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ALEXANDER, IN A BLAISE OF MIS GLORY

BROOKLYN MI, by Don Radebaugh - ARCA RE/MAX Series veteran Blaise Alexander, in his own Lisa Express-Central PA Auto Auction Pontiac, won the rain-delayed Michigan ARCA 200 Saturday afternoon at Michigan International Speedway. The Montoursville, Pennsylvania native kept runner-up finisher Frank Kimmel at bay to earn his third-career RE/MAX Series triumph.

“The last pit stop I came in third, and they got me out first,” Alexander said. “I knew I had a good car, but my biggest worry was pit stops, but they were awesome. They did better than a Winston Cup team. The car was fast; it was awesome. It was the best car I’ve had anywhere. It handled so good we got better mileage because of it. It was so fast I could play it safe and not drive all out on every lap. I took my time and tried not to overdrive it. I was just doing what I had to do.”

And while Alexander did what he had to do, his crew, made up entirely of volunteers, won the battle off pit road during the final caution, which put the eventual winner out front for good. When the green flag waved with less than 15 laps remaining, Kimmel, in Larry Clement’s Advance Auto Parts-Pork Ford, got within two lengths of Alexander, but in the end, lost the leader’s draft and fell back by nearly a second at the final stripe. Three-time MIS winner Tim Steele, in his own HS Die-Softech Ford, finished third after overcoming continual handling troubles with Rick Carelli, in the RE/MAX Int’l Chevrolet, trailing in fourth, the last car on the lead lap. Bruceton Mills, West Virginia rookie Richard Mitchell, in only his fourth career start, steered the Coach USA-Mountaineer Gaming Pontiac to a solid fifth place finish recording his career-best finish.

Three cautions slowed the event for 16 laps during the 100-lap race, but more often than not, green flag racing was the norm during the 200-miler which saw nine lead changes among five drivers. After a two-hour rain delay, Alexander, who won the Old Milwaukee Pole award, led four times for 44 laps while Kimmel held the top spot twice for 48 laps. “We were just a little too tight all day,” said Kimmel. “We tried and tried and I just about ran the wheels off it at the end trying to catch him. Blaise ran a great race and he deserved the win.” In addition, Carelli led five laps while Steele led two.

Former National Football League head coach Jerry Glanville led a lap and finished a respectable sixth in his own Loctite-Fricker’s Ford. It was Glanville’s third top-ten finish in five starts this year on the RE/MAX Series tour. Laurel, Mississippi driver Robert Burroughs stayed in the hunt all afternoon and finished seventh ahead of Kalamazoo, Michigan rookie Larry Hollenbeck who finished eighth in the SWAT Fitness Club Ford. It was Hollenbeck’s third top-ten finish after nine starts. Garfield, Minnesota rookie Rick Thoennes also had a career-best run finishing ninth with Walkerton, Indiana rookie Chad Blount completing the top-10 finishers in the Braun Mobility Products Chevrolet.

Alexander also won the Loctite Halfway Leader award as well as the National Pork Producers Pole-Win Bonus for winning from the pole. In addition, Alexander picked up the Quarter Master Comin’ Thru in the Clutch honors and the RJS Safety award bringing his total earnings for the afternoon to $24,395. Jason Jarrett, who finished 12th, won the ARCA Highest Finishing Rookie award while Soddy Daisy, Tennessee standout Ron Cox won the Hoosier Tire Hard Charger award for advancing the most positions, from 31st to 13th in the final running order. Steele earned the Thermo-Tec Cool Drive award.

Despite losing a lap in the pits, Richard Mitchell drove his Coach USA/Mountaineer Gaming/Forest River Motorhomes Pontiac to a fifth place finish Saturday afternoon in the ARCA RE/MAX Michigan 200 at the Michigan International Speedway.

Mitchell, the defending NASCAR Northeast region champion, started eighth and ran as high as fourth during the early stages of the race on the 2.0 mile superspeedway.

"We ran with the leader all day," Mitchell said, "but we were forced to pit early for fuel, and that put us out of sync with the front guys. The car was a little tight all day, but overall we were pretty please with our performance."

Mitchell fell back to seventh during the middle stage of the race, then charged past for mer National Football League coach Jerry Glanville to move into fifth during the final 15 circuits.

"We gambled on our final pit stop to put on four new tires," Mitchell added. "It really made the car better at the end. We were able to pass (Rick Carelli and Tim Steele) during the last ten laps, and we were closing in (on Frank Kimmel). I think we proved to everyone that we can run in this league."

Mitchell's next ARCA RE/MAX race will be Saturday, July 28th at the 2.5 mile Pocono Raceway.

The versatile ARCA RE/MAX Series travels next to the triangular-shaped Pocono Raceway for the Pepsi ARCA 200 on July 28 before heading off to the new Nashville Superspeedway for the Waste Management 200 on August 11 followed by a visit to the Illinois State Fairgrounds one-mile dirt oval in Springfield on August 19.

1 1 75 Blaise Alexander
2 2 46 Frank Kimmel
3 6 16 Tim Steele
4 3 05 Rick Carelli
5 8 54 Richard Mitchell
6 11 81 Jerry Glanville
7 5 53 Robert Burroughs
8 16 15 Larry Hollenbeck
9 14 52 Rick Thoennes
10 7 77 Chad Blount
11 10 65 Vern Slagh
12 4 67 Jason Jarrett
13 31 23 Ron Cox
14 13 1 Andy Belmont
15 20 48 Donny Morelock
16 22 25 Bill Eversole
17 19 24 Chuck Weber
18 24 5 Howard Rose
19 26 7 Roger Blackstock
20 32 84 Norm Benning
21 28 6 Tim Mitchell
22 9 17 AJ Henriksen
23 12 91 Jeff Falk
24 25 38 Greg Sarff
25 23 11 Jim Pate
26 27 51 Kevin Belmont
27 36 34 Mike Basham
28 33 4 Dennis English
29 34 60 Tony Altiere
30 37 64 Todd Antrican
31 15 21 Todd Bowsher
32 29 39 Dick Tracey
33 30 56 Eric Martin
34 21 0 Chuck Roumell
35 18 20 Kevin McGuire
36 17 28 Mike Buckley
37 38 18 Tom Sokoloski