Ty Dillon and Kyle Fowler Make Up Front Row for ARCA Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 at Daytona

[media-credit name=”arcaracing.com” align=”alignleft” width=”258″][/media-credit]When the green flag drops tomorrow for the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200, two 18 year old drivers will lead the field to the green flag.

Richard Childress’ grandson Ty Dillon (No. 41 University of Northwestern Ohio/Richard Childress Racing Development Chevrolet) won the pole with a lap of 48.509 seconds (185.533mph) to win the Menards Pole Award presented by Ansell. This is the fastest lap that has been run at Daytona since Kirk Shelmerdine in 2001 with a pole speed of 187.352mph. 

“It was really special to me. I’ve been coming here for a long time since I was a little kid to see my grandfather, watching races, watching qualifying, and this being my first time at a superspeedway and to have this car get the pole is really special to me,” Dillon said. “I’m glad we could do it with UNOH.

“Our team has definitely worked hard enough so that we have one of the best cars in the garage. I believe we can definitely win this race tomorrow. I just have to be patient; we have the car to do it.”

This marks the start of a solid weekend for Dillon, who is trying to go for his third consecutive win in a row after winning the final two races last year – Kansas & Rockingham. Dillon has also been running a dirt modified at Volusia Speedway Park each night to get more experience.

“I think it just helps me with my experience, getting as much seat time as possible,” he said. “It’s been hard every night getting back to the hotel at 1 in the morning and getting up at 6 to come here to be with the guys, but I love racing. I wouldn’t want to be doing anything else.”

Starting second will be Venturini Motorsports rookie Kyle Fowler, who drove a lap of 48.65 seconds (184.995mph) in his No. 15 Chevrolet.

“Venturini definitely has an awesome piece there with the 15 car, and I’m just the lucky guy that gets to hold the steering wheel,” Fowler said.

Fowler has made just five prior starts in the ARCA Racing Series, but none on a track larger than a mile-and-a-half.

“It was absolutely incredible to make those first few laps around here,” he said. “Heck, I got goosebumps just walking on the premises. It’s every driver’s dream to race here. It’s racing’s biggest stage, and I just want to be there at the end.”  

Following the rookies will be Venturini Motorsports veteran Steve Arpin (No. 25 Mike’s Hard Lemonade Chevrolet), with a lap of 48.762 seconds (184.57 mph).

“We were really focused (in practice) yesterday on qualifying stuff,” said Arpin, who led the series with three victories last year. “It’s really hard at Daytona, because you’ve got to try to qualify the best you can because track position’s really important, but at the same time you’ve got to make the car drive as good as it can.

“We tried to find that happy medium and balance the car the best we could. The best thing I’m excited about is that our car drives awesome in the draft and that’s all that’s important – to get that trophy at the end of the day tomorrow.”

Matt Merrell, who is making his first start since 2009, will start fourth, in his No. 32 Red Line Oil Toyota. Six-time Daytona ARCA winner Bobby Gerhart completed the top five in fifth with his No. 5 Lucas Oil Slick Mist Chevrolet.

Practice leader Hal Martin, motocross superstar Ricky Carmichael, Mark Thompson, Tim George Jr., and Tom Hessert will fill out the rest of the first five rows.

Other notables include IndyCar star Milka Duno who will start 23rd in his first ARCA start while nine-time ARCA Racing Series champion Frank Kimmel will start 26th in his 20th ARCA Daytona start.

The 80-lap, 200-mile Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 airs live on SPEED at 4:30 p.m. Eastern tomorrow, with live timing and scoring and live audio presented by ARCA Nation and News 1150 WNDB at ARCARacing.com. Bobby Gerhart (No. 5 Lucas Oil Slick Mist Chevrolet) is the defending and all-time leading winner at the track, with wins in 1999, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2010. Gerhart also won four consecutive poles between 2003 and 2006. The race is scheduled as the first of 19 this season.

The ARCA Racing Series will host a final, 45-minute practice at 10 a.m. on Saturday. Live timing and scoring will be presented by ARCA Nation at ARCARacing.com.

Starting Grid

2011 Event #1, ARCA Racing Series Presented by Menards    
Daytona Int’l Speedway, Daytona Beach FL, 2-12-11    
Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200      
           
February 11, 2011 / 3:49 PM      
           
POS NO DRIVER/HOMETOWN TEAM & CAR TIME SPEED
1 41 Ty Dillon/Lewisville NC UNOH Chevrolet 48.509 185.533
2 15 Kyle Fowler/Smyrna GA Venturini Motorsports Chevrolet 48.650 184.995
3 25 Steve Arpin/Fort Frances ON Mike’s Hard Lemonade-Trent’s Tire Toyota 48.762 184.570
4 32 Matt Merrell/Portland TX Red Line Oil Toyota 48.881 184.121
5 5 Bobby Gerhart/Lebanon PA Lucas Oil Slick Mist Chevrolet 48.961 183.820
6 55 Hal Martin/Galliano LA NOLA Motorsports Park Toyota 48.977 183.760
7 4 Ricky Carmichael/Tallahassee FL Monster Energy Chevrolet 48.981 183.745
8 66 Mark Thompson/Cartersville GA Phoenix Air Toyota 49.083 183.363
9 31 Tim George Jr./New York NY RCR Development Chevrolet 49.112 183.255
10 52 Tom Hessert/Cherry Hill NJ Federated Auto Parts Toyota 49.249 182.745
11 28 Miguel Paludo/Nova Prata Brazil STEMCO-Duroline Toyota 49.276 182.645
12 98 Kevin Swindell/Goodlettsville TN Curb Records-Eddie Sharp Racing Toyota 49.291 182.589
13 16 Joey Coulter/Miami Springs FL Rip It Energy Fuel-Darrell Gwynn Foundation Chevrolet 49.314 182.504
14 22 Dakoda Armstrong/New Castle IN Ferrellgas-Syngenta Dodge 49.355 182.352
15 19 Brian Rose/Louisville KY Harris Trucking-ASE Toyota 49.358 182.341
16 6 Jason Bowles/Ontario CA Eddie Sharp Racing Toyota 49.368 182.304
17 14 John Ferrier/Middletown NY CGS Imaging Ford 49.386 182.238
18 30 Terry Jones/Amherstburg Ontario Jones Group Dodge 49.388 182.230
19 17 Chris Buescher/Prosper TX Roulo Brothers Racing Ford 49.408 182.157
20 09 Benny Gordon/DuBois PA VSI Ford 49.537 181.682
21 94 Brett Hudson/Owensboro KY Hudson Performance Drivelines Dodge 49.583 181.514
22 11 Bryan Silas/Stuart FL National Speed Sport News-Fast Track Ford 49.584 181.510
23 63 Milka Duno/Caracas Venezuela Citgo Lubricants Dodge 49.604 181.437
24 12 Maryeve Dufault/Sorel Quebec TMR Dodge 49.726 180.992
25 77 Joey Licata/Van Nuys CA Wrong Inc. Dodge 49.727 180.988
26 44 Frank Kimmel/Clarksville IN Ansell-Menards Ford 49.775 180.814
27 82 Sean Corr/Goshen NY Empire Racing Ford 49.782 180.788
28 1 Chad McCumbee/Supply NC ModSpace Ford 49.791 180.756
29 18 Chris Lawson/Troutman NC Ideal Steel Custom Flame Cutting Dodge 49.801 180.719
30 00 Ed Kennedy/Coppell TX Thunder 2 Lubricants-Daytona Lagoon Chevrolet 49.811 180.683
31 36 Grant Enfinger/Fairhope AL BeasleyAllen.com-Excaliber Coach Dodge 49.846 180.556
32 26 Tommy Joe Martins/Como MS Martins Motorsports Dodge 49.924 180.274
33 23 Nick Igdalsky/Long Pond PA Fox Realty Chevrolet Provisional
34 34 Darrell Basham/Henryville IN IndustrialDepot.com Ford Provisional
35 48 James Hylton/Inman SC Radon.com Ford Provisional
36 10 Ed Pompa/Ballston Spa NY Rifenburg Construction-Double H Ranch Chevrolet Provisional
37 06 Barry Fitzgerald/Sykesville MD CanadianHeroes.com Chevrolet Provisional
38 68 Steve Blackburn/Prestonsburg KY Honda of Prestonburg-Harley of Pikeville Dodge Provisional
39 7 Brent Cross/Cortland NY Cummings Auto Machine-Quadraflex Chevrolet Provisional
40 58 Chad Hackenbracht/New Philadelphia OH Tastee Apple Chevrolet Provisional
41 75 Benny Chastain/Tallahassee FL Drive To End Hunger AARP Toyota Provisional
42 3 Brent Brevak/Eau Claire WI Red’s Auto Ford Provisional
43 42 Scott Stenzel/Orlando FL Yellow Stripes Making The Driver Ford Provisional

To see more articles by Ashley McCubbin and live updates from the weekend, check out http://newsfromthepits.blogspot.com/

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of SpeedwayMedia.com

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