38 Teams Preparing at Toledo for Menards 200
38 Teams Preparing at Toledo for Menards 200
(TOLEDO, Ohio - May 19, 2012) - With the Menards 200 presented by Federated Car Care just one day away, 38 cars will shoot for 35 starting spots over two practices and Menards Pole Qualifying presented by Ansell this afternoon at Toledo Speedway.
ARCA, celebrating its 60th Anniversary Season in 2012, brings its premier tour - the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards - to its home track today and tomorrow for the 71st time since 1963. In the previous 70 races, many drivers have emerged with victories, but only two are entered this weekend.
Frank Kimmel has a record nine wins at Toledo, most recently winning at the half-mile in 2005. In 33 prior starts, he has 22 top-fives and 25 top-10s, but will look to improve on last year's performances: 9th in May and 21st in the October season finale.
Of 12 seasons in which Kimmel and the series have raced twice at Toledo since 1991, his two worst performances have come in the last two years, with average finishing positions of 12.5 in 2010 and 15 in 2011. However, Kimmel has excelled on short tracks in his first year with ThorSport Racing, and appears to be a contender in Sunday's 200-lap event.
Chris Buescher is the other Toledo winner in the field, having driven Roulo Brothers Racing to victory in three of the last four Toledo events. Buescher took the lead and the victory at Toledo last October when Ty Dillon spun leader Brennan Poole on the final lap. Buescher, in third, assumed the lead and held on for the win after a final restart.
Sunday's race will be Buescher's seventh Toledo start, and he'll look for his fifth consecutive top-five finish.
Teams entered the garage today at 8 a.m. (pictured at right), and practice today is split into two 45-minute sessions, beginning at 11:45 a.m. and 1 p.m. Menards Pole Qualifying presented by Ansell will start at 3:30. ARCARacing.com will feature live timing and scoring of both sessions.
Fans at Toledo Speedway will see a bonus today, as the ARCA Truck Series will open its 14th season in the Grogan's Towne 50 tonight at 5.
Tomorrow's Menards 200 will begin at 2 p.m., with live timing and scoring at ARCARacing.com. SPEED will air the race at 5 p.m.
The full Menards 200 entry list is available by clicking here.