Look for a development driver to win Saturday’s Pocono 200

by Matt Mercer, Special To Bench Racing With Steve and Charlie

I'm the new guy at Bench Racing and I'm supposed to be the younger perspective. I'm the guy behind The Catfish Show, which you can access through the links on the right.

June 5, 2008 2:25 pm CDT 4 Comments

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The ARCA/ReMax Series will head to Long Pond, PA this weekend to team up with the Sprint Cup Series, and with the Trucks in Texas and Nationwide Series in Nashville, this could be the spot in which someone impresses the right person and moves up through the ranks. This race has been dominated by either Cup rookies moving down to get track experience, or a hotshoe from a Cup team gaining experience for a future foray into the series.

Since 2003, Cup drivers or Cup development drivers have won 8 of the 10 races at Pocono. These drivers include Casey Mears twice, Scott Riggs, Ryan Hemphill, Travis Kvapil, Chase Miller, Chad McCumbee, and Michael McDowell. Only the series’ great one, Frank Kimmel, broke the streak, taking the July races in 2005 and 2006. Also competing in these races have been drivers such as Kyle Busch, David Reutimann, and David Ragan. Previous polesitters have included Mears, Riggs, and Kvapil, as well as David Stremme.

As for the 2008 edition, there is no shortage of candidates to win. This season has been an exciting one in the series, as young drivers have come in and performed exceedingly well. Current points leader Ricky Stenhouse Jr., second-place Matt Carter, and sixth-place Scott Speed have all won this year. Speed also won the Truck race at Dover, and will compete in Friday night’s Truck race. Still, there are others who will pose a threat. You can’t discount Kimmel, who still maintains a top points position despite working on a shoestring budget with his own team. He could use a win, and it could come as soon as this very weekend.

One thing is for sure, the ARCA/ReMax Series is entertaining again, and this race fan is more than happy to see the return of its glory days.

Photo credit: AP

Filed under: ARCA Remax Series, Casey Mears, Craftsman Truck Series, David Ragan, David Reutimann, Eddie Sharp Racing, Frank Kimmel, NASCAR, Nationwide Series, Scott Speed, Sprint Cup Series

Tagged with: ARCA, arca/remax series, Casey Mears, chad mccumbee, Frank Kimmel, Kyle Busch, matt carter, michael mcdowell, Nationwide, Pocono, ricky stenhouse jr., Scott Speed, Sprint Cup, Travis Kvapil, trucks

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9 time ARCA RE/MAX Champ Frank Kimmel ON PIT ROW today!

by Charlie Turner

I'm Charlie Turner co-host of the syndicated, mostly NASCAR radio show On Pit Row. Thanks for stopping by OnPitRow.com and the Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie blog. Oh yeah, Steve is an idiot.

February 5, 2008 12:16 pm CST 2 Comments

Steve scored again as ON PIT ROW kicks off our 2008 ARCA RE/MAX coverage with special guest Frank Kimmel, 9 time champion of ARCA’s top series and this year, driver and team manager of the Tri-State Motorsports car. Stop by and listen to the broadcast live at 5pm ET today at OnPitRow.com.

If you are an ARCA fan - and why wouldn’t you be? - sign up for ARCA Nation. ARCA Nation is the new online community site for the ARCA organization. Check it out and friend me up. I need all the pals that I can get.

Update: In my excitement and rush to post about Frank Kimmel’s visit with us ON PIT ROW, I checked a bio on Frank at ARCA’s website for the name of his new team. I even printed the page. It was pretty good except they still had the old team listed. Frank and his brother are fielding cars as Kimmel Racing. Tri-State is his old team, and I should have known that. Sounding stupid on the show is normally Steve’s job. Sorry Steve-O, to steal your thunder.

Filed under: ARCA Remax Series, Frank Kimmel, On Pit Row The Fastest Two Hours on Radio

Tagged with: ARCA, ARCA Nation, ARCA Remax Series, blog, Frank Kimmel, Kimmel Racing, motorsports, ON PIT ROW, Toledo Speedway

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