ARCA RE/MAX Results, Points, Pocono

TOP-10 ARCA RE/MAX SERIES POINTS AFTER POCONO:  1) Frank Kimmel 3480; 2)
Chad Blount 3360; 3) Jason Jarrett 2990; 4) Chase Montgomery 2785; 5)
Damon Lusk 2765; 6) Shelby Howard 2735; 7) Billy Venturini 2670; 8) Mark
Gibson 2650; 9) Andy Belmont 2645; 10) Ron Cox 2475.

ATWOOD PREVAILS IN POCONO PEPSI ARCA 200

LONG POND PA (7-27-02) by Don Radebaugh - Casey Atwood, in Ray
Evernham’s Dodge Dealers Dodge, overhauled Jason Jarrett with nine laps
remaining to win the Pepsi ARCA 200 Saturday at Pocono Raceway.

Atwood, armed with Winston Cup technology, confidence and a few
late-race cautions, charged from the back to the front in relatively
short order to earn his career-first ARCA RE/MAX Series victory in his
first attempt.

“It’s special for my career,” said Atwood in victory lane. “I’m only 21
years old. Obviously my Busch wins are special, but my ultimate goal is
to win a Winston Cup race and Winston Cup championship, and until that
happens I’m not really going to be satisfied. I think we learned a lot
this weekend and it’s going to help us in the future.”

Atwood pitted under caution for fresh tires inside of 20 laps from the
finish while the remaining front-runners stayed out. However, with 18
cars still on the lead lap, the eventual winner found himself mired deep
in traffic as the race went back to green while Jarrett, with Robert
Burroughs, Mario Gosselin and Bobby Gerhart in tow, charged out to a
huge lead. And while Atwood steadily picked off cars one by one, Jarrett
increased his lead by a wide margin with the field stretching out even
more behind him. Then Atwood got the breaks he could only hope for when
three back-to-back cautions for minor incidents and debris kept the
field continually bunched. With that many opportunities, fresher tires
and top-notch technology, it didn’t take Atwood long to reel in Jarrett
and make his winning pass entering turn one. Jarrett, in the
Biomet-Damon RV Chevrolet, had to settle for second.

“Definitely, with all those caution flags there, towards the end, I kind
of knew it would give him (Atwood) a chance to get up close and
eventually pass me,” said Jarrett. “I knew I was a sitting duck. But my
dad (Dale Jarrett) kept telling me on the radio, I was as good or better
than the rest of them, as long as I was out front there. He (Atwood) had
the car and he showed it when it counted most.”

Gosselin, in his career-first Pocono start, finished a solid third in
the Cable Network-Motorola-Comscope Chevrolet with Gerhart posting his
career-best Pocono finish in fourth in the Garden Spot Auto
Auction-James Chevrolet. Shelby Howard, the impressive 16-year-old
rookie from Greenwood, Indiana, finished fifth, a career-best RE/MAX
Series finish in his father Shelby Sr.’s unsponsored Dodge. Burroughs,
very much in the hunt all day, broke a transmission with eight laps
remaining while running third relegating the Laurel, Mississippi driver
to 24th in the final running order.

Atwood started from the Old Milwaukee Pole and led the first 46 laps
with series point leader Frank Kimmel and rookie standout Chad Blount in
pursuit. Through two rounds of pit stops, Kimmel and Blount maintained
pace with the leader until both machines fell off the pace with sour
engines.

“We dropped a cylinder, a rocker arm or a valve spring,” Kimmel said.
“We turned it up a notch to compete with Casey. We just paid the price
for it.” While Kimmel soldiered to the finish in 13th, Blount, with
similar troubles, finished 14th.

While most of the leaders pitted just twice during the 80-lap, 200-mile
race, it was Atwood’s third pit stop near the conclusion that shuffled
the Statesville, North Carolina driver deep in the pack with time
running out.

In all, there were six lead changes among five drivers to include Billy
Venturini, Kimmel and Gerhart while seven cautions slowed the race for
28 laps, all for minor incidents. In the end, 15 cars finished on the
lead lap.

Brent Sherman, in the Hickory Farms-Serta Mattress Chevrolet, finished a
career-best sixth in front of Hesston, Pennsylvania driver Tom Eriksen
who rebounded from an earlier frontstretch spin to finish seventh in the
Camair Chevrolet. Mt. Juliet, Tennessee rookie Chase Montgomery finished
eighth in his father Ray Montgomery’s Chevy with Jason Rudd trailing in
ninth in the Graybar Electric Dodge. Retired Pennsylvania state trooper
CW Smith finished 10th in the Panasonic Chevrolet. Deborah Renshaw, in
her second RE/MAX Series start, fought off a variety of mechanical
gremlins to finish 11th in the Bob Schacht Motorsports Ford. Soddy
Daisy, Tennessee driver Ron Cox earned the Hoosier Tire Hard Charger
honors for his 12th place finish after starting 30th.

Atwood, in addition to his winner’s purse, picked up the Loctite Halfway
Leader Award as well as the National Pork Board Pole-Win bonus for
winning from the pole.

    2002 ARCA RE/MAX SERIES EVENT #14
   Pocono Raceway, Long Pond PA, 7-27-02
   Official Results, Pepsi ARCA 200

FIN STR NO DRIVER/RESIDENCE TEAM & CAR LAPS STATUS
1 1 19 Casey Atwood/Statesville NC Dodge Dealers Dodge 80 Running
2 4 67 Jason Jarrett/Hickory NC Biomet-Damon RV Chevrolet 80 Running
3 5 12 Mario Gosselin/Lake Wales FL Cable Network-Motorola-Comscope
Chevrolet 80 Running
4 13 5 Bobby Gerhart/Lebanon PA Garden Spot Auto Auction-James Chevrolet
80 Running
5 34 64 Shelby Howard/Greenwood IN CIMCO Racing Dodge 80 Running
6 16 04 Brent Sherman/N Barrington IL Hickory Farms-Serta Mattress
Chevrolet 80 Running
7 9 38 Tom Eriksen/Hesston PA Camair-DR Eriksen Water Well & Pump
Chevrolet 80 Running
8 11 27 Chase Montgomery/Mt Juliet TN Montgomery Motorsports Chevrolet
80 Running
9 10 10 Jason Rudd/Chesapeake VA Graybar Electric Dodge 80 Running
10 17 42 CW Smith/Williamsport PA Panasonic Chevrolet 80 Running
11 35 75 Deborah Renshaw/Bowling Green KY Bob Schacht Motorsports Ford
80 Running
12 30 23 Ron Cox/Soddy Daisy TN Buffalo Wild Wings Chevrolet 80 Running
13 2 46 Frank Kimmel/Jeffersonville IN Advance Auto Parts-Pork Ford 80
Running
14 3 77 Chad Blount/Walkerton IN Braun Auto Group Dodge 80 Running
15 18 92 Eric Smith/Akron NY E&E Motorsports Ford 80 Running
16 15 59 Mark Gibson/Winder GA Williams Brothers Lumber Ford 79 Running
17 19 7 Sean Stafford/Ontario Canada Gerhart Racing Chevrolet 79 Running

18 20 48 Kevin Belmont/Feasterville PA Victory Junction Gang Ford 79
Running
19 29 6 Tim Mitchell/Fayetteville TN Vito's Pizza Pontiac 77 Running
20 36 21 Todd Bowsher/Springfield OH Jack Bowsher Racing Ford 77 Running

21 28 34 Darrell Basham/Henryville IN Basham Racing Chevrolet 76 Running

22 31 06 Michael Zazula/Turnersville NJ Team 94 Chevrolet 76 Running
23 39 26 Brad Smith/Dearborn MI BradSmithMotorsports.com Ford 75 Running

24 7 53 Robert Burroughs/Laurel MS Burroughs Diesel Ford 72 Transmssn
25 8 25 Billy Venturini/Concord NC Dunham Sports Chevrolet 59 Engine
26 32 71 Steve Senerchia/Brick NJ Anchor Developers Marine Construction
Chevrolet 53 Engine
27 12 54 Richard Mitchell/Bruceton Mills WV Coach USA-Mountaineer Gaming
Pontiac 52 Accident
28 21 29 Todd Shafer/Ashland OH Jim Shafer Racing Ford 30 Transmssn
29 14 1 Andy Belmont/Penndel PA Odoban Grease Control Ford 30 Engine
30 25 84 Norm Benning/Pittsburgh PA Benning Motorsports Chevrolet 28
Gasket
31 22 83 John Sadinsky/Johnstown OH Beannie's Luxury Coach-Absolute
Impressions Ford 16 Engine
32 37 24 Chuck Weber/Mesquite TX Cardinal Tool-Althouse Auto Body
Chevrolet 14 Handling
33 33 2 Eric Martin/Hixson TN Blakeslee's Madison Inn Chevrolet 13
Engine
34 6 17 AJ Henriksen/Mooresville NC Fastenal-Engineered Components Ford
9 Engine
35 40 4 Greg Sarff/Columbus OH Beannie's Luxury Coach-Absolute
Impressions Ford 7 Rear end
36 26 43 James Hylton/Inman SC James Hylton Racing Ford 5 Overhtng
37 24 91 Christi Passmore/Pryor OK Andy Belmont Motorsports Ford 3 Rear
end
38 41 14 Ron Courtney/Canton OH Cardinal Tool Company Chevrolet 1 Rear
end
39 23 39 Allan Patterson/Abbeville SC Mark Gibson Racing Ford 0 Engine
40 38 28 Mike Buckley/Ann Arbor MI Midwest Mall Fronts Chevrolet 0
Engine

 OLD MILWAUKEE POLE AWARD:  Casey Atwood 54.223 (165.981 mph)
 MRGN OF VICT:  .749 seconds   CAUTIONS:  7 for 28 laps
 TIME OF RACE:  1:41:18   AVG SPEED:  118.460 mph
 LAP LEADERS:  Atwood 1-46, 71-80 (56); Venturini 47-48 (2); Kimmel
49-51 (3); Gerhart 52-56 (5); Jarrett 57-70 (14)