Kimmel's King on Du Quoin's Dirt
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[ Frank Kimmel and the winners circle at the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds are certainly no strangers to each other.
Monday, the two became acquainted once again. For the fifth time, in fact.
Kimmel led 96 of 102 green flag laps, holding back a late charge by Patrick Sheltra to win the ARCA RE/MAX Super-Car Series Federated Auto Parts Southern Illinois 100 on a brutally hot Perry County afternoon.
NASCAR's Ken Schrader, the defending two-time race winner, flew all night follwowing the Nextel Cup event in Fontana, Cal. and finished third.
Dexter Bean weathered a pair of pit stops to place fourth.
Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., was fifth and closed to within 75 points of ARCA points leader and eighth place finisher Scott Speed.
Stenhouse broke Bryan Tyler's three year-old record qualification run (109.436 MPH) during time trials.
Kimmel's now fourth with four races remaining, some 200 points behind Speed.
"I look forward to running here all year long and it means a lot to pick up a win at Du Quoin," Kimmel said. "That's two in a row for the Drive One Kimmel Racing team and we are feeling pretty darn good right now."
Kimmel now owns his Ford Drive One-Holiday Inn of Mt. Vernon Ford Fusion and is part-owner of the Drive One Kimmel team.
Monday, he again owned the rock-hard clay and surface of the Magic Mile.
Stenhouse led lap #1 before Kimmel barged ahead. From there, the Indiana native surrendered first place just once the rest of the way.
Following a pit stop on the 26th circuit, Kimmel trailed James Buescher until going back in front five laps later.
When A.J. Fike made contact with turn three wall on lap 97, Sheltra made a hard charge on the restart. He briefly nosed ahead of Kimmel, but fell back by one length at the final stripe.
"This was Frank's day and that's all there was to it," Sheltra said. "I really don't thnik anyone out there had anything for him. Even on fresh tires."
The ARCA series continues its Illinois swing with the Chicagoland 200 Saturday at Joliet.
Order of Finish
Frank Kimmel, Patrick Sheltra, Ken Schrader, Dexter Bean, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Matt Carter, Kelly Kovski, Scott Speed, James Buescher, Bryan Silas, John Wes Townley, Justin Lofton, Tayler Malsam, Brent Glastetter, Tom Hestert III, Justin Allgaier, Doug Keller, Eddie Pearson, Ken Butler III, Norm Benning, Darrell Basham, Gabi DiCarlo, Lance Stott, Kyle Chaddy, Bob Strait, AJ Fike, Donny Kelley, Mike Harmon, Dale Shearer, AJ Henricksen, Bryan Tyler, Michael Phelps, Brad Smith, Charlie Vest, James Hylton, Wayne Peterson, Justin Koch, Ron Cox, Greg Seevers.
, Mark Littleton (DNS), Tim Mitchell (DNS).