ARCA practice starts around 11:00 I think. Qualifing this afternoon. All of the rigs got parked yesterday and a lot of the crew and drivers stuck around to have a big time on the go kart track last night. It was a blast!!!
Qualifying is over. Casey Roderick on pole, Justin Marks 2nd and Blake Koch 3rd. Blake broke 4th gear on the first lap of practice, over reved the engine and broke a valve. They spent most of practice doing the swap and only got 2 laps of practice. Joey Coulter was 9th, Pratrick Shelrta 12th, Frank Kimmel 13th, Bryan Silas 16th and Ali Owens 19th in a 31 car field.
It is shaping up to be a great race. The place is a first class facility is looking great and it was a beautiful day outside. Hope the weather holds out tomorrow. The kart track is a blast also. It ain’t your lil 500. It is a 1.2 mile course that has an 800 ft straight away. All of the teams have been going at it hot and heavy on the kart track.
Forgot to mention that it was good to see Bert Thomas. He is teching and I think he is also flaging tomorrow also.
Thanks Mr. South for update can you update us again tomorrow after words seeing it wont be on tv.
Thanks’
Robert
How about Josh Williams of Port Charlotte… First ever time in an ARCA car and he qualified 11th…
James Hylton made the field (everybody that showed up did)… He’s only 21 MPH per lap slower than the pole-sitter!!
Mr Dunn
Please keep us informed about when Dustin is racing this year.
ARCA ended the race 5 laps early because of a heavy cold down pour. It wasn’t raining when they started thier engines but it was sprinkeling when they took the green. Koch and Sheltra had to start from the rear. Koch and Sheltra moved thru the slower cars quickly and were in the top 15 by lap 3. Roderick lead a lot of the race but something happened to him. (You can only see 1/2 mile on a 2 mile road coarse). Koch was very fast and worked his way to 3rd when the checkers flew. Marks, Brent, and Koch were 1,2,3. Coulter 6th. Shelrta 10th. Kimmel 12th. Silas and Owens 16th and 17th 3 laps down and Roderick 21st 26 laps down.
I didn’t know that was Josh Willams on Friday but he did catch my eye. The car fast on Friday and real racey. The one thing I did notice was that the motor sounded different than the other ARCA motors. Like it had an X pipe in it or something. Anyway, he looked real good today running towards the front early in the race. But again something happened and we couldn’t see it from where we were. But he did finish in 29th 8 laps down. But a really good effort by him and his team.
Gary. As for Dustin. Thanks for asking. I used to post where he was racing or where he was crewing to try and keep people informed. I try not to mention him anymore because of the abuse. Some people take my post the wrong way and others do it just to be hurtfull.
But to tell you the truth. Ever since the end of the ALMS season Dustin took a shop manager position at Palm Beach International Raceway. He races “something” every day. We did get sponsorship to race a few days at Speedweek but got collected in a wreck our second night. With no ASA South this year we have no real plans. I got laid off in November so we only go racing when we got a sponsor. At least I have plenty of time to look for one. The next race we have a sponsor for is the May race at CCMP. If something comes up before then we will let you know. Thanks.
Did I mention that Dustin was on the cover of the newest Late Model Diegest for his back to back wins. And also a nice artical about him in last months issue.
Now it comes out! Proud PaPa. I don’t blame you for that. Thats a good solid run for Blake. On the series site they have Josh 20th and 8 laps down. Bob…
Bob, I am sorry about that type-o on the Josh Willams finish. It was 20th but they really did a great job all weekend. They should be proud.
I don’t think I said that it was raining pretty heavy most of the race and the teams had to go to rain tires very early in the race. That made it interesting but very hard on the fans. There isn’t to many places to take cover.
Josh had tanny problems with 10 laps to go, I listened to the race, great job by blake. There are alot of us that read this board and dont post, just to stay out of all the drama it brings. Keep posting about Dustin, alot of do like to hear (read) what is going on with the drivers we have met. Dustin is a good driver and i hope things turn around for you both, keep us informed just dont reply to those that are on here to just stir things up. thanks for keeping us informed.
pretty good race, 33 cars started in the sun with temps in the 60s, but by the end, it was in the 40s and raining and blowing hard. no fans left by then. a shame, but overall, a success. you have to like a series that runs superspeedways, short tracks, dirt tracks and road courses (in the rain). nick igalasky said at the end his windshield was so fogged he could not see 3 feet ahead, and was having to turn based on where his spotters told him to, and they penalized him because he was keeping pace with the pace car. should have called the race a few laps earlier, but it was interesting to see how well the hoosier rains worked.
Thanks Linda, We will try to keep everybody informed.
Like oldyeller said. It was a pretty good race. But, If PBIR trys to do this again they need to do a lot of improvements for the fans. There isn’t many good places to watch race from. The best place to watch from was all the way thru the pits at the far end from the spectators. On Friday we were able to watch from there but Saturday, even with our pit passes we weren’t allowed in the area. It was spotters and VIP only. PBIR needs to put bleachers in that area and make it for spectators. That is the best place to watch from.
They could also put up temporary bleachers on the drag strip at the far end. That would be a good place for specators also.
Unless you were in the drag strip grandstands, which was far from the track, you could not hear the PA system. They need PA every where.
Parking was good and they had shuttles also. When I was in the bleachers I was thinking about a post that Boneman had about bleachers. Well the beachers were in great shape and they had the extra piece under the seat that makes it alot safer for the kids.
There was a pretty good crowd considering the weather. Judging by the shirts that most of them had on most of the specators were circle track fans. I did see a few road racers there like Lawson Ashenback. But I think he was there trying to get a circle track ride. I hope that PBIR realizes that almost all of the circle track fans that came to the race would be there every week if they had a circle track. Right now they still don’t have plans for a circle track in the future. Hopefully that will change.
I managed to get to that spot you were talking about – past the pits, up the hill, where you could see the straightaway and several turns, and you are correct, it’s definitely the best place to watch. temp bleachers there, with some elevation, would make it even better. was told nelson piquet jr. was there, too, but i didnt see him. or if i did, didnt recognize him. i hope they come back, but could see why they wouldnt – ARCA really had to beat the bushes to round up a decent car count, and it’s a long tow for most racers.
Watched from the mound at the end of the drag strip, behind the sand trap.
Had to have a crew pass to get there.
The ARCA drivers did a great job in less than ideal conditions. Thought it might be a crash fest in the weather, but most drove very smart races.
Just wish the weather had been better for PBIR, Tire Kingdom & ARCA.
Hope they do it again next year.
Bosco, I was down there on Friday. That is a good spot for temporary bleachers and a shuttle for the fans. I can’t believe with all of the road coarse action PBIR has that they don’t have more places to watch from. But they do improvements to the place everyday. I am still pushing for a short track there every chance I get. I could use some help.