NASCAR Daily News Headlines * December 15, 2007

ARCA In Three Day Daytona Tests

Erik Darnell, driving a Ford for Roush Fenway Racing, was the fastest after the first day of testing with a speed of 179.935 mph. Rounding out the top five were Dominick Casola (179.569), Matt Carter (179.269), Richard Childress Racing’s Alex Yontz (179.269) and Chad Blount (179.023). Darnell, who competes for Roush Fenway Racing in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, is spending the three-day ARCA RE/MAX Series test session assisting new Roush Fenway Racing driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Stenhouse joins Roush Fenway Racing from the United States Auto Club, where he ran and won in the Silver Crown, Sprint and Midget divisions with Tony Stewart Racing. He plans to compete in a full season of ARCA RE/MAX Series competition including the 80-lap, 200-mile season opener on Saturday, Feb. 9

“I’ve been down here and watched once or twice and I’ve watched on TV,” Stenhouse said. “This is always what I wanted to do – to come down here and run stock cars and go everywhere else and run stock cars. But to come Daytona and run, it’s going to be pretty exciting the first few laps out there.”

Darnell knows what it’s like to work through the Roush Fenway Racing developmental process. He worked his way through the famous Roush Fenway tryout process and in 2007 finished 12th in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series standings with one win, three top-five finishes and eight top-10 runs.

“For me, it’s weird to be in this position,” Darnell said. “I was in this same spot two years ago having some of the elder Roush guys help me out. It’s kind of cool to be able to help a new guy coming in. Ricky has shown a lot of potential already and I think he is going to be pretty good next year.”

New era begins for Frank Kimmel

For Kimmel, the three-day test kicks off a new era in his racing career. After 10 seasons driving Larry Clement’s Tri-State Motorsports, the nine-time defending ARCA RE/MAX Series champion has formed a new team with his brother and crew chief Bill Kimmel called Kimmel Racing with Cunningham Motorsports.

During this weekend’s test, Frank Kimmel isn’t driving his traditional No. 46 Ford, but instead a white unsponsored No. 44 Dodge.

“It’s a pretty important day for us, the whole weekend really,” said Kimmel, a 45-year-old native of Clarksville, Ind. “A new manufacturer in Dodge, we’ve never been in one of these cars before, we’re looking forward to seeing what we got.”

His decision to form his own operation has a lot to do with his 17-year-old-son Frank Kimmel II and Will Kimmel, the 19-year-old son of Bill Kimmel. Both Frank and Will are aspiring racers.

“Bill and I went on our own trying to build something for ourselves,” Frank Kimmel said. “My nephew Will wants to race, my son Frankie wants to race. We felt like while our stock is still pretty good, we ought to try to do it on our own.”

While Kimmel has plenty of ARCA RE/MAX Series championships under his belt, he is still searching for his first victory at Daytona International Speedway. In his last seven ARCA 200 At Daytona starts, Kimmel has finished fifth or better six times including two runner-up finishes in 2004 and 2005.

Kimmel says the 2008 ARCA 200 isn’t going to be a cake walk. His new team hasn’t secured a sponsor and the field of ARCA RE/MAX Series competitors is going to be stout.

“This is not a year to come in not sponsored as you can tell by the quality of cars here this weekend,” Kimmel said. “It’s going to be tough. We’ve got to get ourselves together. Hopefully we can sign that sponsor and get going. We’re here testing and hopefully we can come out of here with some good knowledge and make this car run pretty well.”

Test open to the public

The ARCA RE/MAX Series test continues on Saturday and Sunday and is free and open to the public with access to the Oldfield Grandstand through the lobby of Daytona 500 Experience.

Brewco Motorsports Becomes Baker Curb Racing

Both Baker and Curb have extensive experience in the world of motorsports as well as successful business careers to bring to the ownership team. Baker, a Nashville businessman with a wealth of credits to his name, is also the former owner of the Bristol Motor Speedway as well as the Nashville Speedway when it hosted two NASCAR Sprint Cup series races annually. Baker’s passion for racing and desire to add a new professional sports team to the Music City landscape are the primary drivers behind his decision to buy the team.

“I am excited about the vision we are bringing to the NASCAR Nationwide Series and Nashville,” said Baker. “I am also encouraged by my partnership with Mike Curb and all of the leadership attributes and connections he will bring to the table. We are looking forward to creating a winning professional sports team that NASCAR and the City of Nashville can be proud of.”

Curb has been involved in motorsports for more than 40 years and is well known for his involvement with Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty. Curb sponsored Earnhardt’s 1980 Winston Cup Championship car and previously owned Petty’s famed #43 for his 200th win at Daytona in 1984. The entertainment executive has enjoyed a successful career in the record business, amassing the talents of artists resulting in more than 250 number one hit songs. Curb Records’ artists’ includes all-star performers LeAnn Rimes, Wynonna Judd, Hank Williams, Jr., Rodney Atkins and Tim McGraw. Mike Curb was recently honored as Nashvillian of the year as well as receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in June 2007.

“Gary and I are going to build a world-class race organization that can compete in today’s challenging NASCAR environment,” stated Curb. “We are not doing this just to go racing and see what happens. We have already moved the team to a brand new shop in Nashville, hired some really top-notch talent, and put a great young driver on our roster to get us started.”

Team President Matt Crews said the move to the new Baker Curb Racing headquarters in Nashville was completed this week and the team is already feeling the excitement of the 2008 season. “There is a whole new feeling of opportunity among everyone on our team. It is fun to experience the positive attitudes and excitement every day we come to work. Everyone is fired up about our new owners’ commitment to winning, our new shop, and our new driver.”

Noted rising young star Brad Coleman, the driver of the No. 27 Kleenex® Ford Fusion, visited the shop this week and was amazed at the progress. “These guys have really done a great job getting this team moved from Kentucky to Tennessee,” said Coleman. “It looks like they have been here a long time. Everything is well organized, the crew guys are working on cars and the excitement level is really high.”

Baker noted there was still a lot of work to do.

“We still have a long way to go to be ready for Daytona,” stated Baker. “We are making some big-time hires, signing some great sponsor partners, getting the new website ready and a myriad of other important initiatives that need to be finished before we call it a year.”

Kevin Harvick Donates Truck Replica

The truck will be a key part of one of the major exhibits inside the 60,000 square foot building, where a section of race track is suspended from the ceiling that features full-sized race trucks and cars on the track.

“We are extremely pleased to have been asked by Daytona International Speedway to display the #33 Camping World Silverado in their attraction,” said Camping World President and CEO Marcus Lemonis. “Our NASCAR truck program with KHI is very important to our company and we are eager to share it with the hundreds of thousands of fans who tour Daytona USA each year.”

Fans can see the No. 33 Camping World Chevrolet Silverado at the attraction beginning December 14. The Daytona 500 Experience is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is closed on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.

Truck Rookie Of The Year Willie Allen Loses Ride

"We are currently looking for other opportunities for next season," explains Allen. "We had a successful year with ThorSport Racing but I’m hearing another driver is bringing in a substantial amount of money. I have a letter exercising ThorSport’s option on my contract for 2008, so I don’t know how this could happen. I hope that we can put something together with a team in one of NASCAR's top three divisions very soon."