Full Throttle

Alli Owens, in the No. 19 ElectrifyingCareers.com Toyota, was fastest during a three-hour ARCA RE/MAX Series practice session at Talladega Superspeedway on Thursday afternoon.

Kelly Bires, Bobby Gerhart, Justin Lofton and Mark Thompson rounded out the top-five. The practice session was in preparation for the ARCA RE/MAX Series 250, which rolls off live on SPEED at 4 p.m. Central/5 p.m. Eastern on Friday.

ARCA Champions Honored this Weekend

The ARCA RE/MAX Series has been a staple at Talladega Superspeedway since 1969 and over the years, many drivers have counted on race events at Talladega Superspeedway as a key component of ARCA Championship runs. This weekend, several ARCA RE/MAX Series Champions are on site at Talladega Superspeedway and will be recognized for their accomplishments.

On Thursday night, 2008 ARCA RE/MAX Series Champion Justin Allgaier, who currently competes for Penske Racing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, will formally accept a plaque to commemorate his ARCA Championship at the International Motorsports Hall of Fame Induction Ceremonies at Talladega Superspeedway. Allgaier won the ARCA RE/MAX 250 at Talladega Superspeedway last year en route to the championship. Nine-time ARCA RE/MAX Series Champion Frank Kimmel will present the plaque to Allgaier at the black-tie ceremony and several former ARCA Champions will be in attendance.

On Friday, ARCA Champions will be recognized during pre-race ceremonies before the ARCA RE/MAX 250, including two-time ARCA RE/MAX Series Champion Bill Venturini, who holds the all-time speed record at Talladega with a 205.432 mph (46.614 seconds) lap in 1987. Venturini will be the Grand Marshall on Friday and will lead the starting field to the green flag in the track’s official pace car. 1989 ARCA RE/MAX Series Champion Bob Keselowski, the father of current NASCAR Nationwide Series drivers Brian and Brad Keselowski, will serve as the honorary starter for Friday’s ARCA race.

Former ARCA Champions competing in the ARCA race at Talladega this weekend include Kimmel and Bill Baird.

Next up: Menards Pole Award Qualifying presented by Ansell

The starting field for Friday’s ARCA RE/MAX 250 at Talladega Superspeeday will be set following the Menards Pole Award presented by Ansell qualifying session, which begins at 5:05 p.m. Central. The fastest 32 cars from the qualifying session will be locked into the ARCA RE/MAX 250. Positions 33 through 36 are reserved for car owners based on final 2008 ARCA RE/MAX Series Car Owner Point Standings, while positions 37-42 are reserved for “Golden A” eligible teams who competed in 100 percent of the Series’ races in 2008. Position 43 is made available for a past ARCA RE/MAX Series champion. If no past champion is in need of a provisional, the position is made available to a Golden A eligible team who competed in 100 percent of the Series’ races in 2008. If no additional Golden A teams are eligible for a provisional, the position will go to the next eligible team based on the final 2008 ARCA RE/MAX Series Car Owner Point Standings.

ARCA RE/MAX 250 Live on SPEED

The ARCA RE/MAX 250 at Talladega Superspeedway will be aired live on SPEED beginning at 5 p.m. Eastern (4 p.m. Central) on Friday. In addition to SPEED’s live coverage of the race, live timing and scoring and audio coverage of the race will be available on arcaracing.com and locally on WTDR Thunder 92.7 FM.

UPDATE: Alli Owens backed-up her strong practice time and qualified 6th tripping the timing lights at 51.402 a tenth of a second behind pole winner Ton Hessert.