KENTUCKY SPEEDWAY NEWS AND NOTES

EIGHTY-FOUR CARS ENTERED FOR FRANK KIMMEL ENDURO NATIONALS

Defending Kentucky Speedway “Frank Kimmel Enduro Nationals” champion Chuck Barnes of Louisville, Ky., highlights the current 84-car entry list for the 150-mile street stock event to be held at Kentucky Speedway May 24. Aspiring competitors represent Alabama, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and Washington. Drivers in the “Frank Kimmel Enduro Nationals II Presented by Harley-Davidson of Cincinnati and the Thoroughbred Harley-Davidson Shop of Florence, Ky.,” will race for a $5,000 grand prize and shares of a $25,000 purse. Last season, 117 teams entered the event, 89 arrived at the speedway and 69 cars formed the largest starting grid in Kentucky Speedway history. The event is organized by nine-time ARCA RE/MAX Series Champion Frank Kimmel and was created to give local racers a chance to compete in a large venue such as Kentucky Speedway. Speedway gates will open at 3:00 p.m., practice begins at 4:00 p.m., and racing will begin at 8:00 p.m. Drivers will race two 75-lap segments with a mandatory pit stop at the halfway mark. Tickets for the “Frank Kimmel Enduro Nationals II Presented by Harley-Davidson of Cincinnati and the Thoroughbred Harley-Davidson Shop of Florence, Ky.,” can be reserved online at http://www.kentuckyspeedway.com, by phone at 888-652-RACE (7223), through Meijer stores and by visiting the Kentucky Speedway ticket offices at 400 Buttermilk Pike, Suite 100, in Ft. Mitchell, Ky., next to the Montgomery Inn Restaurant or the Sparta, Ky., Fan Center located off of Interstate 71 Exit 57 and Ky. Hwy. 35 N.

KENTUCKY SPEEDWAY RACING REPORT AIRS TWICE THIS WEEK ON FSN OHIO

FOX Sports Net (FSN) Ohio will air the latest 30-minute edition of the Kentucky Speedway Racing Report on Tuesday, May 20 at 7:00 p.m., and Wednesday, May 21 at 7:30 p.m. Co-hosts Tim Bray and Cincinnati FOX 19’s Brian Giesenschlag review the May 10 opening day at the track and feature ARCA RE/MAX Series Car Chief Ashley Parlett. Nine-time ARCA RE/MAX Series champion Frank Kimmel provides a preview of the May 24 “Frank Kimmel Enduro Nationals II Presented by Harley-Davidson of Cincinnati and the Thoroughbred Harley-Davidson Shop of Florence, Ky.,” while Dennis Neal discusses bending the NASCAR rules in “Tech Talk.”

KAHNE WINS NSCS ALL-STAR FAN VOTE, $1 MILLION FIRST-PLACE PRIZE

Gillett Evernham Motorsports driver Kasey Kahne was voted into the NASCAR Sprint Cup All-Star Challenge by race fans and drove away with a $1 million grand prize at Lowe’s Motor Speedway May 17. Kahne, who finished fifth in the Sprint Showdown that preceded the All-Star event, brought his No. 9 Dodge to pits during the mandatory pit stop between the third and fourth 25-lap race segments, took on fuel only, and proceeded to beat Roush Fenway racer Greg Biffle across the finish line by 0.154 of a second. Biffle’s teammate, Matt Kenseth, finished third, defending series champion and Hendrick Motorsports driver Jimmie Johnson placed fourth and Joe Gibbs Racing driver Tony Stewart collected a fifth-place finish. A.J. Allmendinger and Sam Hornish, Jr., raced their way into the event by finishing first and second in the Sprint Showdown. Joe Gibbs Racing driver Kyle Busch won the opening segment before his No. 18 Toyota succumbed to mechanical difficulty; Carl Edwards and his No. 99 Ford claimed the second segment for Roush Fenway Racing; and Greg Biffle won the third segment for the team in the No. 16 Ford. The series next point race will be a 600-mile endurance test at Lowe’s May 25. Casey Mears won the 2007 race that Ryan Newman started from the pole position. FOX Television coverage will begin at 5:00 p.m. The Performance Racing Network (PRN) and Sirius Satellite Radio Channel 128 will begin coverage at 5:30 p.m. The top 12 drivers in the series standings entering the event are: Kyle Busch (Leader: 1,690 points: Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing); Jeff Burton (Second: -79 points, Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing); Earnhardt, Jr., (Third: -134, Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports); Denny Hamlin (Fourth: -190, Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing); Clint Bowyer (Fifth: -200, Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing); Johnson (Sixth: -248, Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports); Edwards (Seventh: -290, Ford, Roush Fenway Racing); Stewart (Eighth: -293, Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing); Kevin Harvick (Ninth: -294, Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing); Jeff Gordon (10th: -364, Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports); Biffle (11th: -382, Ford, Roush Fenway Racing); and David Ragan (12th: -424, Ford, Roush Fenway Racing).

CRAFTON CLAIMS FIRST CAREER NCTS WIN AT LOWE’S MOTOR SPEEDWAY

Ohio-based ThorSport Racing driver Matt Crafton claimed his first career NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory at Lowe’s Motor Speedway May 16 by 0.184 of a second over MRD Motorsports competitor Chad McCumbee. Crafton earned his victory in his 178th series start and has now taken top-two finishes in two of the past three series events and top-five finishes in three of the last four series races. He jumped three spots in the series standings to fourth. Circle Bar Racing driver Brendan Gaughan knocked out a third-place finish, former Kentucky Speedway ARCA RE/MAX Series race winner Erik Darnell pocketed fourth for Roush Fenway Racing and Gaughan’s teammate, Rick Crawford, raced across the line fifth. McCumbee moved from eighth to sixth in the standings with his second straight top-10 finish and second top-five finish in the past four races. Gaughan advanced three spots in the standings to 12th after registering his first top-five finish of the season and second straight top-10 finish. Darnell jumped four spots in the series standings to ninth and is part of the series top 10 for the second time in three weeks. He has posted top-five finishes in two of the past three events. Crawford drove to his second top-five finish in the past three races as well as his third straight top-10 finish. The top five results combined with a 23rd-place finish from series standings leader Ron Hornaday, Jr., a 14th-place showing from Jack Sprague and a 22nd-place outing from Ted Musgrave to significantly tighten the standings moving into the series May 24 event at Mansfield Motorsports Park. Hornaday, Jr., maintained the series lead but saw his lead over Crawford cut from 61 to five points. The distance from Hornaday, Jr., back to fifth-place was cut from 109 to 57 points. Sprague slipped from ninth to 13th in the standings and Musgrave descended from 10th to 15th. The top eight drivers in the standings are now separated by 78 points. Mansfield race coverage is set to begin at 12:30 p.m., on SPEED Channel, the Motor Racing Radio Network (MRN) and Sirius Satellite Radio Channel 128. The race start is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. Dennis Setzer won the 2007 race at the track that Mike Skinner started from the pole position. The top 10 drivers in the series standings going into race will be: Hornaday, Jr. (Leader: 874 points, Chevrolet, Kevin Harvick, Inc.); Crawford (Second: -5, Ford, Circle Bar Racing); Todd Bodine (Third: -38, Toyota, Germain Racing); Crafton (Fourth: -45, Chevrolet, ThorSport Racing); Setzer (Fifth: -57, Dodge, Bobby Hamilton Racing); McCumbee (Sixth: -66, Chevrolet, MRD Motorsports); Kyle Busch (Seventh: -77, Toyota, Billy Ballew Motorsports); Benson (Eighth:-78, Toyota, Bill Davis Racing); Erik Darnell (Ninth: -103, Ford, Roush Fenway Racing) and Terry Cook (10th: -114, Toyota, Wyler Racing).

CARTER CORRALS FIRST ARCA RE/MAX SERIES WIN AT TOLEDO

Tri-State Motorsports rookie Matt Carter corralled his first ARCA RE/MAX Series victory May 18 at Toledo Speedway and became the seventh different series winner in as many races this season. Carter, who lost the top spot in the series standings following his 29th-place Kentucky Speedway finish May 10, moved from fourth to second in the standings with his third top-five and fourth top-10 finish of the season. He now trails leader and Kentucky Speedway winner Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., by 10 points after entering the week 50 points off the series lead. Stenhouse, Jr., finished seventh at Toldeo and registered his fourth top-10 finish of the campaign. Patrick Sheltra secured third-place, Dexter Bean collected fourth and Justin Allgaier banked a fifth-place finish. Sheltra took his fourth top-10 finish of the season, Bean cracked a race top-five and top 10 for the first time this season while Allgaier delivered his fourth top-five and top-10 finish of the season. The series will be off until June 7 when it visits Pocono Raceway. Chad McCumbee won the series June event at the track last season in a race Tim Andrews started from the pole position. The top 10 drivers in the series standings entering the race will be: Stenhouse Jr. (Leader: 1,560 points, Ford); Carter (Second, -10, Ford); Kimmel (Third: -30, Ford); Tom Hessert III (Fourth: -85, Ford); John Wes Townley (Fifth: -90, Ford); Scott Speed (Sixth: -115, Toyota); Allgaier (Seventh: -120, Chevrolet); Sheltra (Seventh: -125, Chevrolet); Tayler Malsam (Ninth: -255, Dodge), and Ken Butler III (10th: -290, Toyota).

GRID SET FOR INDIANAPOLIS 500

Vision Racing driver A.J. Foyt, two-time Kentucky Speedway IndyCar Series race winner and Hemelgarn Racing driver Buddy Lazier and Roth Racing owner Marty Roth survived qualifying “Bump Day” May 18 and became the final three drivers in the 33-machine starting grid for the 92nd Indianapolis 500 May 25. Starting positions one through 11 were established May 10 and the 12th through 33rd spots were determined May 17. Chip Ganassi Racing driver Scott Dixon claimed the race pole award with a four-lap qualifying average of 226.366 mph. Dixon’s teammate and 2005 Indianapolis 500 champ Dan Wheldon will share the front row after charting a four-lap qualifying average of 226.110 mph. Penske Racing driver Ryan Briscoe completed the front row with a 226.080-mph average. Townsend Bell will start his Dreyer & Reinbold William Rast Racing car 12th after posting a 222.539-mph average. The average four-lap speed for the entire grid was 222.302-mph. Dixon will start the race in the top four for the fourth time in his career. He brought home the third Indianapolis 500 pole award for Ganassi, who earned his first with Arie Luyendyk in 1993 and his second with Bruno Junqueira in 2002. Final IndyCar Series practice, the Firestone Indy Lights Freedom 100 race and the IndyCar Pit Stop Challenge will be aired live on ESPN2 from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., May 23. Coverage of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” is scheduled for a noon start on ABC Television, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) Radio Network and XM Radio Channel 145 on May 25. Current NASCAR Sprint Cup Series racer Dario Franchitti wheeled to a rain-soaked win last season. Penske Racing driver Helio Castroneves started from the pole position. The top 10 drivers in the series standings going into the race will be: Castroneves (Leader: 144 points, Penske Racing); Dixon (Second: -6 points, Chip Ganassi Racing); Wheldon (Third: - 9, Chip Ganassi Racing); Tony Kanaan (Fourth: -15, Andretti Green Racing); Danica Patrick (Fifth: -34, Andretti Green Racing); Will Power (Sixth: -47, KV Racing Technology); Marco Andretti (Seventh: -49, Andretti Green Racing), Oriol Servia (Eighth: -51, KV Racing Technology); Ed Carpenter (Ninth: -54, Vision Racing) and Graham Rahal (10th :-56, Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing).