Berlin: Series qualifying report

Campbell Takes Menards Pole Award at Home Track

(MARNE, Mich. - August 7, 2010) - Using knowledge only a seasoned local driver could possess, Brian Campbell made the second of his two qualifying laps at Berlin Raceway count, winning the Menards Pole Award presented by Ansell for this evening's Berlin ARCA 200. Campbell turned the session's fastest lap in 17.140 seconds (105.018 mph), and will start first in his second ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards start.

Cunningham Motorsports teammates Dakoda Armstrong and Tom Hessert filled out the rest of the top three, with the two drivers flipping the positions they held near the top of the chart in the series' lone practice earlier in the afternoon. Armstrong's lap of 17.189 seconds (104.718 mph) held the provisional pole for much of the session, and Hessert's effort of 17.232 seconds (104.457 mph) late in the order was good enough to put him on the inside of the second row.

Joey Coulter drove the session's fourth-best lap, and Steve Arpin marked his return to the ARCA Racing Series with the fifth-best time. Frank Kimmel, Mikey Kile, Max Gresham, Craig Goess, and Timmy Hill comprised the remainder of the top 10.

Campbell is from Wyoming, Mich. - 12 miles from Berlin Raceway - and is the son of 2002 Berlin ARCA winner and 10-time Berlin Late Model champion Fred Campbell. With only a single ARCA Racing Series start to his credit (a third-place finish at Toledo in 2004), Campbell entered the qualifying session lacking much major stock car experience but overflowing with knowledge of the line from numerous Late Model starts at the 0.4375-mile oval in suburban Grand Rapids - even if it differed from the norm.

"I'm pretty fortunate. This is the first time in a long time I've been in one of these cars, and I'm pretty excited about a full run," said Campbell. "I've learned a lot from my dad. That's kind of the way I was taught to run this place, right or wrong. It's what I know how to do. Being at a home track, the line I run is a little different from everybody else."

Campbell mentioned having to be a quick study with his jump back into a stock car.

"Our braking points and our on-the-gas points are completely different, so other than the line around this place, it throws everything I ever learned away. I had to re-learn this in two days," he said.

Even with a mastery of how to navigate Berlin's tricky turns, Campbell needed to be familiar with an ARCA car, especially following a six-year break.

"It's been so long, and I can't hardly remember what I did (in 2004 at Toledo)," he said. "We've been to a lot of different tracks around the country since then, and one thing I did remember was how heavy and how appreciative you have to be to get off the gas pedal to go in the corner. It's completely different than our CRA and Late Model cars."

-source: arca