TOLEDO OH (5-4-10) - It goes without saying that Toledo Speedway has been an important stop in Frank Kimmel's ARCA Racing Series career. In addition to recording his first ever ARCA win there in 1994, Kimmel leads all drivers with nine wins at the historic half-mile short-track.
The southern Indiana stock car legend stands to make his 30th consecutive start at Toledo since 1990 in the upcoming May 23rd Menards 200 presented by Federated Car Care.
"Toledo is a racetrack that has been very good to me over the years," said Kimmel. "Having so much past success at a particular track definitely helps boost the team's confidence heading into a race weekend."
In 29 career starts at Toledo, Kimmel has earned 21 top-five finishes, three Menards Pole awards and has led a whopping 1,113 laps in 16 races.
Kimmel is also the last driver who earned consecutive wins at Toledo, but that hasn't been since the 2002 and 2003 seasons. In fact, no driver has gone back-to-back with wins at Toledo since, suggesting that consecutive victories on the rough and tumble short track are not easily accomplished.
Kimmel's brother and crew chief, Bill Kimmel, will also be on hand to run the show for the No. 44 Ansell-Menards Ford team.
"To run well at Toledo, you've got to get through the middle of the turn really quick and easy," said Bill Kimmel. "Aside from that, the biggest thing is planning your race strategy so that you don't have to hit pit road too late in the race. Track position late is really important at Toledo because the Lucky Dog deal keeps a lot of cars on the lead lap. To get through all that traffic at the end would be next to impossible, so the key to winning at Toledo is being up front in the top-three or top-five during the last 50 laps of the race."
The annual ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards spring event at Toledo Speedway will kick off on Friday, May 21st, with the touring Buckeye 305 Sprint Cars Series, and a full program of Toledo Speedway regular racing.
Menards Pole Qualifying presented by Ansell is set for Saturday afternoon, May 22 at 3:30pm, followed by the season opening event for the ARCA Truck Series.
Spectator Gates and ticket sales for the Menards 200 open at 10:30 AM on Sunday, May 23. An on-track autograph session with the entire starting field of drivers is scheduled for 12 noon to 1:00 pm. The green flag for the Menards 200 is set for 2:00pm.
Advance, discount tickets for the Menards 200 are available at Toledo Area Menards Stores, including Sandusky, Findlay and Defiance. Race fans can save $10 off the price of admission by purchasing their tickets at Menards through May 18.
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