Kimmel Looking for Career Win 75 at Mobile

[media-credit name=”No. 44 Ansell/Menards Toyota Camry” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]FRANK KIMMEL MOBILE PREVIEW

Driver of the No. 44 Ansell/Menards Toyota Camry

ARCA RACING SERIES * MOBILE ARCA 200 * MOBILE INT’L SPEEDWAY

No. 44 Ansell/ Menards Toyota Camry

ARCA RACING SERIES – RACE 2 OF 19 – Mobile International Speedway

LOOKING FOR CAREER WIN 75? Nine-time ARCA Racing Series driving champion Frank Kimmel is second on the all-time ARCA Series win list with 74 victories behind only Iggy Katona, who leads with 79. However, Kimmel, who has won nearly everywhere on the tour, has never raced at Mobile. He looks for his first victory at his first appearance at the track – and first victory since 2008 on the circuit.

SHORT TRACK SUCCESS: Kimmel has fond memories of short tracks over his 17-year history in the ARCA Racing Series. His very first race, and notoriously his first victory, came at Toledo Speedway. Toledo and Mobile have been compared to one another in the low degree of banking and oval short track style. Kimmel welcomes the challenge, but knew a bit of research was in order to master the new location. He enlisted the help of local Gulf Coast short track legend Bubba Pollard to learn the “ins and outs” of Mobile International Speedway.

CHIPPING IN FOR TORNADO RELIEF: After the devastating tornadoes that ripped through Kimmel’s home state of Indiana – including racing families such as the Bashams – young Frankie Kimmel took it upon himself to start organizing. Kimmel is accepting donations of clothing, food and/or supplies and money for the American Red Cross Indiana Chapter at their family farm: 13461 State Road 60, Borden, IN 47106. Primary sponsor Ansell is currently mobilizing cut-proof gloves to ship to all Indiana first responders on the relief effort.

HOPING TO TAKE THE POLE POSITION: Kimmel embarks on his third year with sponsor Ansell, a global leader in protection solutions, in a partnership with Menards Racing. The Menards Pole Award is presented by Ansell during the entire 2012 ARCA Racing Season – and Kimmel hopes to be standing on a podium to receive it in Mobile from an Ansell executive.

CHASSIS HISTORY: The No. 44 team will utilize chassis No. A-1 this weekend at Mobile International Speedway. A new chassis for the team, it joins a full fleet of new race cars at the ThorSport stable in Sandusky, Ohio.

THOUGHTS FROM THE DRIVER: Frank Kimmel

WE HEARD YOU TALKED TO BUBBA POLLARD ON MOBILE? Yes, that’s correct. Bubba is a legend down here on the Panhandle of Florida and Alabama. His results speak for themselves in late models and super late models at both Mobile and Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, so I knew who to call when it was time to pick someone’s brain on track facts and logistics. He gave me a lot of great pointers going into this weekend. I’m also looking forward to chatting with our own Grant Enfinger – since this is his home track, he knows the ins and outs too. It’s a little different, I usually have guys coming to me to find out about tracks as the veteran!

IS THIS LIKE ANY OTHER TRACK YOU’VE EXPERIENCED?

One thing Bubba told me is that Mobile has been likened to Toledo Speedway. I got my first win there, and it was also my first race ever. That’s a track where I’m super comfortable, and I’ve had some great finishes there over the course of my career. So when he said that, it made me feel more confident that I could get up on the wheel from the get go. I mean, face it, at the end of the day, a short track is a short track – if you can’t get up on the wheel, it’s going to be a rough day for your team. This is a driver’s track.

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF FRANKIE’S TORNADO RELIEF EFFORTS?

I’m really proud of Frankie and what he’s doing. He’s in the middle of courses as a college student at UNCC in Charlotte, not to mention a budding racer himself, and he really wanted to help. The tornadoes really devastated Indiana, and it affected many of our friends and family. Thankfully, our home was spared, but so many others have been displaced or lost everything. These types of events take everyone pitching in, and Frankie really felt like it was his responsibility to take a leadership role. That’s a great thing.

AFTER ALL THESE YEARS, IS IT STILL “COOL” TO GO TO NEW TRACKS?

I love new tracks – I’ll race anything, anywhere. You can see that in my street stock racing in the offseason. My heart is in short track racing, just because that’s how most of us veteran racers grew up – but to be able to experience an inaugural race at any track in a series is really special. It’s a big day for the series, and it makes a trip to Victory Lane special too. Let’s hope we can get this Ansell/Menards Toyota there this weekend!

Race Info:

March 10th, 2012

Mobile International Speedway

.5-Mile Paved Oval

Inaugural Mobile ARCA 200

200 Laps/100 Miles

Broadcast Info:

Live Timing & Scoring at ARCARacing.com

Friday, March 9: Practice 1:30-5pm CT

Menards Pole Qualifying presented by Ansell: 7:00pm CT

Saturday, March 10: Pre-race coverage starts at 1:30pm CT

Team Facts:

Current Point Standings: 23rd

Chassis: A-1 – NEW

Engine: TRD (Toyota Racing Development) & TRIAD

Frank Kimmel

ARCA RACING SERIES results at Mobile International Speedway:

This will be the inaugural start for the ARCA Racing Series at Mobile

ABOUT MENARDS:

With 263 stores in 13 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.

ABOUT ANSELL: Ansell is aglobal leader in protection solutions, with operations in North America, LAC, EMEA and Asia-Pacific.  Ansell designs, develops, manufactures and markets a wide range of surgical, examination, industrial and household gloves, protective clothing and condoms. People in over 100 countries around the world put their trust in Ansell’s innovative, high-quality solutions to offer superior protection, combined with high levels of comfort and performance. Ansell holds its operational headquarters in Red Bank, NJ, USA and its parent, Ansell Limited, is registered  in Melbourne, Australia. Worldwide, the group employs over 10,000 people in 33 countries. In its Fiscal Year 2011, Ansell achieved sales of USD 1.2 bn. For more information visit www.ansell.com, www.safetypro.com, www.activarmr.com and www.ansellconstruction.com.