TALLADEGA, Ala. — Michael Annett, in the Pilot Travel Centers Toyota, made history Friday afternoon at Talladega Superspeedway, becoming the first driver in the 55-year history of the ARCA RE/MAX Series to bring the Toyota nameplate to victory lane.
Annett, in a Bill Davis Racing entry, fought off Roush Fenway Racing’s Colin Braun on the final lap and then edged eight-time series champion Frank Kimmel at the checkered flag by a half-car length to win the thrilling ARCA RE/MAX 250 in only his fourth series start.
“I knew they were going to try something (on the final lap),” said Annett. “Colin came to the outside of me going through the trio-val. We kind of got together. I just kept my left side on the yellow line, and when we got together it slowed down his momentum. Then Frank (Kimmel) decided to go with me, and that really helped. Frank raced me clean. You can’t ask for more out of your competitors.
“It was a learning experience throughout the race. We got shuffled back early, but I found out what the car needed to get back up front. And once we got up there, we pretty much stayed there.”
Meanwhile, Erin Crocker, who finished 18th, made history of her own by earning the 2007 Hoosier Tire Superspeedway Challenge championship, becoming the first female driver to win the award.
Kimmel, in addition to finishing second, clinched the 2007 Bill France Triple Crown Award, which is designed to measure a driver’s success on three very different tracks. This year’s edition of the award included a dirt track (DuQuoin State Fairgrounds), a short track (Salem Speedway) and a superspeedway (Talladega).
Dominick Casola, in Andy Belmont’s A. Casola Farms Ford, finished third, marking his career-best finish in his first restrictor-plate start. Casola was also the highest-finishing rookie and earned the Hoosier Tire Hard Charger honors for advancing the most positions.
Richard Johns finished fourth in the BeavEx Ford. Billy Venturini finished fifth in the Hampton Luxury Homes Chevrolet.
From start to finish, Annett was the dominant player in the show, leading 75 of the 94 laps that made up the 250-mile race. Braun was also a factor most of the way, leading eight laps before getting shuffled back to ninth at the finish.
Dario Franchitti made his stock-car debut in Chip Ganassi’s Target/Fuji Film Dodge and finished 17th, using the race as an entrance exam.
“I gained a huge amount of experience learning from the start of the race,” said Franchitti. “The first part of the race, I was drafting like an Indy car. I was getting up behind people and then I figured out it was more important who was pushing you than who is in front of you. Once I figured that out, I was getting into side drafting and everything started to come together.”
The finish:
(Driver, car, laps completed): 1. Michael Annett, Toyota, 94; 2. Frank Kimmel, Ford, 94; 3. Dominick Casola, Ford, 94; 4. Richard Johns, Ford, 94; 5. Billy Venurini, Chevrolet, 94; 6. Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 94; 7. Scott Speed, Toyota, 94; 8. Justin Marks, Dodge, 94; 9. Colin Braun, Ford, 94; 10. Max Dumarey, Ford, 94; 11. Bryan Clauson, Dodge, 94; 12. Mario Gosselin, Chevrolet, 94; 13. Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 94; 14. Jason Hedlesky, Ford, 94; 15. Tim McCreadie, Chevrolet, 94; 16. Patrick Sheltra, Chevrolet, 94; 17. Dario Franchitti, Dodge, 94; 18. Erin Crocker, Dodge, 94; 19. Bill Baird, Dodge, 94; 20. Marc Mitchell, Pontiac, 94; 21. Phillip McGilton, Ford, 94; 22. Bryan Silas, Chevrolet, 94; 23. Josh Krug, Chevrolet, 94; 24. Gabi DiCarlo, Chevrolet, 94; 25. Eric McClure, Chevrolet, 94; 26. Dexter Bean, Chevrolet, 94; 27. Robb Brent, Ford, 94; 28. Mark Thompson, Chevrolet, 94; 29. Ryan Fischer, Chevrolet, 94; 30. Eddie Mercer, Chevrolet, 87; 31. Tim Andrews, Dodge, 85; 32. Chase Austin, Dodge, 78; 33. Michael McDowell, Dodge, 72; 34. Brian Scott, Dodge, 72; 35. Josh Wise, Toyota, 72; 36. Billy Tanner, Chevrolet, 72; 37. Billy Leslie, Ford, 71; 38. Justin South, Dodge, 67; 39. Mike Ciochetti, Ford, 53; 40. Norm Benning, Chevrolet, 52; 41. Bobby Santos III, Toyota, 2.