Toyota Tops ARCA RE/MAX Series Speed Charts After 3-Day Test

DAYTONA BEACH FL (12-17-06) – In 54 consecutive years of ARCA RE/MAX Series racing, the renowned national tour has taken its share of twists and turns with a variety of interesting personalities and poignant story lines.

One such name forever synonymous with the ARCA story is Kimmel. It started with three-time series winner Bill Kimmel, Sr. before his son Frank Kimmel stepped up with an unprecedented eight ARCA RE/MAX Series national titles for the record books.

Now, make way for the third generation of Kimmel racers, two of which took their first laps Sunday afternoon around Daytona Int’l Speedway aboard Frank’s no. 46 Ford Fusion.

Frankie Kimmel, son of Frank Kimmel, went out in the Sunday morning session and turned an impressive lap of 49.887 seconds, an average speed of 180.408 mph. The mark settled in at 8th on the speed charts among 50 drivers who made morning attempts.

Then Will Kimmel, son of Bill Kimmel, Jr. (Frank Kimmel’s brother and crew chief), lowered the mark even more with a lap of 49.804, an average speed of 180.708 mph.

But it was still father Frank who, in the same car, went the fastest – 181.309 mph, third overall in the morning session.

“Bill and I both have sons that are racing and are doing good in their respective classes,” said Frank Kimmel. We had to be down here for the PRI Show (in Orlando) so we knew we were going to be free on Sunday and brought the car over. I shook it down and made sure everything was running good on it, and then we let the boys go out.”

In fact, the car the Kimmels’ tested was the same car that served as the show car in the ARCA booth at the PRI show over the weekend, which is why the Kimmel crew didn’t show up to the three-day Daytona test until Sunday.

“It knocks the edge off if they (Frankie and Will) get fortunate enough to come here and race. They can say they’ve been here; in a controlled situation, it was a good safe deal for them.

“But it was a really tough deal for me. I knew I’d be nervous….putting my son and nephew in the car, but I didn’t know I’d be that nervous. They were all making fun of me; but what a deal to be able to give them the opportunity to drive a good car at Daytona.

“I was definitely more nervous than I thought I’d be. But we’re very proud of both; they did a great job. Will actually went out and went just a little quicker than Frankie. Then Frankie wanted to go back out and see if he could beat it. We put an end to that in a hurry; we’re not starting that.

“Frankie’s got very few laps in a stock car. He’s got a lot of seat-time in the Mini-Cup, but not in a full-blown stock car. He did an excellent job. His biggest chore was getting out of the pits; he’s never raced a car with a clutch before.”

“It was pretty fun,” said Frankie Kimmel. “It felt like my Mini-Cup car. It didn’t feel like you were going too fast until you looked at the fence and you have the fence flying by and then you realize you’re running 180 mph out there.”

Will Kimmel had a little different take. “I can’t believe how narrow the place is,” said Will Kimmel. “I had a great time and I’m glad my uncle and dad let me do this. This is a fun place. The speed sensation is awesome.”

Frank Kimmel will be back at DIS in February chasing that elusive first Daytona ARCA 200 win at “The World Center of Racing”. He’s planning on using the same car that he won with at Talladega Superspeedway in the fall.

“We think we can come here and be strong,” Kimmel said. “It’s just a matter of luck and being at the right place at the right time.”

Toyota Tops Overall Speed Charts

A record 75 drivers tested during the three-day ARCA RE/MAX Series test, but it was open-wheeler Josh Wise, in a Toyota, who may have turned the most heads.

Toyota’s first stock car test at Daytona International Speedway proved successful. Wise and the No. 22 Eddie Sharp Racing Toyota Camry were the fastest of the entire three-day test with a lap of 181.925 mph, turned in Saturday’s session.

The ARCA RE/MAX Series test session marked the first time that a Toyota stock car has turned laps at DIS. For Speedweeks 2007, Toyota will kick off its first year competing in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series. But the renowned automaker will debut in the ARCA RE/MAX Series at DIS.

The No. 22 Eddie Sharp Racing team, which will compete in the Feb. 10 ARCA 200 with Wise, has an alliance with Michael Waltrip Racing, which will field three Toyotas in the NEXTEL Cup Series in 2007.

“They got to try a lot of things,” said Wise, the ’06 USAC National Sprint Car Series champion and the ’06 Belleville Midget Nationals champion. “We got to shake down the Toyota engine and car. It was successful. We got to weed out a lot of things and it was good for me to come here and get some laps.”

Rusty Wallace Tests ARCA RE/MAX Series for son Steve

For the first time since the 2006 Rolex 24 At Daytona, Rusty Wallace was turning laps in a racecar at Daytona International Speedway. Wallace visited Daytona International Speedway to assist his son Steve during the final day of ARCA RE/MAX Series testing.

Steve Wallace will compete for Rusty Wallace Inc. in a full NASCAR Busch Series schedule in 2007 and will also race in the Feb. 10 ARCA 200 ARCA RE/MAX Series season opener.

“He hasn’t been to Daytona,” the 1989 NASCAR champion said of his son Steve. “He’s been flying everywhere else we’ve taken him but I just want to make sure when he comes down here he has a good handling car.

“I got in the car. It ran real good, the motor ran good but it drove a little too free for me. I told Steve, ‘In order to race this thing, you’re going to have to tighten this thing up. You only have a couple hours of practice, go out there and make these changes I suggest and tell me what it does.’

“To him, if feels pretty good but to me it needs to be a little bit tighter to be stable in a long run. That’s just the fatherly advice I’m giving him.”

Wallace, who has retired as a driver to serve as an analyst for ESPN’s racing coverage, hopes his advice can be helpful.

“I know what works here and what doesn’t work here,” Wallace said. “When I got in the car, it came right back to me. It was like I just got out of it yesterday. It didn’t feel any different. They made changes and now he’s going back out. We’ll see what he says.”

Green, Hendrick Fastest on Sunday

David Green, the 1994 NASCAR Busch Series champion and two-time Busch Series runner-up, and Hendrick Motorsports posted the fastest speed on Sunday with a lap of 181.796 mph in the No. 87 Chevrolet.

Green, who hopes to have his plans for 2007 finalized soon, does research and development work for Hendrick Motorsports, winner of the past two Daytona 500s with Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson.

The purpose of the test was to create a baseline on an ARCA car for a soon-to-be-announced development driver. Green didn’t know whom the driver was going to be and said the car would most likely race in an ARCA race at Talladega Superspeedway.

“We’re trying to establish a starting point for this kid when they go forward with that program,” Green said. “It’s fun to come test with these guys being at the moment unemployed. We’re working on some stuff for next year. Hopefully we’ll have some answers this week on our future for ’07 in the Busch Series.

“Rick (Hendrick) is letting me do a lot of testing for all of his teams and the Car of Tomorrow has been a lot of fun to test. We’ve got a few more on the schedule. Kyle (Busch) is off in Hawaii. Maybe that’s why he took his vacation this time but that’s OK because I had a ball. It’s always fun to hang out with Alan (Gustafson) and the 5 team.”

Tickets for Speedweeks 2007 are available online at www.racetickets.com or by calling 1-800-PITSHOP.

Overall ARCA RE/MAX Series Official Test Speeds
Daytona Int'l Speedway, Daytona Beach FL
December 15-17, 2006
 
Pos. No. Name Best Laptime Speed Make 
1 22 Josh Wise 49.471 181.925 Toyota 
2 87 David Green 49.506 181.796 Chevy 
3 61 Steve Wallace 49.576 181.539 Dodge 
4 5 Bobby Gerhart 49.601 181.448 Chevy 
5 7C Brian Smith 49.612 181.408 Chevy 
6 85 Greg Barnhart 49.625 181.360 Ford 
7 2 Michael McDowell 49.638 181.313 Dodge 
8 46 Frank Kimmel 49.639 181.309 Ford 
9 5A Brad Coleman 49.664 181.218 Chevy 
10 98 Erin Crocker 49.726 180.992 Dodge 
11 58 Damon Lusk 49.767 180.843 Dodge 
12 50 Chase Pistone 49.786 180.774 Dodge 
13 46 Will Kimmel 49.804 180.708 Ford 
14 12 John Jackson 49.832 180.607 Chevy 
15 64 Josh Allison 49.853 180.531 Dodge 
16 46 Frank Kimmel II 49.887 180.408 Ford 
17 42 Phillip McGilton 49.899 180.364 Chevy 
18 72 Gabi Dicario 49.911 180.321 Chevy 
19 12 JR Heffner 49.914 180.310 Chevy 
20 14 Michael Faulk 49.916 180.303 Dodge 
21 19 Keven Wood 49.935 180.234 Ford 
22 11B Bryan Silas 49.958 180.151 Ford 
23 7 AJ Henriksen 49.967 180.119 Chevy 
24 7B Eric Holmes 50.026 179.906 Chevy 
25 03 Shane Brafford 50.029 179.896 Chevy 
26 5A Brad Coleman 50.093 179.666 Chevy 
27 66 Brian Weber 50.122 179.562 Ford 
28 60A Patrick Sheltra 50.150 179.462 Chevy 
29 3 Jeremy Clements 50.233 179.165 Chevy 
30 9A Tim Russell 50.258 179.076 Dodge 
31 05 Ian Henderson 50.266 179.047 Ford 
32 25 Billy Venturini 50.284 178.983 Chevy 
33 05 Adam Edwards 50.295 178.944 Ford 
34 05 Ashley Parlett 50.396 178.586 Ford 
35 41 Josh Clemons 50.411 178.532 Ford 
36 1 John Graham 50.448 178.402 Ford 
37 66 Tony Ave 50.468 178.331 Chevy 
38 30 Terry Jones 50.484 178.274 Dodge 
39 0 Butch Jarvis 50.511 178.179 Chevy 
40 12B Mario Gosselin 50.517 178.158 Chevy 
41 00 Ed Kennedy 50.519 178.151 Chevy 
42 38 Mike Harmon 50.525 178.130 Chevy 
43 7A Tony Marks 50.567 177.982 Chevy 
44 37 Michelle Theriault 50.593 177.890 Chevy 
45 75 Billy Tanner 50.635 177.743 Ford 
46 05 Leilani Munter 50.663 177.644 Ford 
47 97 Brent Cross 50.688 177.557 Pontiac 
48 97 Skip Cummins 50.699 177.518 Chevy 
49 4 Justin South 50.700 177.515 Dodge 
50 24 Benny Chastain 50.712 177.473 Chevy 
51 9 Matt Hagans 50.715 177.462 Dodge 
52 59 TJ Bell 50.802 177.158 Dodge 
53 35 Chuck Barnes 50.821 177.092 Chevy 
54 60C Bill Baird 50.897 176.828 Chevy 
55 7A Justin Algaier 50.902 176.810 Chevy 
56 07 Gerry Bruce 50.916 176.762 Chevy 
57 05 Ian Henderson 50.967 176.585 Ford 
58 9B Phil Bozell 51.034 176.353 Dodge 
59 6 Dexter Bean 51.196 175.795 Chevy 
60 27 Dicky Williamson 51.270 175.541 Ford 
61 27 Troy Wangerin 51.445 174.944 Ford 
62 14 Ron Young 51.485 174.808 Dodge 
63 14 Ron Young 51.559 174.557 Dodge 
64 34 Darrell Basham 51.637 174.294 Chevy 
65 56 Chris Cockrum 51.678 174.155 Chevy 
66 29 Brian Keselowski 51.894 173.430 Ford 
67 34 Jason Basham 52.228 172.321 Chevy 
68 89 Julien Penaruiz 52.599 171.106 Chevy 
69 1 Andy Lally 53.074 169.575 Ford 
70 79A Mike Koch 53.711 167.563 Chevy 
71 48 Roger Carter 54.340 165.624 Dodge 
72 48 Nick Tucker 54.547 164.995 Dodge 
73 1 Ted Olswfski 55.315 162.705 Ford 
74 79B James Roberson 55.658 161.702 Pontiac 
75 79C Stan Yingling 68.486 131.414 Pontiac