Joliet, IL. (July 22, 2012) – Frank Kimmel scored his second consecutive top five finish, and fifth top five finish overall this season, in the Ansell ActivArmr 150 at the Chicagoland Speedway after finishing 3rd. With the support of 200 guests from Menards and Ansell Gloves in attendance, the #44 Thorsport Racing team put together one most impressive efforts of their 2012 season.
Coming into Chicagoland, the Ansell ActivArmr/Menards team was anxious to improve on performance at intermediate racetracks. Early in practice, the Thorsport Toyota team was faced with challenges of adapting to a new setup, but persevered and found a solid race trim baseline. Kimmel posted the 9th fastest lap in Menards Pole Qualifying presented by Ansell, but started 8th after the initial pole winner’s time was disallowed.
From the immediate drop of the green flag, Kimmel’s Ansell ActivArmr/Menards Toyota was on the move. Kimmel picked up two spots of the first lap, and was in fourth by the race’s first yellow on lap 4. Kimmel radioed the crew, reporting he was very happy with the balance on a short run with fresh tires. Kimmel took advantage of restarts all race long, and on the lap 8 restart, moved into the top three.
On lap 24, Kimmel was racing hard for second and made slight contact when the #35 car made a three-wide move the inside on the tri-oval. After recovering from the contact, Kimmel radioed a tight condition in the center of the corner, and was running fourth at the lap 46 caution for debris. Under the event’s second yellow flag, Kimmel came to pit road for an inner-liner air pressure adjustment. The Thorsport Racing crew made quick work and gained Kimmel two spots, moving him to 2nd.
After another quick caution at lap 53, Kimmel made a move for the lead and challenged eventual race winner, Kevin Swindell, on the outside on the restart at lap 56. With 30 laps remaining, Kimmel settled in the 3rd spot, putting distance from all other challengers for position. Kimmel remained in 3rd through the race’s concluding green flag run, and took the checkered flag to net his fifth top five finish of the season. Kimmel gained five points on the championship point lead, and heads to Lucas Oil Raceway Park in Indianapolis 4th in ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards points.
“It was a good day and pretty consistent”, Kimmel said. “We had a top five, or top three Ansell ActivArmr/Menards Toyota all day long, and that’s where we ended up. These are the best, nicest racecars I’ve ever driven, so we just have to keep up, and keep getting better. We always try and get the best finish we can with the car we have each race. To beat these guys for the championship, we’re going to have to beat them on the racetrack. If you win the race, you gain the most points, so we need to keep getting better and win.”
Race Recap:
Date:Â July 21st, 2012
Track:Â Chicagoland Speedway
Race:Â 12 of 20
Started: 8th
Finished:Â 3rd
Driver Championship Points Standings:Â 4th
NEXT ON THE SCHEDULE:  Lucas Oil Raceway Park is the 13th event on the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards circuit on Friday, July 27th. The Messina Wildlife Animal Stopper 200 will mark the 2nd ARCA Racing Series event at the famed short track. All on track activity will take place on Friday, July 27th. Timing and scoring will be available onARCAracing.com beginning with the opening practice at 1:35pm ET. SPEED Channel will have live coverage of the 200 lap event beginning at 9 pm ET.
2012 is the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards’ 60th Anniversary Season, featuring 20 races at 18 tracks. The complete 2012 event schedule is available at ARCARacing.com
