Becomes Oldest Winner in ARCA Racing Series History
(TOLEDO, Ohio) – Ken Schrader won the Menards 200 presented by Federated Car Care Sundayafternoon at Toledo Speedway, making him the oldest winner in ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards history. Schrader started second in his Federated Auto Parts Chevrolet and led 163 laps. The NASCAR veteran took command of the lead early in the race and held off a long side-by-side battle with Grant Enfinger and took the checkered flag while waving to a capacity crowd.
“I love it,” Schrader said in Victory Lane. “That’s five (at Toledo). We’ll take it. But, now, it means nothing because we have to go to Elko. “Schrader’s Federated Car Care team celebrated in victory lane. It was his fifth win at Toledo Speedway and 16th all-time ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards win. After Enfinger’s car slowed, Schrader had a huge lead as Mingus was his closest competitor, but was a good distance away. “We were just making laps at that point,” Schrader said. “We knew we had a big lead. We just had to keep it out front.”
Mingus, in the Win Tron Racing Diamond Equipment-811 Call Before You Dig Chevrolet, stayed up front all race but couldn’t get close enough to Schrader at the end. “We’re pretty excited with second,” Mingus said. “I think we were close. We needed a caution there at the end to bunch up the field a little bit. “But, I’m really happy with second. We gained 10 points on Kimmel. We’re getting closer.” Kimmel, in ThorSport’s Ansell-Menards Toyota, spun in turn four on lap 85 and had to pit, but fought back for a third-place finish. He leads the point race heading into the next ARCA Racing Series event at Elko Speedway June 1. “We kept battling all day,” Kimmel said. “To finish third, we’re good with that.”
Several ARCA Racing Series SCOTT Rookie Challenge competitors turned in great efforts. Mingus was the SCOTT Rookie Challenge winner for the second race in a row. Justin Boston, in the ZLOOP Computer and Electronics Recycling Toyota, was right behind Kimmel and Matt Tifft fifth and Austin Wayne Self sixth. Tifft and Self were making their ARCA Racing Series debuts. Mason Mitchell placed seventh in the Happy Cheeks-BeavEx-Roulo Brothers Ford; Williams came home eighth in his Southwest Florida Cable Construction Ford while Kelly Kovski, driving for Allgaier Motorsports, and Cunningham Motorsports driver Tom Hessert rounded out the top 10 in his Barbera’s Autoland Dodge.
Enfinger’s long side by side battle with Schrader kept fans on the edge of their seats for several laps. Smoke was continually coming out of his Hewes Concrete Polishing-Motor Honey-Casite Ford, especially the last laps before his tire went flat. “I think we had some issues with it from Salem,” he said. “It was a really good car, though. It was good all weekend. I think I kind of over drove it a little bit because of that and, eventually, we blew the right front.” Pole sitter Kyle Benjamin led the first 21 laps before Schrader got under him while the two were battling lapped traffic. On lap 44, Benjamin’s car slowed and went off the pace and pitted for problems. The race will be re-broadcast on SPEED at noon Monday.
About ARCA
The Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) is among the leading auto racing sanctioning bodies in the country. Founded in 1953 by John and Mildred Marcum, the organization administers more than 100 events each year in multiple racing series, including the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards, the ARCA/CRA Super Series, the ARCA Truck Series and the ARCA Midwest Tour, plus weekly racing at Toledo and Flat Rock Speedways.
Toledo, Ohio (AP) _ The official finish for Sunday’s Menards 200 at Toledo Speedway with starting position in parenthesis, driver, hometown, type of car, laps completed, and reason out of race, if any:
1. (2) Ken Schrader, Fenton, Mo., Chevrolet, 200; 2. (3) Mason Mingus, Brentwood, Tenn., Chevrolet, 200; 3. (4) Frank Kimmel, Clarksville, Ind., Toyota, 200; 4. (11) Justin Boston, Baltimore, Md., Toyota, 200; 5. (7) Matt Tifft, Hinckley, Ohio, Chevrolet, 200; 6. (10) Austin Wayne Self, Austin, Texas, Dodge, 200; 7. (6) Mason Mitchell, W. Des Moines, Iowa, Ford, 200; 8. (12) Josh Williams, Port Charlotte, Fla., Ford, 199; 9. (26) Kelly Kovski, Springfield, Ill., Dodge, 199; 10. (5) Tom Hessert, Cherry Hill, N.J., Dodge, 199; 11. (19) Brian Finney, Merritt Island, Fla., Chevrolet, 199; 12. (14) Kyle Weatherman, Wentzville, Mo., Dodge, 199; 13. (25) Milka Duno, Caracas, Venezuela, Chevrolet, 198; 14. (17) Blake Hillard, Owensboro, Ky., Chevrolet, 198; 15. (8) Grant Enfinger, Fairhope, Ala., Ford, 198; 16. (18) Bobby Gerhart, Lebanon, Pa., Chevrolet, 194; 17. (22) Roger Carter, Sunfield, Mich., Dodge, 193; 18. (24) Thomas Praytor, Mobile, Ala., Chevrolet, 192; 19. (27) Darrell Basham, Henryville, Ind., Chevrolet, 191; 20. (9) Taylor Ferns, Shelby Township, Mich., Toyota, 165; 21. (20) Jake Francis, Painesville, Ohio, Chevrolet, 121, clutch; 22. (13) Charles Evans, Jr., Pasadena, Texas, Ford, 93, handling; 23. (1) Kyle Benjamin, Easley, S.C., Chevrolet, 67, gear; 24. (28) Chris Bailey, Jr., South Park, Pa., Ford, 66, carburetor; 25. (21) Korbin Forrister, Cedar Town, Ga., Ford, 64, rear end; 26. (16) Spencer Gallagher, Las Vegas, Nev., Chevrolet, 52, accident; 27. (15) Cody Lane, Port Richey, Fla., Dodge, 19, rear end; 28. (29) James Hylton, Inman, S.C., Ford, 17, handling; 29. (30) Will Kimmel, Sellersburg, Ind., Ford, 2, handling; 30. (32) James Swanson, Clarksboro, N.J., Chevrolet, 2, handling; 31. (31) Dennis Strickland, Carleton, Mich., Ford, 1, handling.
Time of race: 1 hour, 19 minutes, 27 seconds; Margin of victory: 4.779 seconds; Lap leaders: Benjamin 1-22, Schrader 23-47, Enfinger 48-59, Schrader 60-126, Williams 127-129, Schrader 130-200.