Talladega Racing Kicks Off Friday; Soddy Daisy Teams In The Field

  • Thursday, May 3, 2012
  • Kent Whitaker
Milka Duno
Milka Duno
photo by Catchfence.com

Racing returns to ‘Dega! Talladega Super Speedway will swell with fans, workers, drivers and teams. It will become one of the largest cities in the state of Alabama over the course of several days. Racing gets underway Friday May 4th, with the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards which is celebrating its 60th Anniversary season.

CoverageTime: 5 p.m. Eastern (4 p.m. Central).
TV: SPEED Channel
Radio: WTDR Thunder 92.7 FM of Alabama.
Feed: ARCARacing.com will feature live timing and scoring coverage, as well as live audio coverage of the race from WTDR Thunder 92.7 FM of Alabama.

The ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards will kick off Talladega Aarons Dream Weekend with the International Motorsports Hall of Fame 250 at Talladega Superspeedway on Friday, May 4th. ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards officials were forced to cancel Thursday afternoon Menards Pole Qualifying session due to prior rain.

All 43 eligible teams will start the International Motorsports Hall of Fame 250, and Matt Lofton, driver of the No. 16 Chevrolet for Coulter Motorsports, will start first in tomorrow's race. The team acquired the owner points of the No. 41 Chevrolet, last year's ARCA Racing Series champion. The previous year's owner points are used to set the field in instances where qualifying is cancelled in any of a season's first four races.

Locally, both teams from Hixson Motorsports in Soddy Daisy are in the field. The number 2 Realtor Ford Fusion driven by Thomas Praytor of Mobile, Ala., starts in the 16th spot and the number 28 Ford Fusion driven by Drew Charlson of New Bremen, Ohio starts in the 28th position.

Milka Duno returns to the drivers seat only days after she took a direct hit right in the driver’s door of her No. 6 Chevrolet during last week’s Kentuckiana Ford Dealers 200 at Salem Speedway on Sunday. Duno’s day ended on lap 39 after a dramatic full-speed broadside hit by the No. 82 car which was driven by Sean Corr.– an impact so severe that the car was completely destroyed in the process. Crew Chief Dave Leiner Jr. was able to speak with Duno on the radio immediately after the hit and knew right away that she was conscious. She was able to get out of the car on her own and walk away from the crash but is dealing with major bruising to her wrist and left side of her body. Even with a helmet on the hit was so hard that she chipped a tooth from contact inside the helmet. 

 “I’m really very upset and frustrated with what happened at Salem,” said Duno. “I race very competitively and very safely and yet this is not the first time that we’ve been caught up in action that we didn’t create or provoke. We started the sessions on Saturday and were doing exactly what we’re supposed to do – getting better in each session and then in qualifying, but then we lose four spots on the starting grid. It can be very discouraging. The hit was the hardest I’ve ever experienced and I’m bruised and sore.”

Duno rolls off in the 29th position in the number 6 Caracas Venezuela/ESR Chevrolet. 

(Kent Whitaker is a national cookbook author and culinary writer with 10 published books. He is also member of, and, an AUXCHEF trainer for the United States Coast Guard Aux. He and his wife Ally live in East Tennessee with their son Macee and two spoiled dogs. Kent's books are available, or can be ordered at, any book store or online at www.thedeckchef.com . Look for Kent on twitter at www.twitter.com/thekentwhitaker . )

ARCA Starting GridSTR         NO         DRIVER/HOMETOWN     TEAM & CAR      OWNER
1              16           Matt Lofton/Roxboro NC             Strutmasters.com Chevrolet       Joe Coulter
2              17           Chris Buescher/Prosper TX          Roulo Brothers Racing Ford         Russ Roulo
3              44           Frank Kimmel/Clarksville IN         Ansell-Menards Toyota Duke Thorson
4              25           Brennan Poole/The Woodlands TX          CJ Solar Band Chevrolet                Cathy Venturini
5              99           Brandon Davis/Huntington Beach CA      Roulo Brothers Racing Ford         Gary Roulo
6              1              Mikey Kile/Westlake LA                ModSpace Ford                Jennifer Belmont
7              52           Tom Hessert/Cherry Hill NJ          Federated Auto Parts Toyota     Ken Schrader
8              31           Mike Harmon/Birmingport AL    Wayne Peterson Racing Ford      Wayne Peterson
9              58           Chad Hackenbracht/Cornelius NC             Tastee Apple Chevrolet                Greg Hackenbracht
10           32           Brandon McReynolds/Mooresville NC    Win Tron-Turner Motorsports Chevrolet               Kevin Cywinski
11           15           Ryan Reed/Bakersfield CA           JDRF Chevrolet Bill Venturini
12           82           Sean Corr/Goshen NY    Empire Racing Ford         John Corr
13           23           Spencer Gallagher/Las Vegas NV              Allegiant Air Chevrolet   TJ Clark
14           55           Kevin Swindell/Germantown TN               Curb Records Toyota      Mike Curb
15           10           Bill Coffey/Danbury CT  Fast Track Driving School-Rockingham Chevrolet               Andy Hillenburg
16           2              Thomas Praytor/Mobile AL          Realtor Ford       Wayne Hixson
17           34           Darrell Basham/Henryville IN      Spirit Of Henryville Chevrolet     Darrell Basham
18           48           James Hylton/Inman SC                Radon.com Ford               James Hylton
19           68           Will Kimmel/Sellersburg IN          Tilted Kilt Ford   Bill Kimmel
20           02           Josh Williams/Port Charlotte FL South West Florida Cable Construction Ford        Theresa Williams
21           18           Tyler Speer/Woodstock GA         Fast Track Driving School-Rockingham Chevrolet               Dave McClure
22           06           Tommy O'Leary/Cygnet OH         Wayne Peterson Racing Ford      Wayne Peterson
23           35           Nelson Canache/Caracas Venezuela       Venezuela Tourism Toyota          Bill Venturini
24           5              Bobby Gerhart/Lebanon PA        Lucas Oil Slick Mist Chevrolet      Bill Gerhart
25           04           Larry Barford Jr./Denton MD      First Mariner Bank-Trauma Doc Dodge   Roger Carter
26           22           Alex Bowman/Tucson AZ             St. Jude Children's Research Hospital Dodge        Kerry Scherer
27           94           Steve Blackburn/Prestonburg KY              Pops Chevrolet-Harley Davidson Pikeville Chevrolet        Darrell Basham
28           28           Drew Charlson/New Bremen OH              Aluma Aluminum Trailers-Heitcamp Insurance Ford         Wayne Hixson
29           6              Milka Duno/Caracas Venezuela ESR Chevrolet    Jessica Sharp
30           7              George Cushman/Waterville NY               Vukelda Law Attorney-AIP-Beveridge Medical Dodge     Bill Gerhart
31           61           Joey Coulter/Miami Springs FL   RipIt Energy Fuel-Darrell Gwynn Foundation Chevrolet  Joe Coulter
32           11           Brett Hudson/Owensboro KY     Hudson Performance Drivelines Dodge Andy Hillenburg
33           66           Mark Thompson/Cartersville GA               Phoenix Air Toyota          Cathy Venturini
34           08           Clay Campbell/Martinsville VA   Mountain Dew Ford       Jeff Spraker
35           40           Greg Hutto Jr./Grand Bay AL       Affordable Auto Glass-Suncoast Auto Sales Dodge           Roger Carter
36           90           Zach Ralston/Springville IA           ORingSales.com Ford     Doug Stringer
37           30           Terry Jones/Amherstburg ON    Jones Group Dodge        Terry Jones
38           88           Buster Graham/Lafayette LA      Batters Dream-RoushYatesParts.com Ford           Howard Bixman
39           76           John Ferrier/Middletown NY      Mosquito Patch-St. Jude Children's Research Hospital Chevy       John Ferrier
40           78           Aleks Gregory/Baton Rouge LA TheMosquitoPatch.us Ford         Aleks Gregory
41           67           Roger Carter/Charlotte NC          Ron Paul Dodge                Dana Carter
42           97           Donnie Neuenberger/Edgewater MD    Carter Racing Chevrolet                Dana Carter
43           83           Mike Affarano/Shorewood IL     North Grand Auto Parts Chevrolet           Mike Affarano

Matt Lofton
Matt Lofton
photo by ARCA Racing
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