Gerhart Lets Record Eighth Victory Soak In;

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Gerhart Lets Record Eighth Victory Soak In;

More News & Notes from ARCA’s Season Opener at Daytona

(TOLEDO, Ohio) – Understandably so, Bobby Gerhart was in no rush to leave
Daytona
International Speedway after his win in Saturday’s Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200, the
opener of the 60th season for the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards.

After wrapping up his post-race press conference in the speedway’s media center,
Gerhart and brother – and owner and crew chief – Bill did not exit the stage
like
many winning drivers typically do. Instead, while media worked around them in
preparation
for that evening’s Budweiser Shootout, the Gerharts kicked back in their seats,
sipping water and Gatorade for several minutes. The moment allowed the Gerharts
to converse privately and enjoy their first moments of silence since a record
eighth
Daytona victory.

Even longer after the race that Bill Gerhart called “the best Daytona (ARCA)
race
ever,” the team was still to be found in the ARCA garage at 8:45 p.m., two and a
half hours after the checkered flag. As the team prepared its hauler nearby,
their
No. 5 Lucas Oil Slick Mist Chevrolet sat alone in the garage as one of the last
vehicles to leave the space after ARCA’s 49th race on the superspeedway.

Bobby Gerhart, whose rise from the 42nd starting position to first place is a
Daytona
record – well surpassing David Keith’s 23-position improvement to a win in 2000
- talked in that media center interview about being penalized and losing his
Menards
Pole Award after failing an engine inspection Friday.

“What happened, there’s no excuse for,” he said. “The series did the right
thing.
They play by a certain set of rules, and quite honestly, the engine didn’t
continuously
hold the vacuum like it should. I can show you there was nothing wrong there.
There
was nothing we tried to do. It’s probably a valve that wasn’t quite right or
something
like that, but it really didn’t affect the performance. We rolled off the truck
(Saturday) morning with a spare motor and ran laps…just as fast as we ran
(Friday).
We were ready.”

Gerhart now leads the driver point standings by 10 points over runner-up Drew
Charlson,
230-220. Steve Blackburn and Will Kimmel are tied for third at 215, just ahead
of
Mark Thompson at 205. Max Gresham (200), Brennan Poole (195), and Chris Windom
(190)
follow. Alex Kennedy and Brandon McReynolds (185) are the final drivers in the
top
10, tied for ninth.

ARCA will release the official point standings Friday, the customary date for
release
after the Daytona event.

McReynolds Leads Most Laps: While it’s likely little consolation after coming up
only a small fraction of a lap short of winning at Daytona, Brandon McReynolds
led the most laps in the Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200: 64.

Sean Corr won the Aaron’s Lap Leader Award for the race. Corr led the most laps
(14) among drivers who raced with the Aaron’s decal throughout the weekend’s
events.
Fellow lap leaders were Cale Gale (four) and Bobby Gerhart (one).

Champions Present at Race: Eight past ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards
champions
appeared at Daytona International Speedway in celebration of ARCA’s 60th
Anniversary
Season. Dave Dayton (1974-76), Bill Venturini (1987, 1991), Bob Keselowski
(1989),
Andy Hillenburg (1995), Frank Kimmel (1998, 2000-07), Justin Allgaier (2008),
Patrick
Sheltra (2010), and Ty Dillon (2011) all stood at the driver/crew chief meeting
and were introduced before the Daytona crowd at pre-race ceremonies.

Charlson Team Takes Other Awards: Crew chief Andrew Charlson and mechanic Lenny
Barnes, both of Drew Charlson’s No. 28 Chevrolet team, won special awards for
performances
around the Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200. Charlson won the Cometic Crew Chief of the
Race Award, and Barnes won the Klotz Engine Mechanic of the Race Award.

Skinner Leads Rookie Chase: Fain Skinner, who made his debut in Saturday’s race,
leads the Team Messina Rookie Challenge through one of 20 races. Skinner, who
finished
15th, was the highest-finishing rookie meeting all requirements for earning
points
in the competition. His 30 points ranks him ahead of Buster Graham (28), Larry
Barford
Jr. (26), Spencer Gallagher (24), and Alex Bowman (22). Three other drivers also
participated in the Challenge in Saturday’s race.

Drivers Earn Career Highs: Drew Charlson’s second-place finish ranked best among
drivers earning career highs in Saturday’s Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200. Other
drivers
inside the top 20 who earned career-best finishes were Steve Blackburn (fourth),
Alex Kennedy (ninth), Ryan Reed (12th), Fain Skinner (15th), Zach Ralston
(18th),
and Brandon Davis (19th).

Correction: Yesterday’s press release from the Automobile Racing Club of America
indicated that Drew Charlson had just celebrated his 18th birthday. Born in
February
1993, Charlson is 19 this month.

First Trip to Mobile Next: The next race for the ARCA Racing Series presented by
Menards takes place Saturday, March 10 at Mobile International Speedway, and
will
start at 2 p.m. Mobile will host practice and Menards Pole Qualifying presented
by Ansell on Friday, March 9. The event at Mobile will be ARCA’s first at the
track.