DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — For Frank Kimmel, the three-day ARCA RE/MAX test at Daytona Int’l Speedway marked a new beginning in his racing career.
After 10 seasons driving Larry Clement’s Tri-State Motorsports, the nine-time defending ARCA champion has formed a new team with brother and crew chief Bill Kimmel called Kimmel Racing with Cunningham Motorsports.
During last weekend’s test, Frank didn’t drive his traditional No. 46 Ford, but instead a white unsponsored No. 44 Dodge.
“It’s a pretty important day for us, the whole weekend really,” said Kimmel, a 45-year-old native of Clarksville, Ind. “A new manufacturer in Dodge ... we’ve never been in one of these cars before. We’re looking forward to seeing what we got.”
His decision to form his own operation has a lot to do with 17-year-old-son Frank Kimmel II and Will Kimmel, the 19-year-old son of Bill. Both Frank and Will are aspiring racers.
“Bill and I went on our own trying to build something for ourselves,” Frank Kimmel said. “My nephew Will wants to race, my son Frankie wants to race. We felt like while our stock is still pretty good, we ought to try to do it on our own.”

• Come Feb. 9, ARCA fans will have one last shot to see a legend tour the 31-degree high banks of historic Daytona Int’l Speedway.
“This will be my last time to race here at Daytona,” said 73-year-old James Hylton while testing Saturday at Daytona. “I want to go out on a high note. I want to win the ARCA race here in February and I’d like to make the Daytona 500. That would be a great way to finish my run here at Daytona.”
Hylton, who tested a No. 48 Chevrolet for owner John Carter, has been a mainstay at DIS since 1959 when the facility first opened.

• Wayne Reutimann enjoyed his first taste of DIS.
David Reutimann remembers his first laps around historic Daytona Int’l Speedway and didn’t want to miss his cousin Wayne’s first experience there.
David, who drives for Michael Waltrip Racing in the NASCAR Nextel Cup and Busch series, was in attendance Saturday as cousin Wayne prepared for the ARCA 200 on Feb. 9 at DIS.
David formed a race team this off-season for his cousin, Wayne, to compete in select ARCA races that are held in conjunction with Nextel Cup events.
“I would have liked to have been here yesterday to actually be able to see him make his first laps,” David said. “I still remember how it felt when I made my first laps around Daytona. I’m just glad we actually made it (here). Things kind of came together at the last minute.”
Wayne has raced sprint cars and USAC Silver Crown cars.
“This has come about because of my cousin David,” Wayne said. “He got to the point that it was kind of time for us to try to run a few ARCA shows and get some speedway experience and I was like ‘Heck ya, I’ll do that.’ Yesterday, we got to roll out a stock car for the first time on Daytona. I can’t explain to you what that was like but it was pretty awesome.
“To put it in perspective, I’ll have between six to 10 family members here today because you only get to go to Daytona once in your life. They are millions of people that want to be here and drive a race car around here. For me to be able to do it is pretty special.”

• Scott Speed’s first visit to Daytona was “very cool.”
“I’ve never been here before, so it’s very cool to see the home of stock-car racing,” said the former Formula One driver. Speed made his first ARCA start at Talladega Superspeedway in October.
“Daytona is quite a bit more difficult to drive than Talladega, especially in the draft because the track is a bit more bumpy, especially where the two tunnels are,” the 24-year-old pointed out. “I think in February you’re going to see more of the guys that can drive better in the front of the pack as opposed to Talladega where they hang out in the back.”

• Bobby Gerhart, who owns a record five ARCA 200 victories, gave a thumbs-up on his health during the final day of ARCA 200 testing.
Gerhart was diagnosed with a left brachial plexus injury and a T6 compression fracture after an accident at Pocono Raceway in early August. The injury cut short his season and he has been rehabbing with the goal of getting back in the driver’s seat for this weekend’s three-day test.
“I feel great,” Gerhart said. “It’s probably the best therapy that I could have. I’m in real good shape. I got a clean bill of health and I’m all healed up. I’ve been exercising. I’ve hired a trainer for about a month and a half. By February, I’ll be better than I have in about 10 years. It just feels good to be back at Daytona and I’m looking forward to coming back for another good Speedweeks.”