John Wes Townley takes Daytona ARCA Lucas Oil 200 opener

By: Steven Cole Smith on February 16, 2013

John Wes Townley, left, celebrates his win in victory lane at Daytona... Photo by ARCA Racing Series.

Action from the Lucas Oil 200 ARCA Racing Series event at Daytona... Photo by ARCA Racing Series.

John Wes Townley leads the field from the start of the Lucas Oil 200 at... Photo by ARCA Racing Series.

Zzzzzz. Driver John Wes Townley made it look easy, qualifying on the pole for the Lucas Oil 200 Saturday, the first race of the season for the Automobile Racing Club of America and driving to an easy win 200 miles later.

The Daytona ARCA race is often the most exciting event of Speedweeks, but not this year: There was one multi-car wreck on the front straight, but aside from that, the race was a comparative snoozer. Townley's Venturini Motorsports teammate, Milka Duno, qualified second and led in the early stages, but driveline problems cost her four laps. She finished 28th. It was Venturini Motorsports' first win at Daytona.

Pit stops put eight-time Daytona winner Bobby Gerhart in the lead, but late in the race, as he led a four-car pack to the front straight, he attempted to dive for the pits, and Townley tapped the rear of Gerhardt's car. Gearhardt drove through the pits at near-race speed, but he ended up stalled on the back straight.

?I still don't know what happened? to Gerhardt, Townley said after the race. ?He checked up all of a sudden, and we made a little contact and I ended up getting around him,? he said. ?No harm, no foul.? It was Venturini Motorsports' first win at Daytona. The post-race autopsy on Gerhardt's problem: A bad fuel pump, which very likely cost him a ninth victory.

Finishing second to Townley, whose Toyota was sponsored by Townley's family company, Zaxby's, was future superstar Kyle Larson, driving a Hendrick Motorsports-powered Chevrolet. Larson needed to finish the race to get approval to run the NASCAR Nationwide race next weekend, and mission accomplished. ?The race was pretty smooth for everybody,? Larson said. ?We stayed patient during the race -- I couldn't really make moves without someone pushing me. We'll take a second.?

Third was New York driver Ricky Ehrgott, followed by series veteran Frank Kimmel, probably the only driver in the top four who will be running the full season for championship points.

Seventy-eight-year-old James Hylton began his farewell season with his final appearance at Daytona, driving his Radon-sponsored Ford from 38th to 26th. Hylton, who has 601 NASCAR starts, will drive the rest of the season, then plans to put a younger driver in his car.

Forty cars started the race, one of the smallest fields in years, though 61 cars practiced at the ARCA test session in December. ARCA officials addressed that at the driver's meeting, suggesting that the cars that did come were uniformly competitive. It was ARCA's 50th race at Daytona.

Lucas Oil 200 at Daytona International Speedway

FIN STR NO DRIVER/HOMETOWN LAPS STATUS

1 1 15 John Wes Townley/Watkinsville GA 80 Running

2 11 4 Kyle Larson/Elk Grove CA 80 Running

3 7 16 Ricky Ehrgott/New York NY 80 Running

4 19 44 Frank Kimmel/Clarksville IN 80 Running

5 18 82 Sean Corr/Goshen NY 80 Running

6 15 92 Brennan Newberry/Bakersfield CA 80 Running

7 9 32 Mason Mingus/Brentwood TN 80 Running

8 16 62 Mark Thompson/Cartersville GA 80 Running

9 29 54 Matt Kurzejewski/Mansfield PA 80 Running

10 12 52 Chad Boat/Phoenix AZ 80 Running

11 14 22 Michel Disdier/Nice France 80 Running

12 10 77 Tom Hessert/Cherry Hill NJ 80 Running

13 23 99 Mason Mitchell/W. Des Moines IA 80 Running

14 24 08 Clay Campbell/Martinsville VA 80 Running

15 30 02 Josh Williams/Port Charlotte FL 80 Running

16 22 42 Bo Lemastus/Louisville KY 80 Running

17 40 88 Buster Graham/Lafayette LA 79 Running

18 26 19 Donnie Neuenberger/Edgewater MD 79 Running

19 28 75 Benny Chastain/Tallahassee FL 79 Running

20 39 06 Dexter Stacy/Kahnawake Quebec 79 Running

21 32 23 Spencer Gallagher/Las Vegas NV 79 Running

22 34 2 Thomas Praytor/Mobile AL 78 Running

23 37 34 Rick Clifton/Circleville OH 78 Running

24 25 30 Terry Jones/Amherstburg Ontario 78 Running

25 36 10 Ed Pompa/Ballston Spa NY 77 Running

26 38 48 James Hylton/Inman SC 77 Running

27 31 97 Roger Carter/Sunfield MI 76 Running

28 2 35 Milka Duno/Caracas Venezuela 76 Running

29 3 5 Bobby Gerhart/Lebanon PA 75 Fuel Pump

30 8 17 Chris Buescher/Prosper TX 74 Running

31 13 25 Justin Boston/Baltimore MD 41 Accident

32 35 40 Galen Hassler/Columbia MO 39 Engine

33 20 68 Will Kimmel/Sellersburg IN 26 Accident

34 21 6 Caleb Armstrong/New Castle IN 20 Accident

35 4 55 Darrell Wallace/Mobile AL 19 Accident

36 27 11 Brett Hudson/Owensboro KY 19 Accident

37 33 69 Steve Kemp/Justin TX 19 Accident

38 17 3 Drew Charlson/New Bremen OH 19 Accident

39 6 09 Grant Enfinger/Fairhope AL 12 Rear End

40 5 94 Julien Jousse/St. Tropez France 9 Engine

Menards Pole Award Presented by Ansell: John Wes Townley 49.638 (181.313 mph)

Margin of Victory: 0.173 seconds

Time of Race: 1:29:18

Lap Leaders: Duno 1-11 (11); Townley 12, 73-80 (9); Kurzejewski 13-14 (2); Williams 15-17 (3); Gerhart 18-72 (55)

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Source: http://www.autoweek.com/article/20130216/MOTORSPORTS/130219841

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