ARCA: Rookie Kile takes Michigan win

Mikey Kile had seen this race before. Six days ago, in fact, at Pocono. This time, the driver of the No. 25 Sears Auto Center/DieHard Toyota came up on the other side of the tale, winning the Racing for Wildlife 200 along the way.

Kile led the final 26 of 100 laps at Michigan International Speedway for his first career victory in the ARCA Racing Series Presented by RE/MAX and Menards, reversing the fortune - or misfortune - he had experienced in the hills of Pennsylvania just one race prior. The victory came in what was just Kile's 16th start in the series.

The 27-year-old from Louisiana was quick to thank his Venturini Motorsports crew, who worked diligently to prepare the car that had led 67 of 80 laps at Pocono, only to finish second when unlucky timing on a series of pit stops had its way.

"These guys got home at 3 in the morning on Sunday, and worked so hard to turn the motor around, just to have it ready to leave on Tuesday morning," Kile said. "I wanted to get this win for these guys more than anything. I'm speechless."

Craig Goess started from the pole and dominated, moving his No. 81 Greenville Toyota of N.C. Toyota to a lead of more than one second within two laps and over six seconds by the time the first of two caution flags came out on the race's 27th lap, the result of a blown front right tire on the No. 99 Ford of Josh Richards.

Goess continued to lead through the middle stages of the race and saw his advantage exceed four seconds. When he pitted on Lap 75, Kile assumed the lead. Goess, with his seemingly insurmountable lead, figured to retake the lead when Kile would later be forced to pit, but he could not predict Chase Mattioli's spinning of the No. 17 Ford off of Turn 4 on the race's 77th lap.

Kile was allowed to pit under the yellow flag just laps later, held the lead as the race restarted after 82 laps, and simply drove away from the field, winning by a margin of 4.637 seconds.

Almost unbelievably, the race had taken on a tone incredibly similar to the event of a week ago, but with the major players and their roles switched.

"The caution came out and I knew (Goess) pitted. Last week, when the caution came out, we didn't need it," Kile said. "This week, I said, 'Is that good or bad?' I heard, 'Man, it's like Christmas.' So I knew we'd be in good shape. We pitted, and then I saw the 81 starting on the tail end of the lead lap, right in front of us.

"I knew (Goess) and I were the class of the field, so with him there, I just raced my own race and hoped like heck we didn't get a caution at the end."

Joey Coulter made his No. 16 Rip It Energy Fuel/Darrell Gwynn Foundation Chevrolet one of just five cars on the lead lap for the last restart, and his strategy paid off with a second-place finish, the fourth of his career.

"My crew chief made some great calls and we got better on every stop. The last stop was the best the car felt all day," said Coulter, who celebrated his 20th birthday earlier in the week and also finished second at Toledo Speedway two races ago.

Patrick Sheltra continued his run of consistency, finishing third and nailing down his eighth consecutive top-10 finish to start the season. Sheltra remains the ARCA Racing Series points leader, a distinction he will carry to the series' next race at Iowa Speedway on July 10.

"We ended up third, and that's what we need to keep doing for the points lead here. We'll top-10 and top-five them to death, and the wins will come," said the driver of the No. 60 Recycling Services/Ferguson Pipe Toyota.

Justin Marks finished fourth to maintain the second position in the standings, and two-time Michigan winner Frank Kimmel was fifth.

Goess ended the race in sixth, followed by Michigan resident Chad Finley, Tim George Jr., Bryan Silas, and Robb Brent, also of Michigan.

ARCA Racing Series results – Round 8, Racing for Wildlife 200, Michigan International Speedway

1 2 25 Mikey Kile/Westlake LA Sears Auto Center-DieHard Toyota 100 Running
2 8 16 Joey Coulter/Miami Springs FL Rip It Energy Fuel-Darrell Gwynn Foundation Chevrolet 100 Running
3 3 60 Patrick Sheltra/Indiantown FL Recycling Services-Ferguson Pipe Toyota 100 Running
4 12 32 Justin Marks/Rocklin CA Construct Corps Toyota 100 Running
5 9 44 Frank Kimmel/Clarksville IN Ansell-Menards Ford 100 Running
6 1 81 Craig Goess/Greenville NC Greenville Toyota of NC Toyota 100 Running
7 18 29 Chad Finley/Lansing MI Auto Value Service Centers-Air Lift Company Chevrolet 99 Running
8 14 31 Tim George Jr./New York NY RCR Development Chevrolet 99 Running
9 10 11 Bryan Silas/Stuart FL Rockingham Speedway-PBG Ford 99 Running
10 19 36 Robb Brent/Shelby Township MI Orchard Chrysler Dodge Jeep Dodge 99 Running
11 6 22 Dakoda Armstrong/New Castle IN Ferrellgas Dodge 99 Running
12 5 6 Nelson Piquet/Brasilia Brazil Qualcomm-ESR Development Toyota 99 Running
13 27 15 Alli Owens/Daytona Beach FL ElectrifyingCareers.com Chevrolet 99 Running
14 16 5 Bobby Gerhart/Lebanon PA Lucas Oil Chevrolet 99 Running
15 13 77 Tom Hessert/Cherry Hill NJ Cherry Hill Classic Cars Dodge 98 Running
16 22 27 Michael Simko/Clarkston MI Wolverine Power Systems Chevrolet 98 Running
17 15 1 Chad McCumbee/Supply NC Modspace-Red Cross Disaster Relief Ford 98 Running
18 21 82 Sean Corr/Goshen NY Empire Racing LLC Ford 97 Running
19 28 14 Nick Igdalsky/Long Pond PA Modspace-Red Cross Disaster Relief Ford 95 Running
20 23 58 Chad Hackenbracht/New Philadelphia OH Tastee Carmel Apples Chevrolet 95 Running
21 24 76 Jerick Johnson/Faribault MN American Legion-David Law Firm Chevrolet 94 Running
22 30 23 Frank Wilson/Belmont WV Drug Testing Centers of America Chevrolet 94 Running
23 26 17 Chase Mattioli/Long Pond PA JoinAPS.com-Shriners Hospital Ford 93 Running
24 34 26 Brad Smith/Shelby Township MI ApplianceZone.com Ford 92 Running
25 33 34 Darrell Basham/Henryville IN Darrell Basham Racing Chevrolet 92 Running
26 25 70 Tony Palumbo/Frankfort IL NOTW Ford 91 Running
27 29 7 Kent Schenkel/Huntington IN Schenkel Racing Dodge 91 Running
28 38 10 Rick Clifton/Circleville OH Fast Track High Performance Driving School Chevrolet 90 Running
29 20 3 Brent Brevak/Ashland WI Brevak Racing Dodge 84 Running
30 36 48 James Hylton/Inman SC Radon.com Ford 83 Running
31 35 28 Rob Jones/Bowie MD Hixson Construction Chevrolet 80 Running
32 40 94 Jason Basham/Henryville IN Darrell Basham Racing Chevrolet 77 Wheel Bearing
33 7 55 Steve Arpin/Fort Frances ON Mike's Hard Lemonade Chevrolet 68 Overheating
34 4 42 Clay Rogers/Troutman NC Beard Oil-Conoco Philips Lubricants Chevrolet 67 Clutch
35 17 09 Grant Enfinger/Fairhope AL BeasleyAllen.com-Roush Yates Performance Products Ford 53 Alternator
36 11 99 Josh Richards/Shinnston WV Will Kinser Autism-Roush Yates Performance Products Ford 25 Accident
37 31 30 Terry Jones/Amherstburg ON Jones Group Racing Dodge 22 Engine
38 37 06 Dennis Strickland/Carleton MI Wayne Peterson Racing Ford 17 Engine
39 32 59 Mark Gibson/Winder GA G Force Racing Dodge 4 Handling
40 41 96 Mike Buckley/Ann Arbor MI ApplianceZone.com Ford 3 Battery
41 39 68 Larry Meadors/Louisville KY Mark Gibson Racing Chevrolet 1 Handling

Championship Standings (after 8 rounds)

1) Patrick Sheltra 1885;
2) Justin Marks 1850;
3) Mikey Kile 1810;
4) Craig Goess 1750;
5) Frank Kimmel 1720;
6) Tom Hessert 1655;
7) Dakoda Armstrong 1645;
8) Steve Arpin 1630;
9) Tim George, Jr. 1585;
10) Robb Brent 1555.

Next round: 10 July, Prairie Meadows 200, Iowa Speedway.

Watch ARCA Racing Series highlights as part of Motors TV’s winter programming.


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