Top ARCA Drivers Highlight Iowa Speedway Entry List

(Newton, IA) - ARCA RE/MAX Series entries continue to pile in for the third annual Prairie Meadows 250 at Iowa Speedway Saturday, April 19th.

Defending race winner and nine-time series champion Frank Kimmel is among the entrants.

“Can’t wait to get back to Iowa Speedway,” said Kimmel. “We ran really well there last year, so anywhere you run well, you’re gunna want to go back. But whether you run good there or not, Iowa Speedway’s got everything a team could want out of a track. It’s superspeedway quality with a short-track feel. It’s a great facility all the way around.”
Looking over the current entry list, Kimmel will, no doubt, have his hands full come raceday. Ironically, one of his main obstacles may be the car that he won in there last year – the Larry Clement-owned no. 46 Stine Seed-Fort Dodge Animal Health-Pork Ford, which will have Denver, North Carolina driver Matt Carter aboard for this year’s race.
Furthermore, Kimmel isn’t the only former Iowa winner. Carter won a Hooters Pro Cup race at Iowa Speedway in 2007, so both drivers obviously have a good feel for the track.

“I absolutely love the track,” said Carter. “It’s wide, and there’s plenty of room to pass. It’s really smooth; it’s got grip; it’s got everything a driver needs to get the job done. Obviously, the facility is first-class, so anybody would be glad to get the chance to race there, but it’s the track itself that I like so much. It’s a first-class deal, and I’m really looking forward to going back.”

In addition to the Kimmel/Carter dual, Formula 1 veteran Scott Speed, in the Eddie Sharp Racing (ESR) Red Bull Toyota, will be making his first Iowa Speedway appearance. The ESR team is loaded up with four teams for the Iowa event. Joining Speed on the ESR roster will be Lilburn, Georgia’s Ken Butler III, Westmorland, California’s Justin Lofton and Ottawa, Ontario’s Pierre Bourque. Daytona champion Gerhart finished sixth in last year’s Iowa race, and is looking forward to returning.

“Can’t wait to get back to Iowa Speedway,” said Gerhart. “As far as short-tracks go, Iowa Speedway ranks among the very best. It’s a short-track but it really drives more like a superspeedway. It’s a long haul from Lebanon, Pennsylvania, but it’s well worth it.”

Local Des Moines, Iowa favorite Michael Annett is also among the entrants. Annett made big news last year at Iowa where he won the pole and finished third in his ARCA RE/MAX Series debut. Since then, Annett has teamed up with NASCAR powerhouse Bill Davis Racing, and the results have been nothing short of amazing. Annett won back-to-back superspeedway races at Talladega (07) and Daytona (08) in Bill Davis-prepared Toyotas. In fact, in six career series starts, Annett has never finished out of the top-10.

Additional entrants include Roush Fenway Racing development driver Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Dodge Driver Development rookie Tayler Malsam, Plano, Texas’s James Buescher, Wildwood, Missouri’s Jesse Smith (quickest in Iowa testing), second-generation racer Billy Leslie, Westby, Wisconsin’s Dexter Bean, Holmdel, New Jersey’s Dominick Casola and Phoenix, Arizona’s Gabi DiCarlo.

Practice is scheduled from 12:30-2:00 pm central Friday, April 18th followed by final practice from 3:00-4:30 pm. SIM Factory Pole Award Qualifying rolls off early Saturday morning at 9:00 am. The race is LIVE on SPEED Saturday, April 19th at 12:30 local time.