Blount Salvages Top 10 Finish
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
TOLEDO, Ohio - Driving a race that turned pit road and the garage area into what looked like a salvage yard, ML Motorsports driver Chad Blount was able to salvage a top 10 finish Sunday.
Piloting the No. 67 Mary Louise Miller-owned Monte Carlo, Blount finished ninth in Sunday's Hantz Group 200 ARCA RE/MAX Series race at Toledo Speedway.
Blount, who entered Sunday's short-track battle at the half-mile Ohio speedway after finishes of first, first and second, respectively, in his last three races, felt his car was better than a ninth-place car. However, the 25-year-old driver wasn't able to completely overcome a day filled with rain delays, wrecks and caution laps.
"We had a better car than what we finished," said Blount. "We finished, but we lost some points to Frank (Kimmel). We just need to go on to Lanier."
Six-time ARCA champion Frank Kimmel led the first 86 laps and finished second to NASCAR Nextel Cup driver Ken Schrader, who passed Blount and led the last 66 laps en route to the win. The race was scheduled for 200 laps, but a late-race caution and ARCA's policy to finish under green-flag conditions stretched the event to 206 laps.
After five of 23 races on the ARCA RE/MAX Series schedule, Kimmel holds a 60-point lead in the season standings over Joey Miller, while Blount is in third place 110 points behind Kimmel. Blount entered Sunday's race 70 points out of the lead.
While Blount's car, as well as the top three cars driven by Schrader, Kimmle and Jason Jarrett crossed the finish line without much damage, the rest of the cars in the 34-car field are what turned pit road and the garage area into a makeshift salvage yard.
"It was like a demolition derby," said ML Motorsports crew chief Tom Sokoloski. "There was a lot of cautions, and then they ran a bunch of caution laps for no apparent reason."
Of the 206 laps, 102 of them were run under yellow-flag conditions because of rain and accidents.
After qualifying was rained out, and then a lengthy rain delay, the race started under green and yellow flag conditions as ARCA wanted to make sure the track was completely dry. The pace truck led the field, which was set according to owner points, for the first 16 laps.
After 45 laps, the cars were brought down pit road, where they were parked during an hour-long rain delay.
The green flag then flew on lap 62, with Blount still in second place to Kimmel.
But as was the case through much of the race, the event was slowed shortly there after for another accident.
Kimmel, pitted on lap 86, while Sokoloski decided to leave Blount out to pace the field. The majority of the rest of the lead-lap cars also came down pit road.
Though his decision later caught up with him, Blount was able to lead the next 54 laps.
"I assumed everyone would keep going and make an 80- or 90-lap shootout of it," said Sokoloski. "Frank came in, and I thought only a couple others would come in. Only a couple others stayed out."
While out front after not pitting, Blount ran lap times that were as good as he had run all day, but the high number of caution laps became a factor.
After pitting under caution on lap 154, Blount was in 15th.
The race then saw 26 consecutive laps of caution, though the track was dry and there was no debris or damaged cars on the track.
Though he had fresh tires to help him pick his way through the field, Blount eventually ran out of time because of the high number of caution laps.
"It went back green and we were in the lead (after not pitting), and we just kept leading," said Blount. I think it was the right thing to do. But then after we pitted there like 30 laps of caution that were uncalled for. We had a better car than where we finished."
All totaled, Kimmel led 86 laps, while Schrader led 66 and Blount 54. No other driver led a lap.
Following Schrader, Kimmel and Jarrett in the top five were North Carolina native David Ragan and Nevada driver T.J. Bell.
Miller remained second in the season standings by finishing ninth. Steven Wallace, whose father Rusty Wallace was there to watch, finished seventh in his first career ARCA start.
After a test session today at the Milwaukee Mile, Chad Blount and his ML Motorsports team will be in action again Saturday in a short-track battle at Lanier National Speedway in Georgia. [[In-content Ad]]
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TOLEDO, Ohio - Driving a race that turned pit road and the garage area into what looked like a salvage yard, ML Motorsports driver Chad Blount was able to salvage a top 10 finish Sunday.
Piloting the No. 67 Mary Louise Miller-owned Monte Carlo, Blount finished ninth in Sunday's Hantz Group 200 ARCA RE/MAX Series race at Toledo Speedway.
Blount, who entered Sunday's short-track battle at the half-mile Ohio speedway after finishes of first, first and second, respectively, in his last three races, felt his car was better than a ninth-place car. However, the 25-year-old driver wasn't able to completely overcome a day filled with rain delays, wrecks and caution laps.
"We had a better car than what we finished," said Blount. "We finished, but we lost some points to Frank (Kimmel). We just need to go on to Lanier."
Six-time ARCA champion Frank Kimmel led the first 86 laps and finished second to NASCAR Nextel Cup driver Ken Schrader, who passed Blount and led the last 66 laps en route to the win. The race was scheduled for 200 laps, but a late-race caution and ARCA's policy to finish under green-flag conditions stretched the event to 206 laps.
After five of 23 races on the ARCA RE/MAX Series schedule, Kimmel holds a 60-point lead in the season standings over Joey Miller, while Blount is in third place 110 points behind Kimmel. Blount entered Sunday's race 70 points out of the lead.
While Blount's car, as well as the top three cars driven by Schrader, Kimmle and Jason Jarrett crossed the finish line without much damage, the rest of the cars in the 34-car field are what turned pit road and the garage area into a makeshift salvage yard.
"It was like a demolition derby," said ML Motorsports crew chief Tom Sokoloski. "There was a lot of cautions, and then they ran a bunch of caution laps for no apparent reason."
Of the 206 laps, 102 of them were run under yellow-flag conditions because of rain and accidents.
After qualifying was rained out, and then a lengthy rain delay, the race started under green and yellow flag conditions as ARCA wanted to make sure the track was completely dry. The pace truck led the field, which was set according to owner points, for the first 16 laps.
After 45 laps, the cars were brought down pit road, where they were parked during an hour-long rain delay.
The green flag then flew on lap 62, with Blount still in second place to Kimmel.
But as was the case through much of the race, the event was slowed shortly there after for another accident.
Kimmel, pitted on lap 86, while Sokoloski decided to leave Blount out to pace the field. The majority of the rest of the lead-lap cars also came down pit road.
Though his decision later caught up with him, Blount was able to lead the next 54 laps.
"I assumed everyone would keep going and make an 80- or 90-lap shootout of it," said Sokoloski. "Frank came in, and I thought only a couple others would come in. Only a couple others stayed out."
While out front after not pitting, Blount ran lap times that were as good as he had run all day, but the high number of caution laps became a factor.
After pitting under caution on lap 154, Blount was in 15th.
The race then saw 26 consecutive laps of caution, though the track was dry and there was no debris or damaged cars on the track.
Though he had fresh tires to help him pick his way through the field, Blount eventually ran out of time because of the high number of caution laps.
"It went back green and we were in the lead (after not pitting), and we just kept leading," said Blount. I think it was the right thing to do. But then after we pitted there like 30 laps of caution that were uncalled for. We had a better car than where we finished."
All totaled, Kimmel led 86 laps, while Schrader led 66 and Blount 54. No other driver led a lap.
Following Schrader, Kimmel and Jarrett in the top five were North Carolina native David Ragan and Nevada driver T.J. Bell.
Miller remained second in the season standings by finishing ninth. Steven Wallace, whose father Rusty Wallace was there to watch, finished seventh in his first career ARCA start.
After a test session today at the Milwaukee Mile, Chad Blount and his ML Motorsports team will be in action again Saturday in a short-track battle at Lanier National Speedway in Georgia. [[In-content Ad]]