DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The competition for starting spots in Saturday’s 45th-annual ARCA 200 ARCA RE/MAX Series race at Daytona Int’l Speedway will be intense to say the least.
As of Feb. 1, 74 entries had been filed for teams hoping to gain starting spots in the 41-car field that will kick off stock-car Speedweeks at the 2.5-mile superspeedway.
Many of the entries come from NASCAR teams, which are fielding cars for developmental drivers. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is listed as the car owner for Hendrick Motorsports driver Landon Cassill in the No. 88 Stanley-Vidmar-Proto Chevrolet.
Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates has filed an entry for 2007 Indy 500 winner Dario Franchitti, who will be a rookie in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series this season.
Roush Fenway Racing has entered USAC graduate Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. in a Roush Fenway-prepared Ford.
Bill Davis Racing has filed an entry with Mike Annett as the driver of Davis’ Toyota Camry. The team made history last year at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway where Annett drove to victory lane, marking the first win for the Toyota nameplate in ARCA RE/MAX Series competition.
Rusty Wallace, Inc. has filed an entry for dirt-track graduate Chase Austin, while West Coast sprint-car ace Tayler Malsam will drive for Cunningham/Dodge Motorsports.
Former Formula One driver Scott Speed will pilot the No. 2 Eddie Sharp Racing entry.
Nine-time series champion Frank Kimmel has filed an entry under his new Kimmel Racing banner with an assist from Cunningham Motorsports.
Kimmel’s former ride, the Larry Clement-owned No. 46 Ford, will now be occupied by Matt Carter, who is the son of longtime NASCAR team owner Travis Carter.
The team is expected to run the full schedule in 2008.
The entry list will also include senior statesmen Bill Baird (58) and James Hylton (73). If either driver were to win the race, he would become the oldest winner in superspeedway history.
Five-time Daytona winner Bobby Gerhart has filed a pair of entries. He’ll drive the No. 5 Chevrolet, with Kyle Krisiloff in the No. 7.
For more information on the ARCA 200, log onto www.arcaracing.com.