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Kimmel Tests at PBIR Roadcourse; Arpin, George, Brent Quickest Among Series Regulars.....
JUPITER FL (2-8-10) - Fresh from the Daytona Int'l Speedway, the ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards moved farther south to Palm Beach Int'l Raceway in Jupiter, Florida Monday, where 18 drivers took part in an open test in preparation for the next event on tour - the Kingdom Tire 150 presented by ModSpace February 27th.

Roadcourse veteran Chris Cook, in a Venturini Motorsports Chevy, topped the charts on the 2.034, 11-turn, high-speed road course with an average speed of 92.355 mph. Cook, not expected to race in the upcoming event, was there to assist Venturini Motorsports drivers' Steve Arpin, Mikey Kile and Alli Owens.

Arpin, who finished 10th in Saturday's Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 at Daytona, was fastest overall among the series regulars, just a tick away from Cook. Arpin posted a top speed of 91.613 mph.

‘The Venturinis brought an awesome car," said Arpin. "Same car we ran at New Jersey last year, same package and set-up. We broke on the first lap at New Jersey so it was nice to turn some laps today. We tweaked on it today a little, but not much; it was really close. We watched a bunch of roadcourse races in the off-season, did a lot of research, and I think it paid off.

"It's an absolutely awesome facility. It's got everything. High-speed corners, high-speed straights, low speed corners; it's a really nice mix of everything you'd ever want in a roadcourse. I thought the track was really wide too. What a beautiful facility. The whole area around it is absolutely beautiful. I think we're going to put on a really good show."

Tim George, Jr., in a Richard Childress Racing Chevy, was third fastest overall with an average speed of 91.378 mph in front of roadcourse veteran Andy Lally (91.339 mph).

Shelby Township, Michigan series regular Robb Brent was fifth fastest overall at 91.311 mph.brentpbir.jpg

"Really nice track," said Brent, who finished a career-best fourth on the New Jersey Motorsports Park roadcourse in 2009.

"The place really offers a nice variety of stuff - long straightaways, tight corners, high-speed corners, what I call patient corners that are big, wide and sweeping. I had a little trouble pushing up in the corners. But once we freed it up, we got a lot better. There are some long straightaways so you'll need to keep a lot of momentum off the corners to get down the straightaways."

Nine-time series champion Frank Kimmel was also among those who tested.

"I'm just really impressed with the whole facility," said Kimmel. "It's a really cool track; it's gunna be a lot of fun. I learned a lot today. Anytime I go roadcourse racing, I learn a lot. I thought we had an excellent test overall. We put a set of tires on in the morning and stayed with them all day."

Kimmel also tested the new Hoosier rain tire. "The Hoosier rain tire did just fine. There were no major problems. I hope we won't be in a situation where we have to use it, but if we do, I think the tire will perform just fine. But what a nice place; I'm really looking forward to coming back. I know we were reaching speeds of 170 on that back straight, and that's getting with it."

The Kingdom Tire 150 presented by ModSpace is scheduled to roll off at 1:00 PM Saturday afternoon, February 27th. On-track activity begins on Friday, February 26th with practice from 11:30 AM to 2:30 PM followed by Menards Pole Award Qualifying presented by Ansell at 4:00 PM.

The race will also be featured in live streaming audio at ARCAracing.com.

ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards
Open Test Results, Palm Beach Int'l Raceway, 2-8-10  
             
POS NO DRIVER MAKE TIME SPEED  
1 25D Chris Cook Chevy 78.857 92.355  
2 25B Steve Arpin Chevy 79.495 91.613  
3 31 Tim George, Jr. Chevy 79.7 91.378  
4 31A Andy Lally Chevy 79.734 91.339  
5 36 Robb Brent Dodge 79.758 91.311  
6 25 Mikey Kile Toyota 79.805 91.257  
7 32 Justin Marks Dodge 79.854 91.201  
8 16 Joey Coulter Chevy 80.63 90.324  
9 77 Tom Hessert Dodge 80.868 90.058  
10 44 Frank Kimmel Ford 80.898 90.024  
11 02 Josh Williams Ford 81.189 89.702  
12 22 Dakoda Armstrong Dodge 81.479 89.383  
13 60 Patrick Sheltra Chevy 81.771 89.063  
14 11A Bryan Silas Chevy 82.294 88.497  
15 1 Nick Igdalski Ford 82.342 88.446  
16 97 Ed Bull Ford 83.337 87.390  
17 1A Chase Matiolli Ford 83.451 87.270  
18 25 Alli Owens Chevy 83.833 86.873  


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