Daytona: Frank Kimmel qualifying report

DAYTONA BEACH, Florida (February 5, 2010) - Frank Kimmel, driver of the No. 44 Ansell/Menards Ford Fusion, went out 28th for Menards Pole Qualifying Presented by Ansell at Daytona International Speedway. Kimmel logged a 50.50 second lap on his first lap around the 2.5 mile superspeedway, pl[DaytonaQualifying.jpg] acing him 18th on the leader board. Rounding out his second qualifying lap, Kimmel posted a 50.06 second lap placing him ninth out of the first 28 cars.

After the last car attempted to qualify for the Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200, Kimmel found himself set to begin Saturday's event in 13th position. His average starting position at Daytona is 20.6 with a 10th place average finish. With these numbers, the Kimmel Racing team is optimistic of their chances to be in victory lane tomorrow at the renowned track.

After the run Kimmel said, "The car is driving just fine, but I'm not happy with the speed. I thought we would run better than we did. But, it's a good place to start and we'll go from there." Kimmel also commented on his scratched eye. "My eye is feeling really good right now. Erin and the rest of the people at Eyesavers really went out of their way to make sure my eye was in good shape for qualifying. I'm headed back there now to get it looked at again to make sure we're good to go for tomorrow."

Although Kimmel has earned 7 top-5 finishes in his past 11 starts, a pole and win have eluded him at the famed 2.5 mile oval. With more than 750 completed laps logged and only 2 DNFs in more than a decade of racing in Daytona Beach, Kimmel is excited to roll the No. 44 Ansell/Menards Ford onto the track and get the 2010 season started on a high note. Since 2000, Kimmel has completed more than 90% of the scheduled ARCA Racing Series laps at Daytona.

Kimmel's crew chief and brother Bill Kimmel said, "We're a little disappointed in the run, but I'm very pleased considering the circumstances we're in. The wind definitely played a factor in the run; it was blowing pretty hard, especially on the backstretch. Once we get all the cars out on the track and get the draft going, we should get better."

-source: frank kimmel PR