DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Justin Marks and Scott Speed made it an all-Toyota front row for the season-opening ARCA 200 at Daytona Int’l Speedway.
Marks ran a lap of 181.335 miles per hour in the Voodoo Ride Camry. The veteran of Grand Am Rolex Series GT competition was joined on the front row for former Formula One regular Speed, who timed in at 181.316 mph in the Red Bull Toyota formerly piloted by NASCAR Sprint Cup Series-bound Michael McDowell.
It was the fourth pole for Toyota in RE/MAX Series competition. Bobby Santos III gave the marque its first pole last March at Lakeland. Other poles were won by Santos at Pocono and Josh Wise at Gateway.

• While 70 teams filed entries for the race, “only” 65 cars actually showed and took time — down one from last year’s entry. The fastest 32 cars made the field, with the remainder of the lineup filled through owner points (six positions) and the ARCA Golden A  plan.
“This was, by far, the toughest ARCA field to make at Daytona, ever,” said Andy Hillenburg, who won the ARCA 200 in 1995 and 1997. “Less than a second — closer to nine-tenths of a second — separated the top 32 cars, and a lot of good people are going home.”
Rusty Wallace, Inc. developmental driver Chase Austin and Canadian open-wheel ace Andrew Ranger led the list of drivers missing the show, joined by former NASCAR winners James Hylton and Greg Sacks and USAC open-wheel star Brian Tyler.
Others on the go-home list were Butch Jarvis, Jeremy Clements, Blake Feese, Michael Phelps, Jake Francis, Brent Cross, Troy Wangerin, Jesse Smith, Ray Mooi, Larry Hollenbeck, Kory Rabenold, Steve Bramley, Steve Blackburn, Mike Koch, Scotty Ellis, Brian Conz, Chris Cockrum and Robb Brent.

• The event marked the debut of nine-time ARCA champion Frank Kimmel’s new team, which started the race 43rd.
“It’s a bit of a struggle right now,” Kimmel said. “We don’t have a sponsor yet for our Dodge Charger for the season, but we picked up Prestolite Wire and Exedy Racing Clutches for this race. Right now, we don’t have anything for the whole year. Our plans are to run every race and compete for the championship, but right now we don't have the funding to do it.
“We had to take a provisional to make the race here,” Kimmel said. “We had a rear end leak, and we had to work on that after qualifying. That might have put us at the back anyway.”
Kimmel got a boost on race-day morning with the addition of sponsorship from Riverside Auto Parts of Newark, Ohio. He finished fifth.
“Riverside’s owner, Jim Coyle, raced against my dad (Bill Kimmel, Sr.),” Kimmel said. “He stepped up this morning to help us out. It’s a pretty rewarding day when your friends step up to help you out.”

• Kimmel’s qualifying woes also hurt the chances of Ranger.
“I got into some oil left on my qualifying run, and wound up being a second slower than I was in Thursday’s practice,” Ranger said. The 21-year-old Champ Car veteran plans to defend his NASCAR Canada title this year.

• Marks, who finished 22nd in his 2007 rookie start at Daytona, was one of only two drivers starting from the front four rows with prior experience at Daytona. The other was Bobby Gerhart, a five-time ARCA 200 winner and four-time pole winner here.
“That was a pretty impressive effort for a bona-fide ARCA team with no solid factory support to do what we do,” Gerhart said. “This is the car I won with last year. I ran out of time getting a new one done. I’m looking forward to a good race. I’m 100 percent (recovered from injuries suffered in a crash at Pocono last August). Yesterday, it was like I never left. I would think winning this race for the sixth time is possible. We have a great car. It drives good. It’s not the best qualifier anymore, but it really, really is going to race good. The car is solid. It will be an exciting race, but I can reach back, I’m sure, and just do what’s going to come natural and put me in a position to win the race.”

•  Roush Fenway Racing rookie Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. made a good first impression at Daytona, posting the fastest lap in Thursday’s practice.
Friday, the winner in 2007 USAC Silver Crown, Sprint and Midget competition qualified sixth, but crashed during Friday evening’s final practice. He was forced to a backup car, along with 1999 ARCA champion Bill Baird, who was also involved in the incident in his Ken Schrader-owned Dodge. Stenhouse worked his way through the pack to battle for the lead when he was eliminated in a lap-55 accident.
Also moving to the back of the grid for the start were Terry Jones and Norm Benning, for unapproved adjustments following qualifying.

• Ken Butler III was briefly posted atop the scoring pylon following his qualifying run of 180.672 mph. Moments later, his Aaron’s Toyota was disqualified when the right-rear was measured one-eighth of an inch too low in tech inspection. The Eddie Sharp Racing driver made the race on a provisional, starting 34th.

• The race was a homecoming of sorts for South Daytona resident Alli Owens, who first came to the speedway on a third-grade field trip. She has been attending the Daytona 500 since then.
“This is a dream come true,” Owens said prior to the race. “I’ve been dreaming of doing this since I was 12, and today is the day. No more wishing.”