Recapping the 2012 ARCA season before the International Hall of Fame 250

UPDATE: 10:28 CST Photos from the ARCA Series practice session have been added.

Talladega, Ala. - Some of the best races in a stock car have taken place in the ARCA Racing Series in 2012. It's important to give that series their due credibility approaching the fourth race of the season, the International Motorsports Hall of Fame 250, today at Talladega Superspeedway (5 p.m. EST SPEED Channel).

This is just the second televised race of the year - after Daytona. But the other two races at Mobile and Salem have provided some of the best short track races in recent memory. Daytona delivered one of the wildest finishes in Speedway history and Talladega will no doubt attempt to top its sister track on Friday.

So here's a quick guide to the 2012 season if you're interested in watching the ARCA Talladega 250 at 5 p.m. EST on Speed Channel.

Daytona Slick Mist 200

Bobby Gerhart saved the most fuel, setting-up a dramatic fifth-to-first final lap pass, as the leaders ran out of fuel to win his record eighth ARCA race at Daytona International Speedway.

The victory capped-off a dramatic weekend for Gerhart, who initially won the pole for the race but failed post-qualifying tech inspection. The failure meant starting from the back of the pack, not that it much mattered to final laps.

Gerhart methodically picked his way through the field, breaking the top-15 by halfway and into the top-5 at the start of the final green-white-checkered attempt.

Brandon McReynolds led 62 laps, of a scheduled 80-lap race, but didn’t conserve enough fuel as the race went to overtime, handing the victory to Gerhart who maneuvered his way through several stalled cars on the frontstretch.

"It was a stupid mistake that cost us the pole," Gerhart said. "ARCA puts us in a box and it’s our obligation to play in it - we screwed up."

He also talked about what he saw coming out of turn 4, when the leaders started running out of fuel.

"We decided that no one was going to remember me finishing fifth and I decided to go for it. I didn’t anticipate everyone running out of fuel. It just played out that way. I got a shot from behind and drifted up.

"It worked out for us today."

Drew Charlson, Will Kimmel, Steve Blackburn and Mark Thompson completed the top-5.

The rest of the season and the current championship points standings will be recapped after the jump!

A wonderful homecoming scenario took place for Cale Gale as he returned to his childhood home track on Saturday and won the inaugural ARCA/Mobile 200 at Mobile International Speedway.

Gale led 76 of 203 laps, including the final 28, on a race extended by a green-white-checkered finish. Gale held off an aggressive final restart by Chad Hackenbracht, which included an attempted bump-and-run in Turn 2. Hackenbracht drove it in too deep and couldn't close in on Turns 3 and 4.

"I really didn't want to wreck him to win the race," Hackenbracht said. "He's the hometown hero and I wouldn't be allowed out of Mobile if I won that way."

Gale passed fellow Mobile-native Grant Enfinger on lap 176 and never looked back. Currently driving a full-time Camping World Truck Series schedule for Eddie Sharp Racing, Gale now has two wins in 11 ARCA starts, his first coming at Gateway in 2006.

"This worked out better than we ever could have expected it to," Gale said. "It's especially special, because my grandfather passed away last year and we spent many Saturday nights up here. This is my first race win since he passed away."

Chad Hackenbracht, Alex Bowman, Mikey Kile and Clint King completed the top-5.

Kentuckiana Ford Dealers 200

On Sunday, Alex Bowman picked up his third career victory in the ARCA Series, holding off a late-race charge from nine-time Series champion Frank Kimmel at The Salem Speedway in Salem, Ky.

Bowman led 146 of 200 laps, including the last 61. But it didn’t end without a little drama as Bowman wore-out his right front tire, allowing Kimmel to get within half a second of the race lead. And yet, the 19-year-old held off the wily veteran and pulled into victory lane for the third time in his ARCA career.

Kimmel’s losing streak extended to 66 races, dating back to Salem in 2008.

Polesitter Chris Buescher led the first 39 laps before giving way to Bowman for the first of his three times out front. He ultimately finished in seventh.

Frank Kimmel, Brennan Poole, Chase Elliott, Erik Jones completed the top-five.

The ARCA Series has now completed three races to start the 2012 season – two short tracks and one superspeedway. It’s reasonable to draw the following conclusions based off the first three races:

1.) This will be the most competitive ARCA season in recent memory. Each of the Series regulars appear evenly matched. This wasn’t the case in 2011 when Ty Dillon won 7 of 19 races, notching 16 top-10s, while largely outspending the rest of the field. That’s not an insult to what Dillon was able to accomplish. It’s just a matter of fact.

2.) ThorSport has revitalized Frank Kimmel’s career. Kimmel’s skills have not eroded. He’s not too old and he’s not past his prime. In fact, armed with ThorSport’s resources, Kimmel’s just be getting started. ThorSport, the long-time NASCAR Truck Series contender, is attempting its first ARCA Series campaign and have hired the veteran Kimmel to get the job done. Kimmel finished the first three races in, 23^rd, 17^th, and 2^nd. He led laps at Daytona and appeared to have something for the leaders at Mobile before getting punted on the backstretch. Kimmel’s losing streak will end this season and he’s a solid championship favorite.

"My sponsors approached me about ThorSports’ interest in going ARCA racing, so I reached out to those guys and we put a deal together pretty fast," Kimmel said. "It's really exciting to move to a team that's had such great success in the NASCAR Truck Series. Hopefully, we can turn that over to some really good success here in ARCA.

3.) The champion is most likely to come out of the Venturini Motorsports stable. That’s not indicative of Kimmel and Thorsport’s efforts but rather a numbers game. Venturini has three championship caliber drivers in Brennan Poole, Ryan Reed and Erik King, compared to ThorSport’s solo effort with Kimmel.

4.) Bobby Gerhart is your best bet at Daytona and Talladega. He and his team put more focus and resources than anyone else on superspeedways and it shows. Gerhart has won 10 out of the last 20 superspeedway races, including his eighth Daytona victory in February. As such, Gerhart takes a lot of pride in what he’s able to accomplish and doesn’t respond well to missing out.

He’ll be a factor on Friday – he always is.

2012 DRIVER POINT STANDINGS
ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards
After Event #3, Kentuckiana Ford Dealers 200
The Salem Speedway // Salem , Ind.

1.) Brennan Poole 605

2.) Alex Bowman 560

3.) Chris Buescher 545

4.) Tom Hessert 530

5.) Mikey Kile 306

6.) Ryan Reed 257

7.) Chad Hackenbracht 505

8.) Frank Kimmel 480

9.) Will Kimmel 415

10.) Chase Elliott (one less start) 410

ARCA Series Photo Selection

Will this be the weekend that Frank Kimmel's 66-race losing streak ends? (Matt Weaver/NASCAR Ranting and Raving)