Post-race rule infractions at Salem Speedway
are expected to shuffle ARCA point standings
are expected to shuffle ARCA point standings
(TOLEDO, Ohio) - When the checkered flag flew over Saturday's Kentuckiana Ford Dealers ARCA Fall Classic 200, third-place finisher Tom Hessert left Salem Speedway with the unofficial points lead in the ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards.
However, Hessert's No. 77 Cunningham Motorsports team, and the No. 22 Dodge of teammate and race winner Dakoda Armstrong, each failed the minimum roof height requirement - per ARCA's 2010 Official Rule Book - in the post-race technical inspection.
Historically, a post-race inspection failure for the minimum roof height has resulted in the loss of 25 driver and 25 owner points, as well as a $1500 penalty. Per procedure, ARCA announces sanctions and publishes official race results and points on the Tuesday after the race event.
Hessert, whose third-place finish tied him with Patrick Sheltra (No. 60 PatrickSheltra.com/Ferguson Pipe Dodge) for the series lead in top-five finishes with 10, unofficially moved to the top of the ARCA Racing Series standings with a 10-point advantage over Sheltra.
Per ARCA's procedural policy, the penalties expected to be announced Tuesday morning would place Sheltra back atop the standings with 4290 points, 15 ahead of Hessert. Sheltra's sixth-place finish Saturday was his series-leading 15th top-10 result of 2010.
Craig Goess (No. 81 Greenville Toyota of N.C. Toyota) would remain third with 4270, to be followed by Frank Kimmel (No. 44 Ansell/Menards Ford) in fourth with 4135. Justin Marks (No. 32 Construct Corps Dodge) is expected to improve one position ahead of Armstrong, to fifth at 4125 points.
The sanction would not directly affect Armstrong's second career win, which makes him the third driver this season with multiple wins in the series. Armstrong extended his lead over Nick Igdalsky (No. 14 ModSpace/American Red Cross Disaster Relief Ford) in the ARCA RE/MAX Rookie of the Year standings by two, 536-492.
Two races remain in the 2010 ARCA Racing Series season.
Goess Recovering after Pain: Craig Goess was treated and released from an Indiana hospital early Sunday morning after being transported from Salem Speedway following the Kentuckiana Ford Dealers ARCA Fall Classic 200. Goess had cited back pain after a 13th-place finish.
The 29-year-old Eddie Sharp Racing driver entered the weekend in second place in the series point standings, but became the first driver this season to win the Menards Pole Award presented by Ansell three times, thus earning 15 bonus points, the first starting position in Saturday's race, and a lead of 10 points over Patrick Sheltra.
Goess led the first 34 laps before a broken throttle cable sent him off the track. Goess returned to competition 12 laps off the pace, and was able to gain just a single lap through the remainder of the event. Goess is third in the series standings with two events remaining, 20 points from Sheltra's lead and five behind Hessert for second.
Clean Racing Continues: Three caution periods slowed the Kentuckiana Ford Dealers ARCA Fall Classic for 19 laps; both numbers are modern era record lows at the track. Analysis of the previous 21 ARCA Racing Series races at Salem Speedway dating back to 2000 shows an average of 9.62 caution periods per event.
The race - completed in one hour and 16 minutes - averaged a speed of 87.630 mph, which tops driver Les Snow's previous race record of 85.913 mph in 1968.
The ARCA Racing Series has featured five races this season with three caution periods or fewer, and has averaged just 5.39 caution periods per race through 18 races, down from 8.67 in 2008 and 7.67 in 2009.
Cunningham Teams Take Lap Awards: Tom Hessert led 74 laps in the Kentuckiana Ford Dealers ARCA Fall Classic 200, including the 100th, to win the $500 Messina Halfway Leader Award. Hessert's lap haul helped him extend his lead in the year-long Aaron's Lap Leader Award standings. The 24-year-old has led in a series-high eight races for a total of 387 laps, 150 more than Chris Buescher, the closest award contender.
Dakoda Armstrong led the final 88 laps in his second victory of the season to win the $500 Aaron's Lap Leader Award. Armstrong last led the ARCA Racing Series field at Berlin (Mich.) Raceway last month.
Season High for Silas; Other Achievements: Bryan Silas (No. 11 Rockingham Speedway/Palm Beach Grading Ford) drove Saturday to a seventh-place finish, his best result since finishing in the same position at Toledo Speedway last September. Silas has seven top-10 finishes in 2010.
Joey Coulter (No. 16 Darrell Gwynn Foundation/Rip It Energy Fuel/Tempest Cycles Chevrolet) finished second for the fourth time this season and the sixth time in his 39-race career.
Mikey Kile (fourth, No. 25 Venturini Motorsports Toyota) and Justin Marks (fifth) secured top-five finishes for the sixth and seventh times this season, respectively.
Chad McCumbee (No. 1 ModSpace/American Red Cross Disaster Relief Ford) finished in eighth place for the third consecutive week, marking his fifth top-10 finish of 2010.
Part-time driver Levi Youster (No. 23 Hixson Construction Chevrolet) finished 15th for the second consecutive week to match his career high.
Kansas Lottery 150 Next: The ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards visits the 1.5-mile Kansas Speedway on Thursday, September 30 for the 19th of 20 races this season. The 100-lap, 150-mile Kansas Lottery 150 airs live on SPEED at 4 p.m. Central (5 p.m. Eastern), with live timing and scoring and live audio coverage presented by ARCA Nation and the ARCA Racing Network at ARCARacing.com.
Practice begins at 9 a.m. and lasts for two hours, and Menards Pole Qualifying presented by Ansell takes place at 1 p.m. Live timing and scoring and live audio coverage of both events will be available at ARCARacing.com.
The race will be the 10th at the Kansas City, Kan. facility, and Frank Kimmel is the only two-time winner at the track (2002, 2006). Parker Kligerman won at Kansas last season.
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