Series Pole Award report

Craig Goess Wins $10,000 ARCA Menards Pole Award Presented by Ansell

(TOLEDO, Ohio) - Craig Goess used a late-season surge to win the 2010 Menards Pole Award presented by Ansell, the $10,000 reward for most pole positions won in the ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards season.

Goess and the No. 81 Eddie Sharp Racing Toyota qualified first at Michigan International Speedway in June, the season's eighth race, and won the Menards Pole Award twice in four weeks in the season's final third to finish with a total of three Menards Pole Awards, more than any other driver.

Goess's two Menards Pole Awards near the end of the season played a key role in his pursuit of the championship. Although Goess finished second in the final series standings, earning 15 bonus qualifying points at Chicagoland Speedway in August and at Salem Speedway in September helped him stay close to eventual series champion Patrick Sheltra.

Goess edged Roulo Brothers Racing's Chris Buescher and Venturini Motorsports' Mikey Kile, who each finished with two Menards Pole Awards. Buescher qualified first at Toledo Speedway in May and at Mansfield Motorsports Park in July, while Kile won the pole at Pocono Raceway in June - for a race won by Goess - and at Kansas Speedway in September.

"I am honored to receive the year-end Menards Pole Award presented by Ansell. The competition this year in the ARCA Racing Series was fierce, and with so many different pole winners, I'm thrilled to win the award at the end of the season," Goess said.

The 29-year-old driver praised those who helped him win the award.

"I have to thank the No. 81 Greenville Toyota of N.C. Eddie Sharp Racing team for all of their hard work all season long. I am proud to receive this award, and I have to thank Menards and Ansell for sponsoring the award and being such a large part in our series."

Menards, headquartered in Eau Claire, Wis., is the Official Home Improvement Store and a presenting sponsor of the ARCA Racing Series. Ansell, headquarted in Red Bank, N.J., is the Official Glove of the ARCA Racing Series. In addition to sponsorship of the series' pole award, a comprehensive business-to-business venture between the two companies includes race sponsorships, in-market promotions, at-track hospitality opportunities, and support of ARCA's television broadcast package.

Menards and Ansell serve together as co-primary sponsors of the No. 44 Kimmel Racing Ford and nine-time ARCA Racing Series champion Frank Kimmel. Kimmel won the Menards Pole Award at Pocono in July.

Additional winners of the race-by-race $1000 Menards Pole Award include: James Buescher (Daytona), Casey Roderick (Palm Beach), Max Gresham (Salem), Dakoda Armstrong (Talladega), Ty Dillon (Iowa), Brian Campbell (Berlin), Justin Marks (New Jersey), Steve Arpin (Springfield), A.J. Fike (DuQuoin), and Kevin Swindell (Rockingham). In all, 14 different drivers won the Menards Pole Award presented by Ansell in 2010.

The 2010 ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards Championship Awards Banquet will take place Saturday, December 4 at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center in Covington, Ky., near Cincinnati.

-source: arca