Salem: Frank Kimmel race report
Kimmel Earns Hard Fought Eighth-Place Finish at Salem Speedway SALEM, Ind. (April 11, 2010) - Frank Kimmel ended a busy weekend at Salem Speedway with a top-10 finish in the Kentuckiana Ford Dealers ARCA 200[IMG_7107_resize.jpg] presented by ...
Kimmel Earns Hard Fought Eighth-Place Finish at Salem Speedway
SALEM, Ind. (April 11, 2010) - Frank Kimmel ended a busy weekend at Salem Speedway with a top-10 finish in the Kentuckiana Ford Dealers ARCA 200[IMG_7107_resize.jpg] presented by ApplianceZone.com. Kimmel, who came to the half-mile track with high hopes, battled a loose car all day enroute to a hard-fought eighth-place finish.
Kimmel, who was the clear favorite among his hometown fans, started the 200-lap event in fourth position, but when the green flag dropped, he was hit from behind, causing right rear quarter panel damage to his No. 44 Ansell/Menards Ford Fusion. Kimmel was able to continue on, riding in the fifth position for much of the first fifty laps of the race.
When the caution flag flew on lap 50, Kimmel radioed to his crew that the car was loose in, loose middle and extremely loose off. Crew Chief, Bill Kimmel, Jr., brought the No. 44 Ansell/Menards Ford down pit road for right side tires, fuel and a track bar adjustment. With only a handful of cars taking the opportunity to pit, Kimmel took the restart in 12th position.
When racing resumed, Kimmel climbed back up to the ninth position but continued fighting his loose handling race car. "I have zero forward bite," radioed Kimmel. "I can't drive in hard and can't get back in the gas. This car is pretty hard to drive right now."
The yellow flag flew again on lap 79 and the Ansell/Menards team took the opportunity to work on their car, bringing Kimmel in for two pit stops during the caution period, but the changes didn't seem to help, as Kimmel fell to the 11th position stating that the car was "wicked loose."
During the next caution period on lap 101, Kimmel Jr. brought his driver back to pit road, taking three rounds of wedge out of the right rear and lowering the track bar. The No. 44 Ansell/Menards Ford restarted in 13th position but continued to struggle, going a lap down to the leaders on lap 125.
When the caution flag flew on lap 127, Kimmel Jr. again called the Ansell/Menards Ford to pit road, changing four tires and sending his driver back to the track. Racing continued on lap 131 and Kimmel, who restarted in the back of the pack, sky-rocketed through the field earning his way back to the lead lap when another caution came out on lap 152.
Green flag racing resumed on lap 160, and Kimmel spent the final 40 laps working his way back through the field. Kimmel was able to fight his way to eighth before the checkered flag flew, earning the first top-10 finish of the season for his Ansell/Menards team.
"That was a hard-fought finish for us," explained Kimmel. "The guys worked really hard in the pits today. We threw everything at it, but it seemed like no matter what we did we couldn't get the car handling; we tried everything we could think of. The weather was hot, which made the track slick. We are going to throw that setup away and try again next time. I'm just looking forward to going to Texas next week." Steve Arpin claimed his first-career ARCA Racing Series victory with Craig Goess, Justin Marks, Patrick Sheltra and Tom Hessert rounding out the top-five.
The Ansell/Menards Ford Fusion returns to racing action at Texas Motor Speedway on Friday, April 16.
-source: kimmel racing
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