Kern edges Wallace for top speed in 7UP 150 practice
Kern edges Wallace for top speed in 7UP 150 practice
(TOLEDO, Ohio – April 11, 2014) – After fours of practice for the 7UP 150, Fremont, Ohio’s Ali Kern had the fastest car as she, along with 40 other cars, prepped for the second Border Wars race at Toledo Speedway.
Kern turned the fastest lap of the day at 15.565 seconds. The 2013 ARCA/CRA Super Series Rookie of the Year ran the lap in 115.644 seconds in the fourth and final practice session of the day.
The combined ARCA/CRA Super Series and ARCA Midwest Tour event continues Saturday at Toledo Speedway.
On-track action Saturday includes a practice from 10-11:30 a.m., qualifying at 1 p.m. and the last chance race at 3 p.m. The weekend culminates with the featured 150-lap event on Toledo Speedway’s high-banked, half-mile, paved oval, the 7-Up 150, following the last chance race and an on-track autograph session.
Kern was just faster than Stephen Wallace in that practice session, which concluded just after 7 p.m., ending the days’ activities.
FINLEY FASTEST IN SESSION II
Chad Finley of Dewitt, Mich. was the fastest in the middle practice session with a top lap speed of 15.819 seconds.
He said the car was fast right from the start Friday.
“We haven’t really had to change anything,” he said. “This is the best car I’ve ever had here.”
Dewitt said he expects a quiet first half of the race on Saturday.
“One hundred and fifty laps is a lot of laps to go on one set of tires,” he said. “I think people are going to kind of take it easy the first half of the race, but the last 50 laps are going to be interesting.”
Finley was ninth in the 7UP 150 last year.
WIMMER, HAMLIN HELPING COUGHLIN
Among those in Cody Coughlin’s team helping the 18-year-old Ohio native are former NASCAR Nationwide Series driver Scott Wimmer and Kevin Hamlin, former NASCAR Sprint Cup crew chief for Richard Childress Racing.
Coughlin was the 2013 JEGS/All Stars Tour champion who tested at Toledo earlier this week. He will return in May for the Menards 200 in a Venturini Motorsports car.
FORMER ASA CHAMPION WITH WILSON TEAM
Butch Miller, an ASA Champion and former Toledo Speedway feature winner, was in the garage Friday giving an assist to Donnie Wilson of Oklahoma City, OK.
2013 WINNER NOT ENTERED
Johnny VanDoorn captured an exciting 2013 7UP 150, but instead of trying to defend his win, he’s steering the development side of racing now. This year, he’s helping the No. 48 of Dewayne Baker of Stayner, Ontario.
VanDoorn holds the ARCA/CRA Super Series track record at Toledo. He established the mark last year with a lap of 15.197, or 118.444 mph.
Baker is one of three Canadian drivers in the race.
STRICKLAND FAST
No one in the field has turned as many laps at Toledo Speedway than Dennis Strickland. The Carleton, Michigan, resident lives less than a half-hour from the track and has 11 career ARCA championships, including multiple track titles at Toledo
Strickland was in the top 10 in speeds during the first practice session Friday.