28 |
15 |
6 |
Dexter
Bean/Westby WI |
Five
Star Telecom Chevrolet |
177 |
Accident |
| 29 |
33 |
08 |
Jason
Hedlesky/Clinton MI |
Hardcore
Motorsports Ford |
177 |
Engine |
| 30 |
36 |
26 |
Brad
Smith/Belleville MI |
Call
Us Mobile Home Service Ford |
149 |
Running |
| 31 |
12 |
4 |
Ryan
Mathews/Lake Geneva WI |
Cunningham
Motorsports Dodge |
138 |
Accident |
| 32 |
11 |
65 |
Justin
Marks/Rocklin CA |
Construct
Corps-No Fear Energy Drink Dodge |
131 |
Accident |
| 33 |
1 |
02 |
Bobby
Santos III/Franklin MA |
Bill
Davis Racing Toyota |
124 |
Accident |
| 34 |
39 |
79 |
Mike
Koch/Mountain Home AR |
K&K
Racing-Karl's Plumbing Pontiac |
88 |
Engine |
| 35 |
32 |
21 |
Todd
Bowsher/Springfield OH |
Jack
Bowsher & Associates Ford |
87 |
Transmssn |
| 36 |
8 |
37 |
Michelle
Theriault/Bristol CT |
Glock
Chevrolet |
58 |
Accident |
| 37 |
31 |
52 |
Bill
Baird/Sarasota FL |
Saturn
Machine Dodge |
57 |
Engine |
| 38 |
10 |
62 |
Chad
McCumbee/Supply NC |
Nortrax-Holland
Pump Chevrolet |
47 |
Engine |
| 39 |
40 |
13 |
Mark
Gibson/Winder GA |
Mark
Gibson Racing Chevrolet |
1 |
Handling |
| 40 |
38 |
93 |
Julian
Penaruiz/Paris France |
Drew
White Motorsports Chevrolet |
1 |
Handling |
|
|
|
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POLE
AWARD: Bobby Santos III 22.070 (122.338 mph) |
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MRGN
OF VICT: .840 seconds |
CAUTIONS:
18 for 95 laps |
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TIME
OF RACE: 2:37:32 |
AVG
SPEED: 82.605 mph |
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LAP
LEADERS: Santos 1-88, 96-123 (116); Jackson 89-95 (7);
Keselowski 124-158 (35); Buescher 159-179, |
|
|
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241-253
(34); Clauson 180-240 (61) |
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Keselowski
Tops ARCA RE/MAX Series Speed Charts at USA Int'l Speedway
LAKELAND FL (3-23-07) -
Second generation ARCA RE/MAX Series driver Brian
Keselowski, in the No. 29 Holloway-Dusty's Collision
Dodge, topped the speed charts during an hour-and-a-half
practice session Friday afternoon at USA Int'l Speedway.
"I would say this is probably the best this car
has ever turned going into the corner," said
Keselowski, who won his career first ARCA RE/MAX Series
race at Berlin Raceway in the same car in 2006.
"We're struggling in the same place everyone else is
struggling and that is getting up off the corner. This is
the first time I've ever been fastest in practice. That's
pretty neat."
Keselowski was followed on the speed charts by 2007
Rookie of the Year contender Michael McDowell in the No. 2
Z-Line Design/Make-A-Wish Dodge and Ken Butler III in the
No. 22 ESR Development Team Dodge. Both drivers are in
cars prepared by Eddie Sharp Racing this weekend.
"We came here and tested for two days and learned
a lot," said Sharp. "After we tested we made a
pact that we were going to stick to our game plan and
that's what we did."
Justin South and Ryan Mathews rounded out the top five
during practice.
In all, the caution flag came out three times, the
first of which was for debris on the racetrack. The second
caution occurred when Gabi DiCarlo broke a transmission in
the No. 90 Great Clips Ford.
The final caution occurred when Phillip McGilton and
Tim Russell tangled in turn one. AJ Henriksen, in the No.
50 E.L. Jones Seafood Company Dodge, was unable to avoid
the incident and his car suffered significant damage. As a
result, Henriksen has withdrawn from this weekend's
Construct Corps-Palm Beach Grading 250.
The ARCA RE/MAX Series Garage area will open at 9
a.m. on Saturday. The cars will practice from 1-2:30
p.m. before Pole Award qualifying, which is scheduled
for 4:30 p.m. The Construct Corps-Palm Beach Grading 250
is set to take the green flag at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time
on Saturday, March 24th.
| POS |
NO |
DRIVER/HOMETOWN |
TEAM
& CAR |
TIME |
SPEED |
| 1 |
29 |
Brian
Keselowski/Rochester Hills MI |
Holloway-Dusty's
Collision Dodge |
22.457 |
120.230 |
| 2 |
2 |
Michael
McDowell/Phoenix AZ |
Z-Line
Design-Make-A-Wish Dodge |
22.541 |
119.782 |
| 3 |
22 |
Ken
Butler III/Sherrills Ford NC |
ESR
Development Team Dodge |
22.554 |
119.713 |
| 4 |
59 |
Justin
South/Hueytown AL |
HD
Supply Dodge |
22.569 |
119.633 |
| 5 |
4 |
Ryan
Mathews/Lake Geneva WI |
Cunningham
Motorsports Dodge |
22.577 |
119.591 |
| 6 |
32 |
James
Buescher/Plano TX |
Mercedes
Homes-Red Line Oil Dodge |
22.601 |
119.464 |
| 7 |
9 |
Tim
Russell/Apopka FL |
Rinnai
Tankless Water Heaters-Eagle Creek Dodge |
22.670 |
119.100 |
| 8 |
02 |
Bobby
Santos III/Franklin MA |
Bill
Davis Racing Toyota |
22.709 |
118.896 |
| 9 |
12 |
Mario
Gosselin/Lake Wales FL |
Guaranteed
Concrete-James Carter Chevrolet |
22.712 |
118.880 |
| 10 |
37 |
Michelle
Theriault/Bristol CT |
Glock
Chevrolet |
22.801 |
118.416 |
| 11 |
40 |
Bryan
Clauson/Noblesville IN |
Memorex
Dodge |
22.882 |
117.997 |
| 12 |
8 |
Wayne
Anderson/Wildwood FL |
McDowell
Construction-Airframe Int'l Dodge |
22.919 |
117.806 |
| 13 |
65 |
Justin
Marks/Rocklin CA |
Construct
Corps-No Fear Energy Drink Dodge |
22.925 |
117.775 |
| 14 |
46 |
Frank
Kimmel/Clarksville IN |
Tri-State
Motorsports-Pork Ford |
23.028 |
117.249 |
| 15 |
52 |
Bill
Baird/Sarasota FL |
Saturn
Machine Dodge |
23.060 |
117.086 |
| 16 |
62 |
Chad
McCumbee/Supply NC |
Nortrax-Holland
Pump Chevrolet |
23.081 |
116.979 |
| 17 |
5 |
Bobby
Gerhart/Lebanon PA |
Lucas
Oil Chevrolet |
23.097 |
116.898 |
| 18 |
11 |
Bryan
Silas/Stuart FL |
Nortrax-Holland
Pump Chevrolet |
23.130 |
116.732 |
| 19 |
6 |
Dexter
Bean/Westby WI |
Five
Star Telecom Chevrolet |
23.157 |
116.595 |
| 20 |
23 |
Josh
Krug/Omaha NE |
Big
Ford Enterprise-Johnson Hardware Chevrolet |
23.158 |
116.590 |
| 21 |
00 |
Robb
Brent/Shelby Twp MI |
Keselowski
Racing Ford |
23.170 |
116.530 |
| 22 |
72 |
John
Jackson/Ellenton FL |
Fixatire-James
Carter Attorney-DGM Chevrolet |
23.202 |
116.369 |
| 23 |
16 |
Justin
Allgaier/Springfield IL |
Hoosier
Midwest-AG Tech-Trashman-USAF Chevrolet |
23.203 |
116.364 |
| 24 |
25 |
Billy
Venturini/Chicago IL |
Remax.com
Chevrolet |
23.241 |
116.174 |
| 25 |
60 |
Patrick
Sheltra/Indiantown FL |
Premier
Motorsports Chevrolet |
23.269 |
116.034 |
| 26 |
47 |
Phillip
McGilton/Marion IL |
SIPerformance
Ford |
23.362 |
115.572 |
| 27 |
08 |
Jason
Hedlesky/Clinton MI |
Hardcore
Motorsports Ford |
23.364 |
115.562 |
| 28 |
50 |
AJ
Henriksen/Mooresville NC |
E.L.
Jones Seafood Company Dodge |
23.382 |
115.473 |
| 29 |
1 |
Dominick
Casola/Wall Twp NJ |
Casola
Farms Ford |
23.610 |
114.358 |
| 30 |
48 |
Nick
Tucker/Kannapolis NC |
FreeFeds.org
Dodge |
23.756 |
113.655 |
| 31 |
10 |
Adam
Edwards/Falls Church VA |
RaceCooler.com
Ford |
23.841 |
113.250 |
| 32 |
21 |
Todd
Bowsher/Springfield OH |
Jack
Bowsher & Associates Ford |
23.864 |
113.141 |
| 33 |
84 |
Norm
Benning/Pittsburgh PA |
Benning
Motorsports Chevrolet |
23.974 |
112.622 |
| 34 |
38 |
Mike
Harmon/Birmingport AL |
All
Sports Armour Chevrolet |
24.044 |
112.294 |
| 35 |
64 |
Josh
Allison/Martinsville IN |
Lincoln
Park Speedway Dodge |
24.090 |
112.080 |
| 36 |
79 |
Mike
Koch/Mountain Home AR |
K&K
Racing-Karl's Plumbing Pontiac |
24.210 |
111.524 |
| 37 |
7 |
Dicky
Williamson/Savannah GA |
BreastCancer.org
Ford |
24.594 |
109.783 |
| 38 |
34 |
Darrell
Basham/Henryville IN |
Anti
Monkey Butt Powder Chevrolet |
24.626 |
109.640 |
| 39 |
26 |
Brad
Smith/Belleville MI |
Call
Us Mobile Home Service Ford |
24.852 |
108.643 |
| 40 |
06 |
Tim
Mitchell/Fayetteville TN |
Star
Wheels Skate Center-Reid's Auto Color Ford |
25.068 |
107.707 |
| 41 |
90 |
Gabi
DiCarlo/Vail CO |
Great
Clips Ford |
25.107 |
107.540 |
|
USA
Int’l in Lakeland Home Sweet Home for Gosselin
LAKELAND
FL
(3-16-07) – In most cases, chasing the ARCA RE/MAX Series
tour from the
Sunshine
State
is not exactly a cakewalk. Proximity-wise, outside of
Daytona, the series just doesn’t venture anywhere all that
close to our friends in
Florida
.
That said, if Lake Wales, Florida driver Mario Gosselin
wanted to go RE/MAX Series racing, he had to put, in many
cases, about a thousand miles behind him to get there. Not
anymore. Not since USA Int’l Speedway in
Lakeland
,
Florida
popped up on the 2007 schedule.
For once, the ARCA RE/MAX Series is coming to Gosselin,
and not the other way around.
“The track’s about 40
minutes from the shop, so this is as home as it gets for DGM
Racing,” said Gosselin, who was en route to USA Int’l
Monday for an afternoon of testing on the .75-mile tight
oval.
“We can’t go to our hometown track and look like
idiots; and we haven’t done all that much ARCA short-track
racing, so we’ve got to get better.”
But getting better at any
level of ARCA RE/MAX Series racing has not been an issue
whatsoever for Gosselin. Not when you consider that the
short-track veteran won in his first series start at
Lowe’s Motor Speedway in 1999 from the pole. He not only
won the race, but he led all but nine laps during his
superspeedway debut, leaving the regulars scratching their
heads.
In another twist of irony, the same chassis he won with
at Lowe’s will be the same chassis he’s preparing for
the Saturday night, March 24 Construct Corps-Palm Beach
Grading 250 at USA Int’l.
“We wrecked this car at
Atlanta
in, I think, 2000. We haven’t raced it since. So we
thought we’d sneak over this afternoon to get a baseline
of where we’re at. I’ve never raced an ARCA car here
before.”
Well, that may be true, but I wouldn’t allow yourself
to breathe a sigh of relief on that premise. Because, if
there’s clear-cut favorite to win, Gosselin’s got to go
right to the top of the chart.
“I think we’ve won five or six total there. I know
we’ve won two or three in Pro Cup there and the rest in
Super Late Models. But I’ve never run the Hoosier Tire
there before; Hooters ran Goodyear’s and then went to
radials. We’re just going to throw a bunch of stuff at it
and see where we stack up. You’ve got to be in the low 22s
to be good. What’s amazed me is how many ARCA teams have
been down here testing. We know we’re going to have to get
up on the wheel.”
But again, getting up on the wheel has never been a
problem for the St. Marie Quebec-born driver. In only 30
career ARCA RE/MAX Series starts since 1999, he’s already
tallied up eight top-five finishes and 13 top-10s including
three victories at Lowe’s Motor Speedway ’99, Nashville
Superspeedway ’03 and
Nashville
‘06. He also finished second at Pocono Raceway ’06,
third at Lowe’s ’99, third at Pocono ’02 and fourth at
Nashville
’04. Through it all, Gosselin’s managed to lead 283 laps
in nine races, including in this year’s ARCA 200 at
Daytona where he led 21 circuits. And many of those stellar
finishes came on tracks unfamiliar to Gosselin. USA Int’l,
on the other hand, is quite familiar.
“It’s pretty generic….a typical
short-track…..pretty easy to figure out actually. It’s a
lot like
Toledo
. If you can turn through the middle and get forward bite
coming off the corners, you’ll be good. If you’re not
turning, you’re done; and the longer the run, the worse it
gets. The more you heat up the right front, the more junk
you are.”
Gosselin’s biggest obstacle, however, has never been
set-ups or race savvy and skill. He’s quite capable in
each category. And if he could find a title sponsor, the
rest of the competition knows full-well they’d all have
their hands full with Gosselin, who would become an instant
title contender.
“We’ve always wanted to run the whole ARCA schedule.
It’s got everything on it a race driver could ever
want….big tracks, short-tracks, dirt-tracks; it’s got
everything. If we could ever land that title sponsor we’ll
do ‘em all, but until then, we’re limited,
realistically, on what we can do.
“Right now, we’re planning on running through
Nashville
. Unless we get something solid, and we’re working on some
things, but unless we find a partner then we’re probably
out for a while after
Nashville
. We don’t want to be, but that’s where we’re at right
now, but we haven’t given up yet.”
Longtime supporters’ Guaranteed Concrete and James
Carter Attorney at Law will serve as associate sponsors for
Gosselin’s
Lakeland
effort.
Tickets to the Construct Corps-Palm Beach Grading 250 are
available in advance by calling USA Int’l Speedway (800)
984-7223. A full weekend of on-track activity is scheduled
at the .75-mile paved oval, beginning with an open practice
session from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Eastern on Friday, March 23,
2007. The series will practice, qualify and race on
Saturday, March 24, 2007.
For more information, visit arcaracing.com.
CONTACTS:
ARCA PR/Media, office (734) 847-6726
Don Radebaugh, cell (419) 450-0611
Jackie L. Franzil, cell (419) 574-2685
|
ESR Drivers Confident After Lakeland Test
LAKELAND
,
FL
(Mar. 5,
2007) – Eddie Sharp Racing recently concluded a
private two day test at the USA International Speedway in
preparation for the ARCA RE/
MAX
Series Construct
Corps/ Palm Beach Grading 250 on Saturday, March 24.
“I
left
Lakeland
feeling very,
very good about our stuff,” said team owner Eddie Sharp.
“We have some really fast racecars and I’m really
looking forward to the race”.
Drivers
Ken Butler
III
, Michael
McDowell and Josh Wise all took laps around the .75 mile USA
International Speedway in their
ESR
Development Team
cars. A spirited battle broke out between the
ESR
teams to
complete the fastest lap of the test which resulted in both
teams gaining valuable speed.
“
Lakeland
is a lot of fun
to get around,” said Michael McDowell, driver of the #2
ESR
Dodge. “We
kept pushing the 22 guys pretty hard to gain speed and they
kept putting up faster laps. After taking a look at the
data, we all made each other a lot faster”.
The
unofficial ‘race’ between teams got pretty heated midway
through the second day as speeds kept rising. The spirited
competition ended with both crews excited about their
chances on March 24.
“This
is what the concept of a two car team is all about,” said
Sharp. “Our guys are so competitive, it was great to see
them share information and push each other. With how our
testing went, we are really looking forward to the race”.
The
Construct Corps/ Palm Beach Grading 250 at the USA
International Speedway is scheduled to go off at
7:30 p.m.
on Saturday,
March 24.
For
more information on the Eddie Sharp Racing Development Team,
visit www.eddiesharpracing.com
Photo
Credit: Christopher J. Biby |
ARCA RE/MAX Series to Make First Appearance at USA Int'l
Speedway
Several Teams Test at Lakeland in
Anticipation for Inaugural ARCA Go
Solid Florida Field Flavor
LAKELAND FL (2-23-07) - On the heels of a nearby
superspeedway classic at Daytona, the ARCA RE/MAX Series, in
its 55th consecutive season of competition, is headed back
to the Sunshine State for a short-track thriller at USA
Int'l Speedway in Lakeland, Florida Saturday night, March
24.
The first annual Construct Corps-Palm Beach Grading 250
marks the first appearance of the RE/MAX Series tour at the
Lakeland oval. The event also marks the first time that a
nationally touring stock car series that competes at Daytona
will also race at Lakeland.
Heavy Hitters Kimmel & Gerhart Entered
Expected entrants include eight-time ARCA RE/MAX Series
national champion Frank Kimmel and five-time Daytona ARCA
200 winner Bobby Gerhart. Gerhart, of Lebanon, Pennsylvania,
earned a record fifth Daytona triumph on February 10, 2007
with Kimmel trailing in fifth position. Kimmel, of
Clarksville, Indiana, is currently second in the
all-time series win column with 68 career victories.
Florida Flavor Solid
The event will also be chalk-full of Florida flavor with
expected entries from Florida residents Bill Baird
(Sarasota), Mario Gosselin (Lake Wales), Tim Russell
(Longwood), Benny Chastain (Tallahassee), Bryan Silas
(Stuart) and Michael Faulk (Ocala). Baird, who drives the
Ken Schrader Racing Dodge, was the 1999 ARCA RE/MAX Series
champion. Baird most recently finished 12th at Daytona while
Gosselin, who led 21 laps at Daytona, finished 13th. Russell
drives for Hagans Racing while Silas drives for 1995 series
champion Andy Hillenburg. Both Gosselin and
Faulk have previous experience at Lakeland in the USAR
Pro Cup division.
Several Teams Test at Lakeland
In advance of the event interest is clearly high among
the teams, several of which have already tested on the
.75-mile paved oval including Russell, Silas, Ryan Howard in
the Country Joe Racing Dodge, Josh Clemons in the Clemons
Racing Ford and Justin Marks in the RAB Racing Dodge.
Six-time AMA Motocross champion Ricky Carmichael also tested
in a Ginn Racing entry.
Other drivers planning tests at Lakeland include Westby,
Wisconsin's Dexter Bean and Vail, Colorado's Gabi DiCarlo
scheduled to share the track February 26 and 27. Michelle
Theriault is penciled in for February 28 with a busy day to
follow on March 1 with three teams scheduled including Eddie
Sharp Racing, which fields two fulltime ARCA RE/MAX Series
teams, one of which is a Toyota driver development team.
Other March 1 testers include Brian Keselowski, son of 1989
ARCA national champion Bob Keselowski, and Lake Geneva,
Wisconsin driver Ryan Mathews who drives the Cunningham
Motorsports Dodge Development Dodge. RAB Racing (Construct
Corps Dodge) is also scheduled to re-test on March 3.
Diverse Series
The Construct Corps-Palm Beach Grading 250 is the second
of 23 events on the 2007 ARCA RE/MAX Series schedule, which
includes an interesting mix of short-tracks, on both dirt
and pavement, as well as 12 superspeedway events including
Daytona, Talladega, Pocono, MIS, Kansas, Nashville,
Kentucky, Gateway and Chicagoland to name a few.
Event Info
The ARCA RE/MAX Series garage opens at 9 am Thursday
morning, March 23 followed by technical inspection and the
first practice session from 4:30 to 6:00 pm. A second
practice session on Saturday, March 24 rolls out at 1:00 pm
followed by Pole Award Qualifying at 4:30 pm. The Construct
Corps-Palm Beach Grading 250 is scheduled to go off under
the lights Saturday night starting at 7:30.
For ticket and track information please call
1-800-984-7223.
CONTACTS: ARCA PR/Media Department (734) 847-6726
Don Radebaugh, cell (419) 450-0611
Jackie L. Franzil, cell (419) 574-2685
http://www.arcaracing.com
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CONSTRUCT
CORPS TO SPONSOR THE CONSTRUCT CORPS/PALM BEACH GRADING 250 AT USA
INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
CONCORD, NC
(12-09-06) - Construct Corps announced today that they will be
the primary sponsor for the Construct Corps/Palm Beach Grading 250
at USA International Speedway, March 24th, 2007. The
decision to sponsor this race came when the ARCA RE/MAX Series
announced they would be attending a second Florida event in the 2007
season.
“When we heard of the
opportunity to sponsor a race in Lakeland, we were excited,”
CEO of Construct Corps, Scott Tashkin said. “This was an
opportunity to bring ARCA into our backyard, and show everyone what
it is all about.”
“Construct Corps was started in Orlando and Tampa.
Therefore, we feel that we can create a real interest between 2 good
markets in Orlando and Tampa prior, during, and after the race.
Our intention is not to just put our name on the race, but to have
Orlando and Tampa know what ARCA is, and make the sponsorship work
with customers, prospects, and employees alike.”
As a mainstay on the USAR Hooters ProCup Series
schedule, USA Int’l Speedway is no stranger to touring stock car
series. However, 2007 marks the first time that the nationally
touring ARCA RE/MAX Series has hosted an event on the .75-mile paved
oval.
“USA International
Speedway is proud to have Construct Corps as our newest
partner,” President, Bill Martino said. “The respective
reputations of these prominently known entities will strengthen with
this cooperative effort in producing the Construct Corps/Palm Beach
Grading 250 on March 24. We take a certain pride in providing the
quality that is required by our partners and fans with our
racing programs. We know this quality is an operative
motive for the folks at Construct Corps. It’s a natural fit and we
look forward to a long-standing relationship.”
Along with sponsoring the Construct Corps/Palm Beach
Grading 250, Construct Corps returns to RAB Racing as the 2007
primary sponsor with driver, Justin Marks. Marks, who signed with
RAB Racing for the full 2007 season, looks forward to representing
Construct Corps at USA Int’l Speedway, and taking this short track
by storm.
“It is very satisfying to have a sponsor that uses
the sport as a viable tool to develop business and brand its
product,” Justin Marks said. “Sponsoring the Lakeland race
is just an extension of that and further solidifies their commitment
to RAB Racing, the ARCA RE/MAX Series and especially their partners
and customers.
“My first short track race last year was a lot of
fun and we had a great car. I have very limited short track
experience but RAB has a very competitive short track program and I
really enjoy the pace at the short tracks. I expect us to be a
contender for the win, and will do everything in my power to put our
Construct Corps Dodge in victory lane. It's a very important
race for us.”
“RAB Racing and Justin are a class act,” Tashkin
said. “I have all the confidence in the world having them
represent us in our backyard to customers, employees, and potential
customers. They are always prepared, organized, and impressive. I
am always excited to introduce any acquaintance to them because the
team, including Justin, always carries themselves in a professional
manner whether the going is good, or not so good. That is
important. Having this combination at the Construct Corps/Palm Beach
Grading 250 will mean a strong showing in front of people that are
important to the overall success of Construct Corps.”
Construct Corps is a national staffing firm
providing skilled tradespeople on a temporary basis to contractors
in the commercial, industrial, and residential marketplaces. For
more information on Construct Corps, log on to www.constructcorps.com.
For
information on obtaining tickets for the Construct Corps/Palm Beach
Grading 250, call 1-800-984-7223.
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Thank you to
our Sponsors
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Special
Thanks to:

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USA International Speedway is proud
to support the efforts of the Shriner's and The Shiners
Hospitals |
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