ARCA RE/MAX release, points, results, Toledo

CURRENT ARCA RE/MAX SERIES POINTS after Toledo:  1) Damon Lusk 2620; 2)
Frank Kimmel 2585; 3) Chad Blount 2545; 4) Jason Jarrett 2160; 5) Andy
Belmont 2090; 5) Chase Montgomery 2090; 7) Shelby Howard 2010; 8) Billy
Venturini 2000; 9) Mark Gibson 1935; 10) Norm Benning 1875.

IN BRUTAL SUMMER HEAT, KIMMEL TAKES TOLEDO

TOLELDO OH (6-23-02) After disappointing finishes at Pocono and
Michigan, Frank Kimmel bounced back big with a hard-fought victory in
the Jasper Engines & Transmissions 200 Sunday afternoon at Toledo
Speedway.

Kimmel survived a late-race challenge from Jason Jarrett and blistering
heat to earn his 38th career ARCA RE/MAX Series victory and fifth of the
season after ten events. The win also moves Kimmel to within three
victories of Tim Steele (41) who is third all-time behind Iggy Katona
(79) and Jack Bowsher (48).

“After the last two races, this just feels great,” said Kimmel in
victory lane. “This Joe Rhyne motor was awesome today. I was a little
worried because it ran at 260 (degrees) all day; but it never missed a
beat. It was a tough day out there; the heat was incredible. I’d just
like to thank Jason (Jarrett) and Damon (Lusk) for racing me so clean.
They had a few opportunities to turn me and they chose to race me. Those
guys are class acts. This Advance Auto Parts-Pork Ford was awful tough
today.”

With high humidity and temperatures soaring into the high 90s, Jarrett
turned up the heat a little more when he planted his Biomet-Damon RV
Pontiac inches away from Kimmel’s rear bumper for the last two laps.
Although Jarrett appeared Kimmel’s equal in the end, the Hickory, North
Carolina driver could not find a way around the eventual winner falling
short at the final stripe by a length.

To add to the misery of the brutal summer heat, 15 cautions for a
variety of accidents and incidents slowed the 200-lap race for 76 laps
while safety workers cleared debris from the track. There were no
injuries.

Chris Moore, in his career-first RE/MAX Series start, made quite an
impression finishing third in the Thermo King-A1 Masonry Ford with
Battle Creek, Michigan late model standout Fred Campbell trailing in
fourth in his career-first start. AJ Henriksen steered the
Fastenal-Engineered Components Chevrolet to the finish in fifth
recording his second consecutive top-five finish.

Leading ARCA Rookie of the Year candidate Chad Blount won the Old
Milwaukee Pole award and led the first 5 laps before outside polesitter
Lusk wrestled his way into the lead. Blount, who eventually finished
18th, would soon fade with mechanical difficulties while Lusk continued
to lead with Soddy Daisy, Tennessee standout Ron Cox trailing in second.
Lusk led up through lap 86 before the Kennewick, Washington driver was
forced to pit with a flat tire while Cox took over up front. Cox led
nine laps before pitting under caution for tires and fuel handing the
lead to Henriksen, who opted to stay out for now and lead the race. Back
under green, Henriksen maintained the lead for more than 20 laps before
he too would come down pit road for service shuffling Jarrett, who had
already pitted, to the point. Jarrett showed the way for 25 laps before
Kimmel made his winning pass on the 145th lap. Then the 15th caution
flag waved inside of ten laps from the finish for a multi-car wreck in
turn one. That set the stage for the exciting ARCA-mandated
green-white-checker finish giving Jarrett an opportunity to take one
more run at Kimmel. Cox, who was clearly a threat to win in Wayne
Hixson’s Buffalo Wild Wing Chevrolet, had to settle for a disappointing
28th after his oil pump failed after 137 laps completed.

Second-generation driver Michael Simko, who started 23rd, finished a
solid sixth in only his career-second RE/MAX Series start earning the
Hoosier Tire Hard Charger award for advancing the most positions. Billy
Venturini finished seventh in the Cathy Venturini Racing Chevrolet with
62-year-old Zeeland, Michigan driver Vern Slagh finishing eighth, the
last car on the lead lap. Lusk battled back to a ninth place finish
after going a lap down dealing with his earlier troubles with Todd
Bowsher, in the GFS Marketplace Ford, trailing in tenth.

Lusk maintained his point lead headed to Big Daddy’s South Boston
Speedway on July 3rd while Kimmel moved to second ahead of Blount.
Jarrett, jumped from sixth to fourth while Andy Belmont, who finished a
disappointing 29th, fell to a tie for fifth with Chase Montgomery.

    2002 ARCA RE/MAX SERIES EVENT #10
   Toledo Speedway, Toledo OH, 6-23-02
   Official Results, Jasper Engines & Transmissions 200

FIN STR NO DRIVER/RESIDENCE TEAM & CAR LAPS STATUS
1 6 46 Frank Kimmel/Jeffersonville IN Advance Auto Parts-Pork Ford 205
Running
2 3 67 Jason Jarrett/Hickory NC Biomet-Damon RV Pontiac 205 Running
3 4 42 Chris Moore/Canal Winchester OH Thermo King-A1 Masonry Ford 205
Running
4 15 47 Fred Campbell/Battle Creek MI DJ's One Stop-Quality Car Wash
Chevrolet 205 Running
5 17 17 AJ Henriksen/Mooresville NC Fastenal-Engineered Components
Chevrolet 205 Running
6 23 75 Michael Simko/Clarkston MI Bob Schacht Motorsports Ford 205
Running
7 12 25 Billy Venturini/Concord NC Venturini Racing Chevrolet 205
Running
8 22 65 Vern Slagh/Zeeland MI DJ's One Stop-Quality Car Wash Ford 205
Running
9 2 22 Damon Lusk/Kennewick WA WP Motorsports Chevrolet 204 Running
10 18 21 Todd Bowsher/South Vienna OH GFS Marketplace Ford 203 Running
11 13 64 Shelby Howard/Greenwood IN iHigh.com Chevrolet 202 Running
12 29 84 Norm Benning/Pittsburgh PA Benning Motorsports Chevrolet 202
Running
13 31 34 Darrell Basham/Henryville IN Darrell Basham Racing Chevrolet
202 Running
14 30 38 Greg Sarff/Columbus OH Beannie's Luxury Coach-Absolute
Impressions Ford 199 Running
15 16 43 Scotty Sands/Henryville IN Bobby Sands Racing Ford 197 Running
16 14 70 Jeff Finley/Lansing MI Bailey Excavating Chevrolet 195 Accident

17 9 85 John Hayden/Whitesville KY Premier Glass Pontiac 194 Accident
18 1 77 Chad Blount/Walkerton IN Braun Auto Group Dodge 194 Running
19 25 24 Chuck Weber/Mesquite TX Cardinal Tool-Althouse Auto Body
Chevrolet 194 Running
20 26 35 Thomas Buzze/Maiden NC Thomas Buzze Racing Pontiac 190 Accident

21 35 11 Neil McClelland/Hamilton OH Fast Track Driving School Pontiac
190 Running
22 10 27 Chase Montgomery/Mt Juliet TN Montgomery Motorsports Chevrolet
186 Running
23 34 91 Christi Passmore/Pryor OK Royal Trading-Gap Roofing Ford 182
Running
24 32 6 Tim Mitchell/Fayetteville TN Nealco-Reid's Pontiac 180 Fatigue
25 27 59 Mark Gibson/Winder GA Williams Brothers Lumber Chevrolet 175
Accident
26 24 28 Mike Buckley/Ann Arbor MI Midwest Mall Fronts Chevrolet 175
Axle
27 20 48 Kevin Belmont/Feasterville PA Victory Junction Gang Ford 171
Accident
28 7 23 Ron Cox/Soddy Daisy TN Buffalo Wild Wings Chevrolet 137 Oil pump

29 19 1 Andy Belmont/Penndel PA Odoban Grease Control Ford 101 Rear end
30 21 7 Marty Butkovich/Romeo MI Messina Trucking Chevrolet 61 Overhtng
31 8 5 Randy VanZant/Brookville OH Devers Auto Body Pontiac 59 Transmssn

32 5 39 Eric Nale/Pekin IN Siemens-Terrell Automotive Ford 59 Accident
33 33 26 Brad Smith/Dearborn MI BradSmithMotorsports.com Chevrolet 42
Brakes
34 11 97 Red Farmer/Hueytown AL Biomet-Damon RV Pontiac 31 Transmssn
35 28 56 Eric Martin/Hixson TN Comfort Inn of Monroe MI Chevrolet 1 Rear
end

   OLD MILWAUKEE POLE AWARD:  Chad Blount 17.237 (104.427 mph)
   MRGN OF VICT:  .444 seconds CAUTIONS:  15 for 76 laps
   LAP LEADERS:  Blount 1-5 (5); Lusk 6-86 (81); Cox 87-95 (9);
Henriksen 96-119 (24); Jarrett 120-144
   (25); Kimmel 145-205 (61)

CONTACT: Don Radebaugh, ARCA (734) 847-6726 or arcaracing.com