Full Throttle

ARCA RE/MAX Series regular Michael McDowell, in an Eddie Sharp Racing Dodge, drove away from Cale Gale’s Kevin Harvick-owned Chevrolet to handily win Friday night at Kentucky Speedway.

McDowell’s first ever ARCA RE/MAX win was punctuated by the fact he led 68 of 100 laps and slayed all nine NASCAR affiliated giants and their development drivers that started the event.

Gale, who led 24 laps, finished second 4.573 seconds away.

The ARCA RE/MAX Series is known as a place to develop new talent and that proved to be the case tonight,” said Gale. “The development teams keep getting stronger and I think pretty much every Cup team was represented in this race today except for maybe Gibbs. We had a long green flag run in the middle there and that helped us. We were just too tight at the end of the race.”

Bobby Santos, III, in the Bill Davis Trucking Toyota, finished third tying his career-best finish. Alex Yontz, in the Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, finished fourth.

Earlier in the evening Evernham Motorsports development driver Erin Crocker surpassed Patty Moise as the ARCA RE/MAX Series’ all-time female pole winner, earning her fifth career pole, and third at Kentucky. Her speed of 177.515 mph was good enough to break a track record set by Steve Wallace in 2006.

Crocker finished fifth after leading the first eight laps.