TALLADEGA AL (4-23-10) - Chad McCumbee drove the No. 1 ModSpace Ford to the top of the chart in the final practice session for today's Talladega ARCA 250 at Talladega Superspeedway.
McCumbee, along with three others, completed a session-high 16 laps in the weekend's second ARCA Racing Series practice, his best effort a lap of 50.455 seconds (189.793 mph). While yesterday's session focused primarily on single-car runs, the morning practice was key for numerous drivers to practice drafting, the major contributor to today's increased speeds.
The four-car contingent driven by Bobby Gerhart (No. 5 Lucas Oil Chevrolet), Bill Baird (No. 52 Saturn Racing Toyota), Kyle Martel (No. 43 Hanover Cold Storage/Finish Line Express Chevrolet), and Joey Coulter (No. 16 Rip It Energy Fuel Chevrolet) started the practice in a draft, a theme that continued for many of the 18 drivers that participated throughout the 45-minute session. Gerhart won the season's first restrictor plate race, at Daytona in February.
Menards Pole Award winner Dakoda Armstrong followed up his qualifying effort with 13 laps in the No. 22 Cunningham Motorsports Dodge this morning, posting a top time of 50.688 seconds (188.920 mph) to find sixth place on the chart. Armstrong was the only of the starting lineup's top five drivers to make a morning run.
Nine-time ARCA Racing Series champion Frank Kimmel (No. 44 Ansell/Menards Ford) posted the third-best speed in practice, completing the fastest of his 15 laps in 50.618 seconds (189.182 mph).
"Practice went really well this morning. It is very encouraging; our car was very fast," Kimmel said. "We were able to stay with the fastest cars on the track and draft right with them. We were passing a few cars, so we are in for a really good race."
The Talladega ARCA 250 begins at 4 p.m. Central, with live television coverage provided by SPEED.
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