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Logano
Enters ARCA Race at Pocono
LONG POND PA (5-22-09) - Since 1983 the ARCA RE/MAX Series has served as
the show-opener for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series on both Pocono Raceway
race weekends.
As a result, the RE/MAX Series at Pocono has become a key environment for
Sprint Cup Series drivers to hone their skills on the tricky 2.5-mile,
high-speed, triangular-shaped track just in time for the next-day Cup
500-miler.
The latest in search of Pocono seat-time is Sprint Cup Series rookie Joey
Logano, who has yet to turn a competitive lap on the Long Pond, PA
speedplant - which is why the Middletown, Connecticut driver is entered in
the Venturini Motorsports-prepared Home Depot Toyota for the Pocono ARCA
200 coming Saturday, June 6.
With NASCAR's ban on testing in place and no Nationwide and/or Camping
World Truck Series races scheduled on the renowned triangle, the need for
the likes of Logano to familiarize oneself with the unique Pocono layout
could be even more pressing.
Logano is certainly not the only Cup driver over the years to utilize the
ARCA RE/MAX Series as Pocono practice/testing for the big show on Sunday.
Ryan Newman, as development driver for Penske Racing, won the ARCA race at
Pocono in 2000 after the four-time ARCA winner bumped ARCA regular Bob
Strait out of the way three laps shy of the finish.
Kyle Busch, as a development driver for Hendrick Motorsports, raced in the
Pennsylvania ARCA 200 in 2003 and still owns the one-lap ARCA track record
there with a speed of 170.849 mph. It was also in that same '03 season
that Casey Mears, driving for Ganassi Racing at the time, swept both
Pocono ARCA races with back-to-back victories.
Scott Riggs, in an MB2 Valvoline Pontiac, held off the ARCA regulars for
his career-first superspeedway victory in June, 2004. Travis Kvapil, in a
Penske Racing Kodak-sponsored Dodge, held off series regular Frank Kimmel
for the win in June of '05.
Other notable ARCA winners over the years at Pocono include Casey Atwood,
Kerry Earnhardt, Jimmy Horton, Mike Wallace and a host of series regulars
such as Bob Schacht, Bob Keselowski, Tim Steele, Frank Kimmel, Jeff Purvis
and most recently Justin Allgaier in August of '08.
This year's Pocono ARCA 200 marks the 49th ARCA RE/MAX Series race on the
2.5-mile Pocono track; however, if you're counting the now defunct
three-quarter mile Pocono track, parts of which still occupy space in the
infield area, ARCA's tenure at Pocono reaches back even further - to 1969
when Bobby Watson held off Benny Parsons to win the inaugural ARCA race at
Pocono.
ARCA veteran Bob Schacht held off the late Davey Allison to win the
inaugural ARCA race at Pocono in 1983. That inaugural event also marked
the first-ever nationally televised ARCA race when viewers from across
America tuned in on ESPN for the LIVE telecast. Schacht would go on to
post six victories at Pocono over the next 10 years becoming the all-time
winner there until three-time series champion Tim Steele eclipsed the mark
with nine wins, including five consecutive in the mid- to late-90s.
Logano, in three career ARCA RE/MAX Series starts since 2008, has never
finished worse than second. Logano won in his career-first series start at
Rockingham Speedway in May of '08 and finished second in both restrictor
plate tracks at Talladega Superspeedway '08 and Daytona Int'l Speedway
'09. All of Logano's tenure in the ARCA RE/MAX Series has been in
Venturini Motorsports-prepared cars.
On-track activity for the Pocono ARCA 200 starts Friday, June 5 with
practice from 10:15 AM to 11:55 AM. Menards Pole Qualifying presented by
Ansell follows at 1:45 PM. The Pocono ARCA 200 kicks off Saturday
afternoon, June 6 at 1:00 PM and will be televised same-day on SPEED at
8:30 PM.
In addition, the ARCA Racing Network will carry live streaming audio
coverage of the Pocono ARCA 200 at ARCAracing.com inside the ARCA Nation.
Tickets for the Pocono ARCA 200, the SPRINT Cup Series event and the
entire 2009 Pocono Raceway season are available by contacting the Pocono
Raceway Ticket Office at 1-800-RACEWAY (1-800-722-3929), or through
http://www.poconoraceway.com/.
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