ARCA Racing Series Iowa Prairie Meadows 200 Race Preview and Open Thread
The ARCA Racing Series Presented by Menards resumes tonight with a primetime race from the Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa. The season has been one of the most tightly contested in series history with seven different winners in 10 races and no driver winning more than two races.
Brennan Poole, Chris Buescher and Alex Bowman lead the series with two wins a piece and thus lead the standings with Poole holding a slim 10-point advantage over Buescher and just 165 over Alex Bowman, who has dropped to fourth behind a surging Frank Kimmel. Kimmel is now third, 160 points behind Poole.
ARCA utilizes a different championship system than NASCAR, with the race winner receiving 200 points for a victory. 25 points are also awarded to any driver who makes the field with point totals of 15, 10, and 5 going to the top-three in qualifying. Five bonus points are also awarded to any driver who leads a lap.
That goes to show you just how tight the standing are, entering tonight’s Prairie Meadows 200.
Brennan Poole is the pole sitter for tonight’s race, having set a fast time of 23.799 seconds around the .875-mile speedway. He’s hoping to become the first driver to reach three wins and extend his championship lead over a quickly-closing Buescher, Bowman, and Kimmel.
The resurgent Kimmel has been the most-consistent driver over 10-races this season but has had trouble finishing races until just recently. Kimmel finished the first two races of the season in 23rd and 17th but was running in the top-five in both races. He led laps at Daytona and appeared to have something for the leaders at Mobile before getting punted on the backstretch.
Kimmel is a nine-time ARCA Series champion but is currently mired in a 72-race winless streak. The streak will end this season and it could be as early as tonight at Iowa.
The complete starting lineup and additional ARCA news and notes can be found after the jump.
The aforementioned Poole is the pole-sitter and will share the front row with Bowman. Ryan Reed will start third, just ahead of debut starter Chad Boat. Clay Rogers, who took the top spot from Poole, will start fifth for just his second race in 2012.
Sixteen-year-old Erik Jones gives Venturini Motorsports not only the pole, but three cars in the top six, as he will fill the third row. Chad Hackenbracht and Grant Enfinger will each look for their first career win from the fourth row. 2010 Iowa winner Tom Hessert will start 15th.
Enfinger made headlines earlier this month, separating from long-time business partners Bragg Racing Group. Enfinger made several starts in a super late model and Camping World Truck Series entry for the team and is making his first start since ending that relationship. He qualified eighth.
The Prairie Meadows 200 is the 11th race of the season and can be seen live tonight on the SPEED Network. The television broadcast starts at 9 p.m. EST with the green flag dropping shortly thereafter. See you in the comments section.
ARCA Prairie Meadows 200 Starting Lineup
| 1.) Brennan Poole/The Woodlands TX | No. 25 | Chevrolet |
| 2.) Alex Bowman/Tucson AZ | No. 22 | Dodge |
| 3.) Ryan Reed/Bakersfield CA | No. 15 | Toyota |
| 4.) Chad Boat/Phoenix AZ | No. 98 | Chevrolet |
| 5.) Clay Rogers/Troutman NC | No. 45 | Chevrolet |
| 6.) Erik Jones/Byron MI | No. 55 | Chevrolet |
| 7.) Chad Hackenbracht/New Philadephia OH | No. 58 | Chevrolet |
| 8.) Grant Enfinger/Fairhope AL | No. 36 | Dodge |
| 9.) Mason Mitchell/W. Des Moines IA | No. 6 | Chevrolet |
| 10.) Frank Kimmel/Clarksville IN | No. 44 | Toyota |
| 11.) Matt Lofton/Roxboro NC | No. 16 | Chevrolet |
| 12.) Jared Marks/Napoleon OH | No. 12 | Dodge |
| 13.) Michael Leavine/Bullard TX | No. 95 | Ford |
| 14.) Chris Buescher/Prosper TX | No. 17 | Ford |
| 15.) Tom Hessert/Cherry Hill NJ | No. 52 | Chevrolet |
| 16.) Spencer Gallagher/Las Vegas NV | No. 23 | Chevrolet |
| 17.) Josh Williams/Port Charlotte FL | No. 02 | Ford |
| 18.) Mason Mingus/Brentwood TN | No. 32 | Chevrolet |
| 19.) Michael Simko/White Lake MI | No. 41 | Chevrolet |
| 20.) Brandon Davis/Huntington Beach CA | No. 99 | Ford |
| 21.) Will Kimmel/Sellersburg IN | No. 68 | Ford |
| 22.) Milka Duno/Caracas Venezuela | No. 94 | Toyota |
| 23.) Zach Ralston/Springville IA | No. 90 | Chevrolet |
| 24.) Drew Charlson/New Bremen OH | No. 3 | Dodge |
| 25.) Korbin Forrister/Cedartown GA | No. 69 | Ford |
| 26.) Buster Graham/Lafayette LA | No. 88 | Ford |
| 27.) Bobby Gerhart/Lebanon PA | No. 5 | Chevrolet |
| 28.) Larry Barford Jr./Denton MD | No. 04 | Dodge |
| 29.) Roger Carter/Sunfield MI | No. 40 | Dodge |
| 30.) Rick Clifton/Circleville OH | No. 10 | Chevrolet |
| 31.) Mike Affarano/Shorewood IL | No. 18 | Ford |
| 32.) Darrell Basham/Henryville IN | No. 34 | Chevrolet |
| 33.) Nelson Canache/Caracas Venezuela | No. 66 | Chevrolet |
| 34.) Tom Berte/New Berlin WI | No. 35 | Chevrolet |
| 35.) James Hylton/Inman SC | No. 48 | Ford |
| 36.) Tommy O'Leary/Cygnet OH | No. 06 | Ford |
| 37.) Scott Null/Lake Mills WI | No. 0 | Ford |
| 38.) Mike Koch/Mountain Home AR | No. 79 | Chevrolet |
| 39.) Joseph Hughs/Springfield IL | No. 64 | Dodge |
| 40. Dale Shearer/Chillicothe MO | No. 73 | Ford |
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