SALEM IN (4-10-10) - Joey Coulter posted the fastest time during the 90 minute for the practice session for Sunday's Kentuckiana Ford Dealers 200 presented by ApplianceZone.com.
Coulter in the Rip It Energy Fuel Chevy toured the track at a time of 17.411 seconds; a speed of 114.755 mph. The second year Miami Springs driver turned the most laps at 74. Venturini Motorsports driver Steve Arpin was second quick with a time of 17.481 seconds; a speed of 114.296 mph. Dakoda Armstrong (114.211 mph), Craig Goess (113.989 mph) and Clarksville, Ind. native Frank Kimmel (113.626 mph) rounded out the top-5.
Thirty-four cars took the track this afternoon for their first laps of the season at the historic Salem Speedway. Fifteen minutes into the session, Terry Jones spun his No. 30 Jones Group Racing Dodge in turn 4. The No. 25 Venturini Motorsports Toyota of Mikey Kile bounced off the outside wall in turns 3 and 4, 35 minutes into the session. The damage was severe enough for the team to change to a backup car. In the final minute of the extended practice session, Chase Mattioli slid up the track into the turn 2 wall, resulting in major rear-end damage to his No. 14 Andy Belmont Racing Ford.
Teams practiced both race trim and qualifying laps, as this session is the only practice of the weekend. Establishing the field for Sunday, Menards Pole Qualifying presented by Ansell is set for 3:30 p.m. this afternoon.
FIRST FASTEST - Joey Coulter reflected on his fastest time, "We definitely had a success practice. We ended up quickest, and I really didn't think we were as good as we were the first run. On our qualifying run, we had a few cars get in the way, so we aren't 110 percent sure what we have, but I feel confident about qualifying this afternoon and the race tomorrow. I'm looking forward to it."
SECOND FASTEST - Steve Arpin was second fastest with a time of 17.481 seconds. "The car was awesome. Our best lap of the day was our third lap on the track. The car was good off the trailer. We stuck to our plan and tested a whole bunch of things. I think we made a lot of really good gains for race runs, nothing that is going to put a good number for practice or in the short runs. But I think we have a really good, consistent car."
THIRD FASTEST - Third fastest, Dakoda Armstong was happy with his fast time of 17.494 seconds. "I have a bunch of people coming out to watch me, so I definitely want to do a good job here," reflected the Indiana native. "We ended up third when we did our qualifying runs. Our car is always good during that. I think we need to be a little better. I think we will get it figured out by the end of the day."
FOURTH FASTEST - Craig Goess had a fast time of 17.528 seconds. "Practice went well, and I always have a lot of fun at Salem," the Eddie Sharp Racing driver said. "I think we have a really good car. It is going to be interesting to see how the track changes due to the weather and throughout the day. I feel like we are going to qualify up front for the pole, and I look forward to tomorrow."
FIFTH FASTEST - Frank Kimmel ran a quick time of 17.584 seconds. "I don't know yet. We came with a different setup than we have ever run here before, and we are staying with it and trying to learn as we go. The car is fast, I mean it runs really fast, so we are happy with that, but I am little concerned with how long it will run like that. Right now we are just optimistic, cautiously optimistic," the Salem veteran reflected. "The biggest obstacle has been the setup we are using, we are trying something completely different then we have ever run before. It's different with the track being so fresh and green and dirty and everything with all the construction. We just have a lot of variables right now, and it's hard when you don't really know what's going on. We are going to just keep plugging and see what we can come up with."
FIRST-TIME ARCA RACERS - The Kentuckiana Ford Dealers 200 presented by ApplianceZone.com will have four first-time ARCA racers in the field. Brandon McReynolds, Frankie Kimmel, Timmy Hill and Max Gresham will take their first green flag tomorrow at 2:15 p.m. "I'm going to go out there and do what I know how to do," said rookie McReynolds. "Sometimes guys go out and get psyched out. This track can get you in trouble in a hurry, so I'm hoping to have a top-10 qualifying run and go from there." Gresham is excited to make his debut, "I am excited to be here. This is a great track, and the car is great. Practice wasn't bad. We made a mock-run and were 15th. We should be good for the race. I can't wait to get out there for the race."
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