(SALEM, Ind. - April 28, 2012) - Will Kimmel led the opening session of ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards practice at Salem Speedway, but that achievement came with a price. Kimmel drove five laps in the first of two 45-minute sessions, completing his best lap on his home track in 17.238 seconds, a speed of 115.907 mph. Shortly after that, though, Kimmel drove his No. 68 Ford to the garage and the Kimmel Racing crew went to work on what they explained as driveline issues. "I'm not really sure what happened," Kimmel said. "I had some issues and went up in smoke going into Turn 1 after we did a mock qualifying run. That's the first time we've ever done that. I don't know what to say right now. It's a good thing we're at Salem. Our Clarksville Schwinn/Kentuckiana Ford Dealers Fusion was running really good. "The track's a little slick right now, but that's Salem when it's hot." Kimmel said he was not certain whether the team would be able to qualify this afternoon, but he remained confident about tomorrow's race. "We'll put another Roush Yates Ford in it and let her eat." Alex Bowman finished the practice second by 0.007 second. He was followed by Chris Buescher, last September's winner at Salem and the only person to finish ahead of Will Kimmel in that event. from arcaracing.com

Will Kimmel is a busy man, and that will certainly be on display at this weekend's Kentuckiana Ford Dealers 200 at Salem Speedway. Kimmel will work on and drive his own No. 68 Kimmel Racing Ford, and there's little doubt he'll also have to tend to visiting family members and friends, many of whom hail from a half-hour's drive away. The busy son of crew chief and car owner Bill Kimmel was also running at full tilt at last week's open ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards test at Talladega Superspeedway, but motorsports radio host Larry Henry caught the Indiana driver at just the right time. While waiting in his car to make a mock qualifying run at the test, Kimmel connected with Henry for an interview that aired on the April 18 episode of Henry's Pit Pass USA, an hour-long motorsports conversation show on the VoiceAmerica Sports Channel. Kimmel talked about his third-place finish at Daytona and gave a short review of the March 10 race at Mobile - "I just had some learning to do" - but also gave some focus to upcoming events at Salem Sunday and Talladega next Friday. "Both tracks, everywhere you go, you're right on top of somebody," Kimmel said.  "At Salem, you're always dealing with lapped traffic and you're racing the track, and at Talladega you're in one big pack. That's really about the only similarity. At Salem, you've just got to stay up on it all day. Being a daytime race, that track gets crazy and it's so sensitive to weather. I really look forward to Salem and I think we'll run well there." Kimmel talked much more about racing at Salem throughout the interview, which begins after the 43-minute mark in this link. To hear more from Will Kimmel's conversation with Larry Henry, click here. From arcaracing.com

el Racing Hosting Open House for Fans Friday

With the third race on ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards schedule approaching, it seems only appropriate that with the event being hosted at Salem Speedway, nearby Kimmel Racing plans to take full advantage of the opportunity to host a grand re-opening of the team's ARCA shop. The team will also host a fan appreciation celebration in a night destined to be full of food, music, friends, and racers. The scenery completely changed when the curtain opened on the 2012 season. With Frank Kimmel's departure to another operation, Kimmel Racing was left without a driver and with only a skeleton budget, but aspirations of a championship. Bill Kimmel, owner of Kimmel Racing, isn't a man to go down without a fight, and with the support and talent of his son and new driver Will Kimmel, the two have quickly delivered a message to the competitors - that despite their limited resources, they can still compete. The Clarksville, Ind.-based team was dubbed as one of the Cinderella stories from the season-opening event at Daytona International Speedway, where Kimmel cleverly drafted his No. 68 Ford Fusion to a stout third-place finish. A few weeks later, another top-10 appeared to be easily in the clutches of the family-owned operation, but a mechanical failure within the final 10 laps of the event left the operation with a sour finish - but still plenty to be proud about. With the Kentuckiana Ford Dealers 200 set for Sunday, April 29 at a place where the younger Kimmel has mounted thousands of laps, netted a track championship, and earned his career-best ARCA finish of second last September, the team is eager to welcome the ARCA "family" into their territory with a little pleasure and relaxation on Friday, April 27 before getting down to business. From 6-10 p.m., Kimmel Racing will host music from country music songwriter and artist Hali Hicks. Further entertainment will also be provided from Blue Collar 40. The team will also host an autograph session with race fans, set to include the Kimmel clan, ARCA Racing Series drivers Sean Corr, Korbin Forrister, and Chad Hackenbracht, NASCAR icon Charlie Glotzbach, and others. Food will be provided by Ann's by the River. "We're all about family and ARCA to us is our extended family, so we wanted to do something nice but also show everyone that we are alive and kicking," said Bill Kimmel. "We're hard at working on sponsorship for other races and we'll have a new addition to our family to announce soon, so things are looking up, but we just wanted to provide a night where the shop is open to anyone that wants to stop by and have a great time with us." Not only will the Kentuckiana Ford Dealers continue as the title sponsor of the first of two ARCA races held at Salem Speedway, but the local group has also latched onto Kimmel Racing and will sponsor the No. 68 entry, allowing the Indiana-based team to continue their quest for an ARCA championship. "I can't begin to thank everyone associated with the Kentuckiana Ford Dealers for stepping up and helping us race at Salem," said Will Kimmel. "We're hyped and excited about our chances and look forward to having a spectacular run." Kimmel Racing is located at 201 East Lewis & Clark Parkway, Clarksville, Indiana 47129. The shop is located between Morrison Chiropractic and Clarksville Schwinn. From arcaracing.com

(TALLADEGA, Ala. - April 18, 2012) - Two scheduled sessions turned into one after morning rain delayed the start of the second day of open testing at Talladega Superspeedway, and Will Kimmel led the pack. 

Kimmel, driving Kimmel Racing's No. 68 Ford, drove the top lap of the two-day ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards open test on Wednesday, rounding the 2.66-mile oval in 52.633 seconds, a speed of 181.939 mph. He topped Andy Belmont Racing's Mikey Kile, who best effort was 52.971 seconds (180.778 mph).

The two drivers were the only competitors to eclipse Bobby Gerhart's Tuesday-leading speed of 180.228 mph. Gerhart did not participate Wednesday.

Some gains are to be made, however, if any driver is to match last season's pole speed by Ty Dillon. Dillon earned the Menards Pole Award presented by Ansell in 52.134 seconds last year; seven drivers qualified in under 52.6 seconds.

Turner Motorsports' Brandon McReynolds finished Wednesday third. Hal Martin, driving for Coulter Motorsports, was fourth. Roulo Brothers Racing driver Chris Buescher finished the day fifth.

The final top 10 for the entire test period were, in order: Kimmel, Kile, Gerhart, McReynolds, Martin, Buescher, Brandon Davis, Greg Hutto, Thomas Praytor, and Korbin Forrister.

From arcaracing.com

(TALLADEGA, Ala. - April 18, 2012) - Will Kimmel, who finished third at Daytona International Speedway and figures to contend at Salem Speedway - his home track - on Sunday, April 29, will speak with motorsports radio host Larry Henry tonight onPit Pass USA. Henry and Kimmel spoke while Kimmel tested today at Talladega Superspeedway.
The interview will feature an interesting twist, as the two connected while Kimmel sat in his race car, ready to make a mock qualifying lap on the 2.66-mile oval. Henry called an interview of that type a first for the show. 
Kimmel, who drives the No. 68 Ford for his family's team, is currently eighth in driver points. The show, which begins at 7 p.m. and airs on the VoiceAmerica Sports Channel, can be located on the web by clicking here. 
ARCARacing.com will feature live coverage from the Kentuckiana Ford Dealers 200 at Salem Speedway next Saturday and Sunday, April 28 and 29. 

From arcaracing.com 

Will Kimmel with Kimmel Racing took some test laps at Salem Speedway in his Ford Fusion ARCA car