Happy Hour For ARCA 200 Wasn't Too Happy

[PressRoom-GFN]

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Feb. 8, 2008) -- For most, Happy Hour serves as one final shot to sort out the kinks before the big show. For others, it can spell disaster.

After three days of testing in December at Daytona International Speedway, five hours of practice Thursday, and 64 cars qualified Friday, there were literally no on-track incidents. That was until Happy Hour late Friday afternoon when, on lap two, Roush Fenway Racing rookie Ricky Stenhouse Jr. lost control of his K&N Ford off turn two, hit the outside wall and collected Bill Baird as he bounced off. Both destroyed their primary machines. Both quickly unloaded backup cars. They will have to start at the end of the 43-car field for Saturday’s race. Stenhouse would have started sixth and Baird 17th. Now, they’ll go from 42nd and 43rd in untried backups.

“That’s why we don’t go out in Happy Hour,” said Michael Annett, who qualified third for Saturday’s ARCA 200 at Daytona. “We just put a cover on it and leave it sit.”

Dexter Bean, who was initially on the fence about going out in Happy Hour, decided to go. It paid off. Bean, just as his Glock sponsor reps arrived, put up the fastest lap in ARCA RE/MAX Series Speedweeks with a top lap of 183.617 mph.

Cunningham Motorsports-Dodge Development driver Tayler Malsam looked very sharp in Happy Hour, timing in second quickest overall at 183.576 mph. Kyle Krisiloff, Brad Baker and John Wes Townley completed the top-five positions.

Of the 43 machines that will start in Saturday’s race, 28 cars elected to take their changes in Happy Hour, including nine-time series champion Frank Kimmel, who was 16th fastest overall and five-time Daytona winner Bobby Gerhart, who was 23rd on the board.

Saturday’s ARCA 200 will be televised live on SPEED at 4 p.m. EST.

FINAL HAPPY HOUR RESULTS
POS NO DRIVER/HOMETOWN TIME SPEED
1. 37 Dexter Bean/Westby WI 49.015 183.617
2. 4 Tayler Malsam/Sammamish WA 49.026 183.576
3. 7 Kyle Krisiloff/Indianapolis IN 49.043 183.512
4. 47 Brad Baker/Nashville TN 49.172 183.031
5. 09 John Wes Townley/Watkinsville GA 49.209 182.893
6. 11 Bryan Silas/Stuart FL 49.225 182.834
7. 39 J.R. Heffner/Stephentown NY 49.254 182.726
8. 00 Ed Kennedy/Coppell TX 49.262 182.697
9. 1 Tom Hessert III/Cherry Hill NJ 49.309 182.522
10. 60 Patrick Sheltra/Indiantown FL 49.407 182.160
11. 19 Jack Bailey/Huntersville NC 49.416 182.127
12. 22 Ken Butler III/Sherrills Ford NC 49.453 181.991
13. 90 Gabi DiCarlo/Phoenix AZ 49.496 181.833
14. 12 Alli Owens/Daytona Beach FL 49.515 181.763
15. 72 Dawayne Bryan/Lakeland FL 49.551 181.631
16. 44 Frank Kimmel/Clarksville IN 49.552 181.627
17. 94 Max Dumarey/North Haverhill NH 49.591 181.485
18. 32 Dominick Casola/Holmdel NJ 49.615 181.397
19. 93 Pierre Bourque/Ottawa Ontario 49.690 181.123
20. 24 Mike Harmon/Birmingport AL 49.695 181.105
21. 46 Matt Carter/Denver NC 49.715 181.032
22. 21 Mario Gosselin/Lake Wales FL 49.743 180.930
23. 5 Bobby Gerhart/Lebanon PA 49.751 180.901
24. 75 Brian Scott/Boise ID 49.752 180.897
25. 52 Bill Baird/Sarasota FL 49.934 180.238
26. 38 Danny Sammons/Hamilton NJ 50.284 178.983
27. 45 Nur Ali/Fort Worth TX 50.301 178.923
28.99 Ricky Stenhouse Jr./Olive Branch MS 50.340 178.784

###

Courtesy of ARCA