Smith, among 24 drivers who tested, circled the 1.5-mile Sparta, Kentucky speedplant in 30.752 seconds, for an average speed of 175.598 mph.
The open test served in preparation for the next event on tour – the Drive Smart Buckle-Up Kentucky 150 Saturday, May 9th.
The series’ most recent winner Justin Lofton, in Eddie Sharp’s Lofton Cattle Toyota, was second fastest overall with a speed of 174.836. “We were very good right off the trailer, so we really didn’t make any big changes,” said Lofton. “We didn’t need to. We worked on a lot of little stuff, and we know the track’s going to change quite a bit by the time we come back in May. Main thing is, is that we’ve got a really good base-line set-up, so we can tighten or loosen as necessary from there.”
Penske development driver Parker Kligerman, in the Cunningham Motorsports Dodge, was third overall (174.752) after struggling in the morning session.
“We weren’t very good at the onset,” said Kligerman, who is still in high school in his hometown of Westport, Connecticut. “We just couldn’t get off the corners. But the Cunningham crew worked and worked on it and got it much better.”
Kligerman, in six series starts, has not finished out of the top-10. His most recent finishes include third at Salem, fifth at Rockingham and seventh at Talladega.
Frank Kimmel, a late arrival, was fourth quickest overall at 174.345. Kimmel, a four-time Kentucky winner, has not won at Kentucky since May, 2005.
Newcomer Brian Ickler, in a second Venturini Motorsports entry, was fifth fastest overall at 174.289.
There were three separate on-track incidents throughout the day involving Chad Hackenbracht, Jimmy Weller and Justin Boston. All three drivers made contact with the wall; however, there were no injuries.
The Drive Smart Buckle-Up Kentucky 150, the 18th appearance of the ARCA RE/MAX Series at Kentucky Speedway since its 2000 debut, is scheduled to roll off at 8:00 PM ET Saturday, May 9. Practice and Menards Pole Qualifying presented by Ansell precede the race action Saturday afternoon.
ARCA RE/MAX Series Open Test, Overall Results
Kentucky Speedway (4-29-09)
NO DRIVER/HOMETOWN MAKE TIME SPEED
1 25 Jesse Smith/Wildwood MO Venturini Motorsports Chevrolet 30.752 175.598
2 6 Justin Lofton/Westmorland CA Eddie Sharp Racing Toyota 30.886 174.836
3 77 Parker Kligerman/Westport CT Cunningham Motorsports Dodge 30.901 174.752
4 44 Frank Kimmel/Clarksville IN Kimmel Racing Ford 30.973 174.345
5 8 Brian Ickler/Mooresville NC Ickler Motorsports Toyota 30.983 174.289
6 29 Mikey Kile/Westlake LA Brad Keselowski Racing Chevrolet 31.183 173.171
7 15 Alex Yontz/Walnut Cove NC Venturini Motorsports 31.298 172.535
8 81 Craig Goess/Greenville NC Eddie Sharp Racing Toyota 31.369 172.144
9 32 James Buescher/Plano TX Win-Tron Racing Dodge 31.380 172.084
10 4 Ken Weaver/Dallas TX Cunningham Motorsports Dodge 31.415 171.892
11 32 Justin Boston Win-Tron Racing Dodge 31.496 171.450
12 38 Jonathan Eilen Dodge 31.597 170.902
13 2 Tim George Jr/Petaluma CA Eddie Sharp Racing Toyota 31.609 170.837
14 20 Steve Arpin/Fort Frances ON Eddie Sharp Racing Toyota 31.643 170.654
15 36 Robb Brent/Shelby Township MI Justin Allgaier Motorsports Dodge 31.710 170.293
16 20 Kevin Hamlin Eddie Sharp Racing Toyota 31.736 170.154
17 35 Tom Berte/New Berlin WI Venturini Motorsports Chevrolet 31.757 170.041
18 74 JR Heffner/Stepenton NY Chevrolet 31.778 169.929
19 82 Sean Corr Ford 31.809 169.763
20 88 Dustin Delaney Chevrolet 32.139 168.020
21 1 Tom Hessert/Cherry Hill NJ Andy Belmont Racing Ford 32.208 167.660
22 36 Chad Blount/Walkerton IN Justin Allgaier Motorsports Dodge 32.394 166.698
23 58 Chad Hackenbracht/Denver NC Chevrolet 33.586 160.781
24 14 Jimmy Weller Ford 35.070 153.978
- ARCA