Tuesday
Mikey Kile, Venturini Motorsports Top Testing Charts at Michigan
Press Release“Points Leader Sheltra Second Overall”
(BROOKLYN, Mich.) - Make it five.
Kile’s late afternoon lap of 39.430 seconds (182.602 mph) helped the Concord, N.C.-based team achieve the best speed for the fifth consecutive open test for the 2010 season, dating back to an open session at Daytona International Speedway in December. The team also carried the top spot at Palm Beach (Fla.) International Raceway, Texas Motor Speedway, and Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway in recent months.
ARCA Racing Series standings leader Patrick Sheltra steered the No. 60 Toyota to the day’s second spot with an afternoon lap of 39.455 seconds (182.486 mph).
The top speeds came late in the afternoon, in the warmest hours of the day. Numerous teams chose the final hours of the 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. session to simulate actual qualifying runs, as time trials for the Racing for Wildlife 200 are scheduled for a 3 p.m. start on Thursday, June 10.
“We came here and went third in the first practice,” Sheltra said. “We just wanted to play around with some things and see if we could get better in the long run on old tires. We’re still pretty good. We went out there and did a qualifying run in the heat of the day and ended up second. I hope we can get back here and qualify like that.”
Kile and the Venturini camp chose to push his Camry to the limit in the session’s waning hours.
“We stayed on old tires most of the day, and it seemed pretty quick,” said Kile, who stands fifth in points through six of 20 races. “We were a little tight, but I think that was mostly old tires and no fuel. We’re just looking forward to coming back and racing here, because I think we’ve got a pretty good hot rod.”
Kile noted that quick speeds today may not necessarily yield the same results in 17 days for 100 laps of competition.
“I think if we were racing today, we’d be in good shape, but then you get the (NASCAR Sprint) Cup cars and the rubber they lay down on the race track that kind of changes it a little bit, so hopefully that plays in our favor a little bit,” Kile said.
Steve Arpin provided Venturini with another high position on the final chart, finishing with the third-fastest lap in the afternoon after going fifth in the morning in the No. 55 Toyota. Craig Goess drove the No. 81 Eddie Sharp Racing Toyota to the fastest lap in the three-hour morning session at 39.475 seconds (182.394 mph) before finishing with the fifth-fastest afternoon lap.
Like Arpin and Goess, Sheltra and Kile posted top-five laps in each session.
Shelby Township, Mich. native Robb Brent enjoyed the chance to race at his home superspeedway, but seemed ready to forget the test and get to regular racing after a minor afternoon incident.
“I love this place. It’s a big, fast track. We had a rough day. The car wasn’t handling right, and we spun out down in Turns 1 and 2,” Brent said. “We didn’t hit anything, at least, but it was rough. We couldn’t quite get a handle on the car like we wanted to, and the clutch eventually went at the end of the day.
“We’ll see how it goes, but that’s why the race is what counts. I think we’ll be ready to go. I’m excited to come back here; it should be fun.”
Nine-time ARCA Racing Series champion Frank Kimmel drove the No. 44 Ansell / Menards Ford to the fourth spot in the morning before finishing eighth in the afternoon.
The Racing for Wildlife 200 takes the green flag at Michigan International Speedway at 5 p.m. on Friday, June 11 with live television coverage provided by SPEED and live radio broadcast coverage provided by the BAS Racing Network and streamed online at ARCARacing.com.
The ARCA Racing Series Presented by RE/MAX and Menards features 20 events at 17 tracks on its 2010 schedule. The series has crowned an ARCA national champion each year since its inaugural season in 1953, and has toured over 200 racetracks in 28 states since its inception. The series tests the abilities of drivers and race teams over the most diverse schedule of stock car racing events in the world, annually visiting tracks ranging from 0.4 mile to 2.66 miles in length, on both paved and dirt surfaces as well as left- and right-turn street and road courses.
Founded by John Marcum in 1953 in Toledo, Ohio, the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) is recognized among the leading sanctioning bodies in the country. Closing in on completing its sixth decade after hundreds of thousands of miles of racing, ARCA administers over 100 race events each season in two professional touring series and local weekly events.
MICHIGAN INT’L SPEEDWAY TEST – 5/25/10
ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards
Overall Testing Results
NO DRIVER MAKE TIME SPEED
1 25 Mikey Kile Toyota 39.430 182.602
2 60 Patrick Sheltra Toyota 39.455 182.486
3 81 Craig Goess Toyota 39.475 182.394
4 44 Frank Kimmel Ford 39.655 181.566
5 55 Steve Arpin Chevy 39.678 181.461
6 47 Clayton Rogers Chevy 39.718 181.278
7 31b Scott Wimmer Chevy 39.787 180.964
8 6 Nelson Piquet Toyota 39.804 180.886
9 09 Grant Enfinger Ford 39.836 180.741
10 32 Justin Marks Toyota 39.883 180.528
11 16b Joey Coulter Chevy 39.900 180.451
12 82 Sean Corr Ford 40.090 179.596
13 15 Alli Owens Chevy 40.148 179.336
14 16a Joey Coulter Chevy 40.173 179.225
15 22b Dakoda Armstrong Dodge 40.175 179.216
16 77a Tom Hessert Dodge 40.228 178.980
17 17 Chase Mattioli Ford 40.309 178.620
18 36 Robb Brent Dodge 40.311 178.611
19 99 Josh Richards Ford 40.366 178.368
20 42 Mario Gosselin Chevy 40.462 177.945
21 31a Tim George Chevy 40.588 177.392
22 71 Max Gresham Toyota 40.656 177.096
23 27 Michael Simko Chevy 40.748 176.696
24 11 Bryan Silas Ford 40.870 176.168
25 7 Kent Schenkel Dodge 41.158 174.936
26 58 Chad Hackenbracht Chevy 41.258 174.512
27 77b Tom Hessert Dodge 41.532 173.360
28 70 Tony Palumbo Ford 41.803 172.236
29 70a Mike Holt Ford 43.248 166.482
30 10 Rick Cliffton Chevy 43.895 164.028
31 10a Ed Pompa Chevy 46.475 154.922
- ARCA Press Release
Article Tags: Alli Owens, ARCA, ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards, Automobile Racing Club of America, Bryan Silas, Chad Hackenbracht, Chase Mattioli, Clayton Rogers, Craig Goess, Dakoda Armstrong, Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, Ed Pompa, Frank Kimmel, Grant Enfinger, Joey Coulter, Josh Richards, Justin Marks, Kent Schenkel, Mario Gosselin, Max Gresham, Michael Simko, Michigan International Speedway, Mike Holt, Mikey Kile, Nelson Piquet, No. 44 Ansell / Menards Ford Fusion, Palm Beach (Fla.) International Raceway, Patrick Sheltra, Racing for Wildlife 200, Rick Cliffton, Robb Brent, Scott Wimmer, Sean Corr, Steve Arpin, Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, Texas Motor Speedway, Tim George, Tom Hessert, Tony Palumbo, Venturini Motorsports
