Michigan: Frank Kimmel qualifying report

Frank Kimmel Looking for More at Michigan International Speedway Will Start Ninth in Racing for Wildlife 200

BROOKLYN, Mich. (June 10, 2010)- Frank Kimmel rolled into Michigan International Speedway (MIS) as the only former Michigan winner entered in the Racing for Wildlife 200 and looked to keep it that way during practice and qualifying Thursday afternoon.

Kimmel's Ansell/Menards Ford Fusion had a lot of speed during the lone morning practice session but fought a tight handling condition for the duration of practice. Kimmel and team spent most of their time working on the handling of the car but were still able to post the seventh-fastest time, circling the track in 39.352 seconds (182.964 mph).

"The Ansell/Menards Ford Fusion ran really good right off the bat," said Kimmel. "I was pretty happy with it. As the race goes on we are going to get tighter and tighter, so we worked on the handling for most of the morning. I think we are going to qualify really well; we have a fast car."

Qualifying for the ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards began at 3:00 p.m. EST with Kimmel rolling off the grid 30th among the 42-car field. Kimmel made a solid lap around the 2.5-mile oval, posting a time of 39.409 seconds (182.699 mph), good enough to start ninth in Friday's 200-lap event.

"I am disappointed in our qualifying run," explained Kimmel. "I thought we would run faster than we performed there. I just didn't get up to speed on the first lap like I should have. The second lap ended up being the fastest and that just shows that you didn't do a very good job on the first lap. We ended up ninth, so we will start from there and see what we have for the rest of the day."

Craig Goess will lead the field to green at MIS with Mikey Kile, Patrick Sheltra, Clay Rogers and Nelson Piquet rounding out the top-five.

-source: kimmel racing