DAYTONA  BEACH, Fla. — The three-day ARCA RE/MAX Series test at Daytona Int’l Speedway came to a conclusion Sunday evening, with 79 drivers and 68 race cars participating.
Through three days of action, there was only one incident and James Buescher, the youngest winner in RE/MAX Series history, posted the quickest lap of the weekend.
For the third-consecutive day, morning showers delayed the start of on-track activity, but a two-hour single-car session kicked off the final day of the test, with Ryan Fischer setting the pace at 181.605 miles per hour. Roush Fenway Racing teammates Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. and Eric Darnell were just off Fischer’s pace, each topping the 181 mph mark.
The balance of the day was then dedicated to drafting practice, and when the final checkered flag waved, Country Joe Racing’s Buescher had the fastest lap of the weekend, touring the 2.5 mile tri-oval at 182.960 mph.
Donny Lia, who ran a partial ARCA RE/MAX Series schedule in 2006, was second quickest in the afternoon drafting session, posting a speed of 182.678 in the No. 92 Toyota.
Newcomer John Townley, in the No. 65 RAB Racing Dodge, was third fastest at 182.615 mph, with Stenhouse and Darnell rounding out the top five. Thirty-five cars took to the track during the afternoon drafting session.
Darnell was quickest Friday on day one of testing, with a lap at 179.935 mph, while Dominick Casola and Matt Carter rounded out the top three.
Saturday saw Darnell remain at the top of the charts, picking up the pace to 180.545 mph, with Landon Cassill and Stenhouse filling the top three.
“I’ve been down here and watched once or twice and I’ve watched on TV,” Stenhouse said. “This is always what I wanted to do — to come down here and run stock cars and go everywhere else and run stock cars. But to come Daytona and run, it’s going to be pretty exciting the first few laps out there.”