Mansfield: Series qualifying report

(MANSFIELD, Ohio - July 17, 2010) - Chris Buescher drove a lap of 16.495 seconds (109.124 mph) to win the Menards Pole Award presented by Ansell at Mansfield Motorsports Park this afternoon. The pole is the third career and the second of the ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards season for the 17-year-old Texan.

Buescher, driver of the No. 17 David Ragan Fan Club Ford for Roulo Brothers Racing, won the pole at Toledo Speedway in May before winning the Menards 200 presented by Federated Car Care the next day.

Joey Coulter, who finished second to Buescher in May, will start in the same place for the 8 p.m. green flag on the half-mile Central Ohio oval. Coulter's lap of 16.512 seconds (109.012 mph) edged Craig Goess, Mikey Kile, and Tim George Jr., who comprised the remainder of the top five.

Buescher's pole came just hours after he led the day's lone practice. Buescher led practice, won the pole, and won the race at Toledo, and said that he felt some pressure to pull the sweep yet again at another Ohio short track.

"I feel a little bit (of pressure). I was kind of hoping that if we did have to do two out of three, I was hoping we could give qualifying up to get the race. I guess we'll have to get all three now," Buescher said.

"We made a couple of mock qualifying runs in practice, and they were all good. We unloaded really well, but had radio problems, but all in all, we feel fast. It's the same car we brought last year," he said, referring to a car in which he finished third last June.

Buescher is the first driver this season to win the pole multiple times.

Last week's winner, Tom Hessert, will start sixth. Points leader Justin Marks will start seventh, Max Gresham eighth, Dakoda Armstrong ninth, and nine-time ARCA champion Frank Kimmel 10th. Josh Richards, who had driven to the second-fastest time early in the qualifying session before spinning in Turn 3 and making minor contact with the outside wall, qualified for the 11th spot but will be required to start from the tail of the field after making repairs. Richards is driving the No. 55 Venturini Motorsports Toyota this week in place of Steve Arpin.

The Tim Richmond Memorial 200 will begin at 8 p.m. Eastern, with live timing and scoring available on ARCARacing.com. Live audio coverage will be provided over the air by the BAS Racing Network and online at ARCARacing.com.

-source: arca