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ESR’s Speed Tops ARCA Test Charts At Rockingham

ROCKINGHAM NC (3-22-08) – The ARCA RE/MAX Series concluded a two-day test at Rockingham Speedway over the weekend (March 21 & 22) where 39 drivers participated in preparation for the inaugural May 4th Carolina 500.

Scott Speed, in the Eddie Sharp Racing Red Bull Toyota, turned in the quickest speed of the weekend Saturday morning, circling the historic, high-banked oval in 24.942 seconds, an average speed of 144.335 mph.

“It’s definitely a cool track,” said Speed. “And I think they’ll be two good grooves come raceday. The tires go away in a hurry; they lose grip right away, so the drivers that manage their tires the most effectively will be the guys you’ll see up front.

“We actually tested here in November, and the track has lost some grip since then. We were not good yesterday, and we threw everything at it except the clipboard, but fortunately we were able to learn a lot over the course of two days. We made qualifying runs all day today, so now I think I know what the car should feel like for qualifying. But after all the changes, we still ended up close to our baseline.

“Again, the key during the race will be tire management. You’ve got to slow yourself down as the tires lose grip. Otherwise you just slide around out there and hurt your tires even more.”

Daytona winner Michael Annett, in the Bill Davis Racing Pilot Travel Centers Toyota, was second quickest overall with a speed of 144.208 mph.

“We were really tight early yesterday, so we made some spring changes,” said Annett. “Now we can roll around right on the bottom. We made a lot of gains on our race set up yesterday, so today, we’ve been working on race set ups.

“The biggest key to Rockingham will be the tires. Anyone can go out and bust off one great lap on sticker tires, but it’s the driver who still has a car you can drive fast with at the end of 40 laps who will win the race. You have to learn how to be good over the long haul.”

Justin Marks, in the Germain Racing Voodoo Ride Toyota, was third on the speed charts at 143.472 mph.

“This race will we be won or lost at the end of a tire run,” said Marks. “We have a very good car for here, and I think we accomplished all of our goals. The biggest thing is making the car as consistent as possible from new to old tires. You’ve got to minimize the fall-off. It’s definitely a tough track, so you’ve got to get yourself as comfortable as possible. You have to stay in the wheel all the way around; it’s super challenging. To me, it feels like a big Salem Speedway.”

Despite making contact with the wall off turn two just before lunch on Saturday, Justin Allgaier posted the fourth quickest speed overall at 142.993 mph.

“I’m really not sure what happened,” said Allgaier. “We were making a tire run, trying some things when the car took off toward the wall. It’s unfortunate; we worked really hard for two days to make that car right. Fortunately, the car isn’t hurt bad. We’ll get it fixed up and bring it back for the race.

“We also tested our Salem car here, but the other one felt better. This is definitely a tough track. It’s our longest race of the year. So, anything you can do to make yourself more comfortable in the car will only benefit you during the race.”

Joey Logano, a development driver for Joe Gibbs Racing, was fifth quickest overall in the Venturini Motorsports Chevrolet.

“We still need to make the car better,” said Logano. “It’s good, but it can be better, and the guys are working real hard to get there. But what a blast this place is to drive. This place is challenging; it’s a driver’s track and you have to stay up on the wheel all the way around. Really looking forward to racing here.”

Newcomer Kyle Strickler also wrecked late in the day after he slid sideways off turn four. Strickler landed against sand barrels at the entrance of pit road. Although the car appeared badly damaged, Strickler was not injured.

Other drivers who participated in the open test included Dexter Bean, Matt Carter, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Ken Butler, III, Chad McCumbee and Bobby Gerhart to name a few.

The inaugural Carolina 500 will be LIVE on SPEED at 12 noon Eastern Sunday, May 4th. The event is spread out over three days with practice on Friday and Saturday. SIM Factory Pole Award Qualifying rolls off at 10:00 am Saturday with second round qualifying to follow at 2:30 pm.

The next event for the ARCA RE/MAX Series will be the Kentuckiana Ford Dealers 200 presented by Federated Auto Parts at Salem Speedway, Sunday, April 13th.

Visit http://www.arcaracing.com for more information on the ARCA RE/MAX Series.

Overall Test Speeds, ARCA RE/MAX Series

Rockingham Speedway, Rockingham NC (3-21/22-08)

POS
NO
DRIVER/HOMETOWN
TEAM & CAR
TIME
SPEED

1
2
Scott Speed/Manteca CA
Red Bull Toyota
24.942
144.335

2
28
Michael Annett/Des Moines IA
Pilot Travel Centers Toyota
24.964
144.208

3
65
Justin Marks/Rocklin CA
Voodoo Ride Toyota
25.092
143.472

4
16
Justin Allgaier/Springfield IL
AG Tech-Hoosier Tire Midwest Chevrolet
25.176
142.993

5
25
Joey Logano/Middletown CT
Venturini Motorsports Chevrolet
25.195
142.885

6
37
Dexter Bean/Westby WI
Glock Chevrolet
25.327
142.141

7
46
Matt Carter/Denver NC
Stine Seed-Fort Dodge Animal Health Ford
25.338
142.079

8
1
Chad McCumbee/Supply NC
Maaco Auto Painting Ford
25.343
142.051

9
99
Ricky Stenhouse Jr./Olive Branch MS
K&N Ford
25.411
141.671

10
1
Tom Hessert, III/Cherry Hill NJ
Maaco Auto Painting Ford
25.420
141.621

11
70
Nick Tucker/Bremerton WA
Nick Tucker Dodge
25.439
141.515

12
20
Justin Lofton/Westmorland CA
Lofton Cattle Dodge
25.499
141.182

13
30
Jesse Smith/Wildwood MO
Jones Group Dodge
25.514
141.099

14
19
Jack Bailey/Stafford VA
D’Hondt Motorsports Toyota
25.538
140.966

15
32
James Buescher/Plano TX
Win-Tron Driver Development Dodge
25.554
140.878

16
60
Patrick Sheltra/Indiantown FL
Ferguson Pipe-FloraGanics Chevrolet
25.574
140.768

17
22
Ken Butler III/Lilburn NC
Aaron’s Toyota
25.663
140.280

18
43
Van Knill/Tucson AZ
Specialty Racing Chevrolet
25.678
140.198

19
4
Tayler Malsam/Sammamish WA
Dodge Motorsports-Cunningham Dodge
25.692
140.121

20
30
Terry Jones/Amherstburg Ontario
Jones Group Dodge
25.817
139.443

21
09
Clay Rogers/Mooresville NC
Zaxby’s-SPS Ford
25.877
139.120

22
5
Bobby Gerhart/Lebanon PA
Lucas Oil Chevrolet
25.884
139.082

23
70
Kyle Strickler/Sinking Springs PA
Nick Tucker Dodge
25.920
138.889

24
31
Austin Dillon/Lewisville NC
RCR Chevrolet
25.964
138.654

25
11
Bryan Silas/Stuart FL
Nortrax-ICI Homes Ford
26.053
138.180

26
12
Mario Gosselin/Lake Wales FL
ElectrifyingCareers.com Chevrolet
26.092
137.973

27
90
Gabi DiCarlo/Phoenix AZ
Great Clips-Lucas Oil Chevrolet
26.125
137.799

28
87
Chris Cockrum/Conyers GA
Corning-Accutech-Berktek-Ortronics Chevrolet
26.185
137.483

29
93
Pierre Bourque/Ottawa ON
Impre Media Dodge
26.223
137.284

30
3
Jeremy Clements/Spartanburg SC
Boudreaux’s Butt Paste Chevrolet
26.267
137.054

31
45
Michael Phelps/Suwanee GA
Cunningham Motorsports Dodge
26.287
136.950

32
76
Ryan Hackett/Laplata MD
JandRSupply.com-State Farm Ford
26.318
136.789

33
30
Chad Blount/Walkerton IN
Jones Group Dodge
26.432
136.199

34
25
Marc Davis/Silver Spring MD
Howard University Radio-WHUR Chevrolet
26.446
136.126

35
35
Ricky Sanders/Stockbridge GA
RaceFansSponsored Chevrolet
26.730
134.680

36
28
Jeff Buice/Charlotte NC
Shaver Motorsports Chevrolet
26.736
134.650

37
09
John Wes Townley/Watkinsville GA
Zaxby’s-SPS Ford
26.792
134.368

38
7
AJ Henriksen/Mooresville NC
ECC Ford
27.139
132.650

39
71
Ted Olswfski/Pennington NJ
T. Johnson Design Chevrolet
30.106
119.577

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