Toledo: Series Michigan test notes 2010-05-25

Kile, Venturini Motorsports Top Testing Charts at Michigan

(BROOKLYN, Mich.) - Make it five.

Venturini Motorsports soared to the top of the chart yet again in ARCA Racing Series Presented by RE/MAX and Menards testing, achieving the highest lap speed on the board Tuesday at the 2-mile Michigan International Speedway with driver Mikey Kile and the No. 25 Toyota.

Kile's late afternoon lap of 39.430 seconds (182.602 mph) helped the Concord, N.C.-based team achieve the best speed for the fifth consecutive open test for the 2010 season, dating back to an open session at Daytona International Speedway in December. The team also carried the top spot at Palm Beach (Fla.) International Raceway, Texas Motor Speedway, and Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway in recent months.

ARCA Racing Series standings leader Patrick Sheltra steered the No. 60 Dodge to the day's second spot with an afternoon lap of 39.455 seconds (182.486 mph).

The top speeds came late in the afternoon, in the warmest hours of the day. Numerous teams chose the final hours of the 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. session to simulate actual qualifying runs, as time trials for the Racing for Wildlife 200 are scheduled for a 3 p.m. start on Thursday, June 10.

"We came here and went third in the first practice," Sheltra said. "We just wanted to play around with some things and see if we could get better in the long run on old tires. We're still pretty good. We went out there and did a qualifying run in the heat of the day and ended up second. I hope we can get back here and qualify like that."

Kile and the Venturini camp chose to push his Camry to the limit in the session's waning hours.

"We stayed on old tires most of the day, and it seemed pretty quick," said Kile, who stands fifth in points through six of 20 races. "We were a little tight, but I think that was mostly old tires and no fuel. We're just looking forward to coming back and racing here, because I think we've got a pretty good hot rod."

Kile noted that quick speeds today may not necessarily yield the same results in 17 days for 100 laps of competition.

"I think if we were racing today, we'd be in good shape, but then you get the (NASCAR Sprint) Cup cars and the rubber they lay down on the race track that kind of changes it a little bit, so hopefully that plays in our favor a little bit," Kile said.

Steve Arpin provided Venturini with another high position on the final chart, finishing with the third-fastest lap in the afternoon after going fifth in the morning in the No. 55 Toyota. Craig Goess drove the No. 81 Eddie Sharp Racing Toyota to the fastest lap in the three-hour morning session at 39.475 seconds (182.394 mph) before finishing with the fifth-fastest afternoon lap.

Like Arpin and Goess, Sheltra and Kile posted top-five laps in each session.

Shelby Township, Mich. native Robb Brent enjoyed the chance to race at his home superspeedway, but seemed ready to forget the test and get to regular racing after a minor afternoon incident.

"I love this place. It's a big, fast track. We had a rough day. The car wasn't handling right, and we spun out down in Turns 1 and 2," Brent said. "We didn't hit anything, at least, but it was rough. We couldn't quite get a handle on the car like we wanted to, and the clutch eventually went at the end of the day.

"We'll see how it goes, but that's why the race is what counts. I think we'll be ready to go. I'm excited to come back here; it should be fun."

Nine-time ARCA Racing Series champion Frank Kimmel drove the No. 44 Ansell/Menards Ford to the fourth spot in the morning before finishing eighth in the afternoon.

The Racing for Wildlife 200 takes the green flag at Michigan International Speedway at 5 p.m. on Friday, June 11 with live television coverage provided by SPEED and live radio broadcast coverage provided by the BAS Racing Network and streamed online at ARCARacing.com.

-source: arca