Feese Grabs Outside ARCA Pole at Talladega
TALLADEGA, Ala. (Sept. 30, 2004) - At Talladega Superspeedway, where teamwork can play a major role in the outcome of a race, Hendrick Motorsports looks to be in prime position for Saturday’s ARCA Series season finale after placing a pair of cars in the top 10 during qualifying at the 2.66-mile tri-oval.
Participating in Hendrick’s driver development program, Blake Feese earned the outside pole position for the Food World 300 in Friday’s time trials, posting a fast lap of 51.832 seconds in the No. 94 CARQUEST Chevrolet.
“I’m a little disappointed that we’re not on the pole,” said Feese, who registered the quickest lap in qualifying practice. “But these guys did an awesome job getting the car ready and I think we’ll be in good shape for Saturday.
“I’m looking forward to learning a bit more and getting a feel for the draft in practice tomorrow before we go racing. I’ve got great equipment, so I know we’re going to be very competitive in the CARQUEST Monte Carlo.”
An accomplished sprint-car driver from Saybrook, Ill., Feese has earned top-10 finishes in each of his three ARCA starts this season, including an April 9 victory at Nashville, Tenn. The 22-year-old is joined by veteran crew chief Gary DeHart, who is heading up the Hendrick effort.
Feese was followed by teammate Boston Reid, who will start 10th in the No. 7 ditech.com Chevy after a lap of 52.360 seconds.
Also making his fourth ARCA appearance of 2004, Reid, 21, is driving a Bobby Gerhart Racing-prepared Chevrolet at the historic high-banked track. The Logansport, Ind., native has posted three top-10 finishes on the circuit this year.
Since its inception in April, the Hendrick Motorsports driver development program has posted two first-place finishes and nine top-10 results in nine ARCA races with the Gerhart team and drivers Feese, Reid and 18-year-old Kyle Krisiloff, who won Sept. 11 at Chicagoland Speedway.
Frank Kimmel, who has already clinched his fifth ARCA championship going into Saturday’s race, will start from the pole position, posting a lap of 51.750 seconds in his No. 46 entry.