Frank Kimmel Looking for First Daytona Victory Starts 11th at Daytona

The combination of two strong practice sessions gave Kimmel a great shot going into the Friday afternoon’s group qualifying session which would determine the starting grid for Saturday’sLucas Oil 200 presented by AutoZone. Kimmel along with Daniel Suarez, Sean Core, Tom Hessert, Brett Hudson, Patrick Starapoli and Will Kimmel made up the sixth and quickest group of ARCA qualifiers looking to challenge for the Menards Pole Award presented by Ansell.

However, during the 8-minute qualifying session Kimmel and the rest of the group struggled to connect in the draft to overcome the top spot occupied by driver Mark Thompson. In the end Kimmel would settle for a fast lap of 186.413 mph good enough for 11th on the starting grid.

“We finished the final practice second on the leaderboard but this group qualifying just didn’t work out the way we planned,” said Kimmel. “I’ve never had a car this fast here at Daytona, we’ve had some really good cars over the years but this one is extremely solid. We’ll be just fine come race time.”

Over his storied career Frank Kimmel has re-written the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards (ARCA Racing) record book amassing 80 series victories and an unprecedented 10 driver championships. But with all the success Kimmel continues to seek the most cherished prize of all, a trip to Daytona International Speedway’s victory lane, a feat seemingly unobtainable over the course of his 24-year ARCA racing driving career. Kimmel will try to end his Daytona drought tomorrow with a win at the World Center of Racing in the season opener.

Kimmel and the Ansell-Menards team will make their debut with Venturini tomorrow afternoon in the Lucas Oil 200 presented by AutoZone.

Saturday’s race will be televised live on WSLM 97.9 FM beginning at 4:00 p.m. ET while MRN will broadcast the race over ARCAracing.com.