Cunningham calls Kimmel for Pocono
Posted: Saturday, June 8, 2013 by WKR in Labels: 22, arca racing, cunningham motorsports, pocono, pocono raceway, springfield arca race, will kimmel, will kimmel racing, wkr
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(LONG POND, Pa. - June 8, 2013) - Cunningham Motorsports has long been considered one of the top development teams in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards. The ownership group, a combination of Kerry Scherer and Briggs Cunningham, has fostered the careers of several drivers on their way to NASCAR - most recently the careers of Parker Kligerman and Alex Bowman, both of whom compete fulltime in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.
Here at Pocono for Saturday's running of the Pocono ARCA 200, Will Kimmel got the call to drive the famous No. 22 Cunningham car. A phone call, and a little help from Messina Wildlife Management and Circle Track Magazine, both of which are sponsoring the third-generation ARCA driver at Pocono.
"Cunningham provided the great equipment, and Messina Wildlife and Circle Track made it possible for me to drive the car," Kimmel said.
"The car is so good. We tested on Wednesday, which I think made all the difference. In the past, when I've been able to race here, we never got to test, so the race really became our test. But when you do that, you're sometimes chasing it more than you're racing it."
Cunningham Motorsports is headed up, from the competition side, by NASCAR champion crew chief Paul Andrews.
"Paul is so up to speed on this intermediate stuff, and understands these cars better than anyone. He baselined the car, so it was good right off the trailer. Paul and dad have been fine tuning it all week."
While Cunningham Motorsports is the new cog in the wheel for Kimmel, he'll have a familiar face on the pit box for the race. His father Bill Kimmel, who has always been his crew chief no matter the car or team, will call the shots from the pit box. Bill was a renowned late model racer in his day, winning races and track championships, and has also earned the Cometic Crew Chief of the Year award eight times for his brother Frank Kimmel.
Will's No. 22 Messina Wildlife Management-Circle Track Magazine Dodge starts third in the race today after qualifying was rained out Friday. The field was set by current car owner points.
"I like our chances (in the race)," Will added.
"I really like Pocono, and track position, especially here, is everything. But I love this track. So many tracks we race on are the same, or similar. This one's so different compared to anything else we do. It keeps your attention; that's for sure. Each corner is so different than the other, but you have to figure out a way to be good in all three. If you lose your momentum in any corner here, it takes a while to get it back.
"I really think we've got a shot to win this thing. I like where we're starting. One of the things we learned at the test was that this car - well it's good no matter the situation - but it's exceptionally good in the long runs. This series, if you look at its history over the last few years, you're seeing a lot more long, green runs, and I think that could play into our hands today.
"If Venturini (4 cars in the race) doesn't slow down, they'll be tough to beat, but there are several cars you'll have to keep an eye on today. You're going to have watch the 15, the 9, the 44, and the 77, and keep an eye on us too."
Will, driving for Kimmel Racing, finished a career-best second at Salem Speedway twice. He also finished third at Daytona in 2012.
The Pocono ARCA 200, the 56th ARCA race at Pocono Raceway since 1983, is live on SPEED Saturday at 1:00 p.m. eastern. All on-track activity will also be featured in live timing and scoring at ARCAracing.com
-article from arcaracing.com
