Rookie Hemphill Wins Kentucky

Rookie Hemphill ponies up in Kentucky Bluegrass Palace; Dominates Channel 5-205



 SPARTA KY  (5-8-04)  Blame it on too many cautions, Ernie Elliott's expertise or Frank Kimmel's bad luck, but don't leave out the great drive from rookie Ryan Hemphill, who in only his third ARCA RE/MAX Series start, handily won The Channel 5-205 Saturday night under the lights at Kentucky Speedway before 23,160 people.

Hemphill, with an Ernie Elliott motor renowned for getting great gas mileage, stretched a tank of Sunoco gas a full 77 laps on the 1.5-mile Sparta, Kentucky speedplant en route to victory lane. Thirty-seven circuits of the final 77 were run under caution, no doubt aiding in the fuel mileage equation. Further more, three-time Kentucky winner Kimmel crashed early in the race while leading.

"The cautions helped," said Hemphill. "If not for the cautions, we would have had to pit again. The crew kept assuring me we would make it (on fuel) so I put my faith in them. I kept asking if I needed to pit and the crew chief (Greg Tester) said stay out. It made it easier when Frank (Kimmel) fell out. We had a good car and he had a good car. It would have just come down to how things played out. I want to thank our sponsor TrimSpa for being such an integral part of our program."



Series regular Billy Venturini, who pitted twice, and for the final time on lap 78 of the 137-lap, 205-mile event, finished second five lengths away in the family-owned Mahle Pistons-ReadyHosting.com Chevrolet. "I just hate it that we finished second again," said Venturini. "We have been around the top two and three for three out of four races. We have a great team; an under-funded team. Some of these other guys spent more money on this one race than we have all season. The cautions didn't help us. If it had stayed green, he (Hemphill) would have run out of gas. After we pitted, we knew that we could go all the way."



Veteran Mark Gibson steered his Williams Bros Lumber Chevrolet to the finish in third hot on the heels of Venturini. "Our crew chief Dennis (Pulte) made the right call there. I wanted to pit for tires but he said there was no need; that we'd lose track position and didn't know if we could make it up."



Ken Weaver finished a career-best fourth in his own 1-800-4-A-Phone Chevrolet over Christi Passmore who tied her career-best mark in fifth in the GAP Roofing-Royal Trading Ford. Passmore battled back from a late-race spin. 

At the onset, Hemphill shared the front row with Kimmel who, a day earlier, earned his 35th career Pork Pole award. Kimmel got a great jump on the start and led the first 21 laps; but his victory lane hopes were soon dashed when he made hard contact with the wall. "I got into somebody's oil," said Kimmel. "I came in on a high line in turn three, hit the oil and lost it into the wall. We were looking for a good race with the 64 car (Hemphill). I still love the Kentucky Speedway."

With Kimmel gone from the mix, Hemphill, who pitted only once for fuel and tires on lap 60, never gave up the lead and managed to steer clear of several wrecks that slowed the field during eight cautions for 58 laps. Through it all, there were no injuries.



Keith Murt, who started 20th, finished a career-best sixth in his own Murtco Chevrolet earning the Hoosier Tire Hard Charger award for advancing the most positions. Todd Bowsher, in the GFS Marketplace Ford, was another that survived a front-stretch spin to finish seventh in front of Nashville winner Blake Feese, who after crashing in qualifying, finished eighth in a back-up ditech.com car. In his first series start, Brian Keselowski, son of 1989 series champion Bob Keselowski, finished ninth in the Competition Graphics Dodge. Jason Jarrett, in the Gladiator GarageWorks-Bennigan's Chevrolet, completed the top-10 finishers.



In addition to Hemphill's winner's purse, the Apollo, Pennsylvania driver earned the Bennigan's Halfway Lap Leader award. Rookie Brandon Knupp, who got caught up in someone else's wreck on the first lap, earned the Landrum Spring Hard Luck award as a consolation. Hixson Motorsports, whose two-car team soldiered through a blown engine in one car and a practice crash in another, was awarded the Gladiator GarageWorks Gladiator award.



The next events for the RE/MAX Series include the Hickory Farms 200 presented by Federated Car Care Sunday afternoon, May 16 at Toledo Speedway followed by the Quaker Steak & Lube 100 at Lowe's Motor Speedway Thursday night, May 27 LIVE on SPEED Channel at 9 pm eastern. NASCAR veteran Ken Schrader has filed an entry for the Toledo event. For more, arcaracing.com. 



CURRENT TOP-10 ARCA RE/MAX SERIES POINTS (after Kentucky): 1) Frank Kimmel 870; 2) Billy Venturini 825; 3) Ryan Hemphill 650; 4) Brent Sherman 635; 5) Todd Bowsher 625; 5) Jason Jarrett 625; 7) Mark Gibson 620; 7) AJ Fike 620; 9) Mike Buckley 605; 10) Darrell Basham 575.



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