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ARCA: Chicagoland Up Next
The ARCA Racing Series is back in action Friday at Chicagoland Speedway...
ARCA Communications  | http://www.arcaracing.com  |  Posted August 24, 2010   Toledo, OH
Chicagoland Speedway will host the ARCA Racing Series this weekend. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
After nearly one full month since last racing on a speedway, the drivers of the ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards will call on high horsepower this weekend as the series travels to the 1.5-mile Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill., for the Ansell Protective Gloves 150.

The 100-lap, 150-mile Ansell Protective Gloves 150 - the 15th of 20 series races this season - is scheduled to air live on SPEED at 6 p.m. ET on Friday with live timing and scoring and live audio coverage presented by ARCA Nation and the ARCA Racing Network at ARCARacing.com. Nine previous ARCA Racing Series races have been held at Chicagoland Speedway since it opened in 2001, and four have been won from the pole.

Current series standings leader and nine-time series champion Frank Kimmel won from the first starting position in 2003; former series competitors Chad Blount (2002), Steve Wallace (2006) and Michael McDowell (2007) also won from the pole. Eventual series champion Justin Lofton won at Chicagoland last season from the third starting position and became the sixth driver to win after starting in the top three.

Kimmel (No. 44 Ansell/Menards Ford) leads Tom Hessert (No. 77 Cherry Hill Classic Cars Dodge) by five points and Craig Goess (No. 81 Greenville Toyota of N.C. Toyota) by 10 points atop the ARCA Racing Series standings.

Patrick Sheltra (No. 60 Recycling Services/Ferguson Pipe Toyota) is only 40 points out of the lead and in hot pursuit after his first 2010 victory Sunday in Springfield, Ill. Mikey Kile (No. 25 Venturini Motorsports Toyota) is in fifth place, 45 points from the top, after a second-place run in Springfield. The top seven drivers in the standings are separated by just 130 points.

The series has featured six races on paved ovals exceeding one mile in distance this season; winners Bobby Gerhart (Daytona), Steve Arpin (Texas), Dakoda Armstrong (Talladega), Goess (Pocono - June), Kile (Michigan), and Robb Brent (Pocono - July) are all entered for the Ansell Protective Gloves 150.

Arpin (No. 55 Mike's Hard Lemonade Toyota) posted one of the two fastest times in an open test session at the track last week, driving a lap around the 1.5-mile oval in 30.829 seconds (175.160 mph) to finish behind only Goess, who led the day with a lap in 30.807 seconds (175.285 mph).

"We had a great test there last week and definitely have a car that could win the race," said Arpin. "But it's not going to be easy by any means. There were several other cars that were real strong at the test. It's going to be a hard-fought battle, but we're up for the challenge. Our strongest tracks this year have been intermediate tracks and I was pretty competitive at Chicagoland last year."

Grant Enfinger (No. 09 Beasley Allen Law Firm Ford) is the highest returning finisher from last year's race after finishing second to Lofton. Enfinger drove underneath Lofton on the fourth turn of the final lap, only to have Lofton edge him by less than one car length at the checkered flag.

Other returners from last season's top 10 include Kimmel (fifth), Joey Coulter (sixth), Goess (eighth), and Sheltra (ninth).

The opening practice begins at 5:30 p.m. ET Thursday, with final practice following from 9-10 a.m. ET on Friday. Menards Pole Qualifying presented by Ansell - which has produced 12 different pole winners in 13 qualifying sessions this season - follows at 12:30 p.m. ET Friday. Live audio coverage and live timing and scoring of all events will be available on ARCARacing.com.

The Ansell Protective Gloves 150 is the last of four in pursuit of the Bill France Four Crown, the season-within-a-season contest which rewards ARCA Racing Series drivers for success on a diverse slate of tracks. The Four Crown schedule has been comprised completely of the ARCA Racing Series races scheduled for August. Coulter (No. 16 Rip It Energy Fuel/Darrell Gwynn Foundation Chevrolet) leads Hessert by 25 points atop the Four Crown standings on the strength of his August 7 win at the 0.4-mile Berlin (Mich.) Raceway, a second-place finish on August 15 at the Thunderbolt Raceway road course at New Jersey Motorsports Park, and a fourth-place result on August 22 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds dirt oval.
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Ansell Involvement Key in Chicago Market

Ansell, the worldwide leader in protective hand wear, will serve as the title sponsor of the race, marking the second year of a partnership between the Red Bank, N.J. company and the speedway.

"It's great to have Ansell back on board with us," said Chicagoland Speedway president Craig Rust in a June press release. "Ansell has such a long-standing tradition of providing its clients with exactly what they need to succeed in safer and more productive work environments. We look forward to working with them to highlight the Ansell brand as well as grow the interest in our Ansell Protective Gloves 150 ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards race."

The race will run in conjunction with Ansell's summer launch of the Projex Series gloves, a new line of performance gloves for the DIY-er, as well as the residential construction and automotive industries.

"Ansell is excited to once again sponsor the Ansell Protective Gloves 150 at Chicagoland. Last year's sponsorship was a tremendous success. It afforded us the opportunity to meet with our customers and also introduce Ansell products to a wide range of new users," said Steve York, Director of Channel Development for Ansell. "Our plan for this year's race is to further expand and drive excitement around our experiential display that will educate the race fans on the hand protection options available from Ansell."

Ansell has been involved with ARCA since January 2009, and is the Official Safety Glove of the ARCA Racing Series, enhanced by a special award sponsorship for all 20 ARCA Racing Series races: The Menards Pole Award presented by Ansell. The marketing program is anchored by a business-to-business relationship between Ansell, the world's largest manufacturer of protective gloves and clothing, and Menards, the nation's third largest home improvement retailer. The sponsorship launched the Ansell line of hand protection products and made the product available for purchase in each of 253 Menards Home Improvement stores last April.

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