ARCA Shelby Howard youngest winner

 

TOLEDO OH (4-28-03)  Seventeen-year-old Shelby Howard not only etched his name into the history books with his career-first ARCA RE/MAX Series victory over the weekend, the Greenwood, Indiana driver also became the youngest winner in the series' rich, long-standing 51-year history.

 

Howard, at 17 years and nine months, surpassed Adam Petty, and more recently Kyle Busch, for the honor of youngest winner in series history when he held off series veteran and four-time champion Frank Kimmel in the final laps of the Kentuckiana Ford Dealers 200 Sunday afternoon at Salem Speedway.

 

"It's still sinking in - beating Frank (Kimmel) at his hometown track, let alone being the youngest winner," said Howard. "I'm still amazed we were able to beat Frank. And now to hold the record of being the youngest winner ever is really big. It'll take awhile for all this to sink in. In the meantime, we've got to get ourselves ready for Toledo (Speedway) this weekend."

 

Petty was 18 years and 3 months of age when he won the EasyCare 100 at Lowe's Motor Speedway on September 30th, 1998 surpassing his father Kyle Petty in that honor who was 18 years and eight months when he won the Daytona ARCA 200 in 1979. In the most recent ARCA RE/MAX Series superspeedway event, April 11th at Nashville Superspeedway, Busch, at 17 years and 11 months, eclipsed Petty's mark.

 
www.arcaracing.com