Full Throttle

Veteran Ken Schrader dominated the Carolina 200 Sunday at Rockingham Speedway, but it was rookie Sean Caisse who walked off with the winner’s trophy. Schrader, after leading 185 of 200 laps, ran out of gas with less than three laps to go, opening the door for Caisse who sailed on through and into victory lane to earn his career-first victory in his sixth series start.

“Well I can say I’ve lost a lot of races before, not necessarily running out of fuel but tires going down or something; but I’ve never won a race this way,” said Caisse, who only led three laps all day. “I can tell you it feels just as good.”

Caisse, in the Venturini Motorsports Texas Corral-PME Engines Chevrolet, battled and chased Schrader all afternoon but could never find a way around the Fenton, Missouri driver until Schrader’s tank ran dry.

“I won the race but I didn’t beat him (Schrader). He was doing such a great job with throttle control. I did get to race him side by side for the lead. It would have been a lot sweeter if we could have all made one more pit stop and battle for the win to the end.”

Schrader, who made it to pit road, lost a lap in the exchange and returned to finish seventh.

“They (Caisse/Venturini Motorsports) were the best car for 200 laps and that’s what matters,” said Schrader. “I didn’t expect to go without a yellow for that long. (90 laps under green) I started conserving with about 40 laps to go but it wasn’t enough. I am proud of the show the ARCA Series put on today.”

Patrick Sheltra, in the BuckedUpShirts.com Dodge, finished second after leading eight laps. The Indiantown, Florida driver also snagged the point lead away from Justin Lofton, who went five laps down after an unscheduled pit stop relegated the Westmorland, California driver to 22nd in the final running order.

“The win last weekend got everything going and this whole program is building up momentum,” said Sheltra. “The racecar wasn’t used up as much as the tires were. The tires do wear quickly here so you have to have your stuff together. We came back from that penalty around lap 60 and I’m very proud of the guys. It’s still early to be talking about the points but hopefully we can keep the momentum rolling heading into the rest of the season.”

Matt Merrell, in the Win-Tron Racing ColinsHope.org Dodge, finished a career-best third.

“Just fighting through some lapped traffic,” said Merrell. “Nothing like putting a Rockingham stripe on the side of your car. Any laps you can get here is very beneficial for you in terms of gaining racing experience. These tires wear down so much more than the Late Model I raced here and so we just put it to the line for the entire time.”

Bryan Silas, in Andy Hillenburg’s Rockingham Speedway-Holland Pumps Chevrolet, finished a career-best fourth from the tail-end after changing a transmission in post qualifying.

Penske Development driver Parker Kligerman, in the Cunningham Motorsports Dodge, finished fifth. Kligerman also left the track tied for the lead in points with Sheltra.

The ARCA RE/MAX Series heads to Talladega Superspeedway next for the ARCA RE/MAX 250 Friday, April 24, live on SPEED at 5:00 PM ET.

Time of race: 1 hour, 54 minutes, 28 seconds; Margin of victory: 7.535 seconds; Caution flags: 5 for 39 laps; Lap leaders: Schrader 1-12, Sheltra 13-20, Schrader 21-106, Martel 107-110, Schrader 111-197, Caisse 198-200.

EDITOR’S NOTES: Alli Owens one of the two females in the starting line-up finished a very creditable 12th from her 17 starting position. Owens remained on the lead lap, averaging less than a half second slower than the leaders, until the long green flag when the duo of Schrader and Caisse finally put he a lap down.

Gabi DiCarlo in the Great Clips Toyota finished 14th after starting 24th.

Kevin Harvick dropped the green flag to start the event and should be commended for the job he did in the announcers booth. He displayed professionalism in not letting his ownership of the Ricky Carmichael Charter-Kevin Harvick Racing Chevrolet color his commentary. A job well done.

And finally, where the hell were the fans? It was a bit difficult to make an accurate assessment because of camera angles but it sure looked like less the 15,000 in attendance. If true it’s about 5k less than the inaugural event at the Rock in 2008.

Sad. And save your “rain in the area” excuse. It holds no water (pun not intended) with me.

Post Race Special Awards
Menards Pole Award by Ansell: Ken Schrader 24.698 seconds/145.761 mph
Highest Finishing Rookie: Matt Merrell/No. 32 Win-Tron Racing Dodge
Cometic Crew Chief of the Race: John Hayden/No. 60 BuckedUpShirts.com Dodge
Klotz Engine Mechanic of the Race: John Hayden/No. 60 BuckedUpShirts.com Dodge
CGS Imaging Hard Charger: Matt Merrell/No. 32 Win-Tron Racing Dodge (advanced 18 positions)
Aaron’s Lap Leader: Ken Schrader/No. 52 Ken Schrader Racing Chevrolet

TOP TEN UNOFFICIAL ARCA RE/MAX SERIES POINTS AFTER THE CAROLINA 200 AT ROCKINGHAM SPEEDWAY (4-19-09);1) Parker Kligerman, 620; 1) Patrick Sheltra, 620; 3) Justin Lofton, 575; 4) Frank Kimmel, 545; 5) Craig Goess, 510; 5) Bryan Silas, 510; 7) Tom Hessert, 470; Tim George Jr, 455; 9) Ken Weaver, 425; 9) Steve Arpin, 425; 9) Ken Schrader, 425.