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SANDUSKY, Ohio (Aug. 29, 2013) — Frank Kimmel’s racing history at the DuQuoin (Ill.) State Fairgrounds’ mile dirt oval fits perfectly within the legendary venue’s racing legacy, so needless to say Kimmel’s anxious to add to his tally in Monday’s Southern Illinois 100 by Federated Car Care, the season’s 17th event for the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards.
Kimmel and his No. 44 Ansell / Menards Toyota didn’t race last season at DuQuoin, as the race was cancelled after two attempts were rained-out. But he does have an ARCA-best five career victories on the second fairgrounds mile the series will compete on, in the last three weekends. Kimmel’s ThorSport Racing team comes to DuQuoin riding a career-best string of 26 consecutive top-10 finishes over the last two seasons. The fact the series has been away for a year only makes Kimmel more anxious to get back on the Illinois clay. “We had a good car when we raced at Springfield a couple weeks ago,” Kimmel said of that fourth-place finish. “But I think we can be a little better at DuQuoin because we’ll have a good starting point and a good direction to work in practice.” Kimmel made his DuQuoin debut in 1991 and made 21 consecutive starts before last year’s rainout, with wins in 2001-2002, 2004-2005 and 2008. In all, he has 12 top-five and 15 top-10 finishes. Kimmel’s led the second-most laps in ARCA’s DuQuoin history, 426 in nine different races. Three-time ARCA DuQuoin winner Billy Thomas has led 437 laps in eight races. Kimmel led his most laps, 96, in his 2008 win and his least in a win, 17, in 2005. “You have to have a car that turns well but comes off the corners well, also,” Kimmel said. “Through the years we’ve been able to do a good job with that and I’m confident Kimmel took some lumps at the start of his DuQuoin career, failing to finish his first three attempts with mechanical issues. But in his last 18 races he’s had only one DNF, when he was eliminated in a crash after 41 laps in 2006.
“DuQuoin can be a touchy place — but that’s no different than most racetracks,” Kimmel said. “That’s why you need to get your car working like it needs to in practice so you can make your own luck in the race — just in case you don’t have a chance to make any adjustments.” Kimmel’s proud to have his name included on DuQuoin’s roster of stock car winners, which includes A.J. Foyt, Joe Leonard, Paul Goldsmith, Tony Stewart and Ken Schrader. Stewart actually won the pole for three consecutive DuQuoin ARCA races, from 2001-2003, but Kimmel beat him the first two years. Kimmel counts that 2002 race as one of his career favorites as the two standouts swapped the lead and raced side-by-side for nearly 30 laps before Kimmel prevailed. “Any time you can beat Tony Stewart, it’s pretty cool,” Kimmel said of his two-straight-years feat. The prospect of winning his 80th career race also has Kimmel enthused, even though he’s already missed the chance to claim sole possession of ARCA’s career record for victories in the last six races since he won his 79th career race in June at Winchester. Kimmel is locked in a tie for that honor with ARCA legend Iggy Katona. Kimmel comes to DuQuoin with a season-high 275-point lead over leading ARCA Rookie of the Year contender Mason Mingus. DuQuoin has a traditional one-day ARCA dirt-race format, with a single one-hour practice session on Monday, from 9-10 a.m. CT. Menards Pole Qualifying presented by Ansell, which will set the race’s starting lineup, is scheduled for 11:15 a.m.
The Southern Illinois 100 by Federated Car Care’s 100-lap, 100-mile main event is scheduled to take the green flag at 1:30 p.m. Live timing and scoring and audio coverage is available all day on the Web at www.arcaracing.com.
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ABOUT MENARDS: With 280 stores in 14 Midwestern states, Menards has the tools, materials and supplies for all your home improvement needs whether just needing a light bulb or can of paint to building a deck or new home. Menards is known throughout the home improvement industry as the low price leader; it’s no wonder their famous slogan – “SAVE BIG MONEY” – is so widely known and easy to remember. Menards does things right – the company’s strength and success can be seen in the well-stocked and maintained stores, the lowest prices in town and the way guests are always treated like family in a hometown hardware store atmosphere.
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ABOUT THORSPORT RACING:
ThorSport Racing, based in a state-of-the-art 100,000-square-foot facility in Sandusky, Ohio, is the longest-tenured NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team. Thorsport, which has run full-season Truck Series schedules annually beginning in 1998, in 2013 will run the No. 88 Menards Toyota Tundra driven by Matt Crafton, the No. 98 Carolina Nut Co./Curb Records Toyota Tundra driven by Johnny Sauter and the No. 13 SealMaster Toyota Tundra driven by Tracy Hines in the Truck Series and the No. 44 Ansell/Menards Toyota Camry driven by Frank Kimmel in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards.
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