ARCA Truck results, release, Midvale (5-3-03)

Guinn wins rain-shortened ARCA Truck season opener

MIDVALE OH (5-3-03)  by Amanda Brahler - "Superman" Chad Guinn piloted his #4 BFI-M&M Heating Ford Ranger to victory in the ARCA Lincoln Welders Truck Series season opener at the Midvale Speedway on Saturday. Guinn not only had a stellar race truck, but he also had the likes of Mother Nature on his side.

Guinn made the winning pass on Jeff Speakman on lap 43 of the 100-lap event, and then held out for the rain to earn his 16th career ARCA Lincoln Welders Truck Series victory.

 

"We'll take it," said Guinn in victory lane. "We would have liked to have gone the full distance but the weather wouldn't let us. We had a strong truck tonight and I'm confident that with or without the rain we would have held on for the win. It's tough to win in this series; we'll take this one with pride and go down the road. I also want to thank my crew chief Chuck Carroll for setting up the truck; no one does it better."

 

Speakman, in the Pennzoil-Nat'l Auto Lube Ford, led most of the way only to lose it following a restart on lap 43. On lap 42 the caution flag was thrown after a spin in turn one by the #24 Ford Ranger of Jeff Smith. Following the restart Guinn passed Speakman in turn two. After getting passed for the lead, Speakman also lost the second spot as Brandon Knupp, in the Mark Knupp Mufflers & Tires Ford, passed him for position in turn four. 

Two laps later the caution flag flew due to a light rain. Race control then opted to throw the green flag along with the yellow so the race could reach halfway to make the event official. After circuiting the .333-mile track for six more laps, the Performance Race Fuels 100 ended after running only 51 laps. Knupp was credited with the runner-up position with Speakman trailing in third. Mark Otting finished fourth and former Lincoln Welders Truck Series champion Bill Withers finished fifth.

Including the caution for rain, the race saw a total of six yellow flags; however there were no injuries. The first caution flew on lap 16 when Gregg Vasko and Craig Meyers spun in turn four. 

The race for the lead was fairly clean through the event as Speakman took the top spot from Old Milwaukee polesitter Ron Wells on lap one after starting on the outside pole. The only close call for the event's leader came on lap 31 when Brian Rowe got under Speakman for the lead in the exit of turn four. Rowe spun but was able to continue on without losing a lap or causing a yellow.

Rowe finished sixth in front of Wells who finished seventh. Sonny Kendall finished eighth in his career-first ARCA Truck start with two-time Truck champ Robbin Slaughter trailing in ninth. Smith, also making his career-first start, completing the top-10 finishers. 

The next event on the ARCA Lincoln Welders Truck Series schedule is May 31st on the .375-mile Lake Erie Speedway in North East, PA.



      2003 ARCA LINCOLN WELDERS TRUCK SERIES EVENT #1   
      Midvale Speedway, Midvale OH, 5-3-03   
      Official Results, Performance Race Fuels 100   
          
      FIN NO DRIVER/RESIDENCE TEAM & CAR LAPS STATUS 
      1 4 Chad Guinn/Erie MI BFI-M&M Heating-Northland Collision-Coastal Coating Ford 51 Running 
      2 1 Brandon Knupp/Sidney OH Mark Knupp Mufflers & Tires Ford 51 Running 
      3 2 Jeff Speakman/Piqua OH Pennzoil-National Auto Lube-Dick's Parts Ford 51 Running 
      4 00 Mark Otting/Plainwell MI Westfalia Surge-Poslic One Step Ford 51 Running 
      5 57 Bill Withers/Columbus OH Mannings USA-Hall Electronics Ford 51 Running 
      6 5 Brian Rowe/Barboursville WV Pate Manufacturing Ford 51 Running 
      7 06 Ron Wells/Riverside OH Tanner HVAC-Main Auto Parts Ford 51 Running 
      8 33 Sonny Kendall/Indianapolis IN Mid-America Mortgage-Knight Racing Chevrolet 51 Running 
      9 6 Robbin Slaughter/Columbus OH Carmensvacuum.com ford 50 Running 
      10 24 Jeff Smith/Greenville OH TSM Motorsports Ford 49 Running 
      11 30 Brad Yunker/Maumee OH Holt Rental Services-Champion Credit Union Ford 49 Running 
      12 14 Gregg Vasko/McKeesport PA McArdles Pub & Restaurant-Mon Ave Motors Ford 45 Running 
      13 55 Jack Weethee/Grove City OH Weethee Builders-Den's Automotive Ford 43 Running 
      14 98 Kevin Reeb/N Baltimore OH Accurate Logistics Ford 25 Accident 
      15 78 Craig Meyers/Belleville MI Classic Racing Coupes Ford 25 Accident 
      16 7 Paul Hahn/Canton MI Hahn's Collision-Certified First Network-Fox Auto Chevy 24 Accident 
      17 3 John Kasmierski/Toledo OH Top Notch Seamless Gutters Ford 10 Oil Leak 
          
      LAP LEADERS: Speakman 1-43 (43); Guinn 44-51 (8)   
          
      Old Milwaukee Pole Award: Ron Wells   
      Cloyes Gear Halfway Leader: Chad Guinn   
      Ed & Company Hard Charger: Jeff Smith   
      Brooks Racing Tire: Mark Otting    
      Diamond Wheels: Chad Guinn    
      Revenge Pole-Win: None    
      RJS Safety: Chad Guinn