Gerhart wins rain-shortened ARCA race

DAP 200 Results Daytona International Speedway Pos.  Driver  Make  1.  Bobby Gerhart  Pontiac  2.  Rick Carelli  Chevrolet  3.  Frank Kimmel  Ford  4.  Chad Blount  Dodge  5.  Damon Lusk  Pontiac  Complete results, click here

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- Bobby Gerhart took the lead from Shelby Howard on lap 36 and won the rain-shortened Discount Auto Parts 200 at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday, the season opener for the ARCA series.

The 80-lap race was slowed by rain twice, the final time during a caution for Kevin Belmont's accident on lap 52. Gerhart had beaten Rick Carelli back to the finish line to take the yellow flag, so when the skies opened and officials called the race, Gerhart had his second Daytona victory.

His first was in 1999.

"It certainly doesn't come without a lot of hard work," said Gerhart, who's also attempting to qualify for the Daytona 500. "I don't think you can get too many laps around this place. You learn something whether you see it on the stopwatch or you feel it in the seat of your pants."

The first rain shower brought out the caution on lap 41, and the cars were stopped on the backstretch three laps later. After about a 30-minute delay to dry the track, the race restarted for just two laps before Belmont hit the wall on the front straightaway.

Carelli stayed glued to Gerhart's back bumper on those laps, with defending series champ Frank Kimmel, Chad Blount and Damon Lusk close behind. But the quick conclusion kept anyone from making a final pass for position.

"You just have to get in line and trust the people you're behind," Carelli said. "I would have liked to have finished it out."

Gerhart, who started fifth, dominated the early going, taking the lead for the first time on the second lap. He led until a pit stop during the second caution on lap 20, then took the lead for the final time by passing Howard on the high side in Turn 2.

Kimmel finished third, followed by Blount and Lusk.

"I was just trying to stay in line and wait for the end," Kimmel said. "We had a good draft going, but we just didn't have a chance there with the rain."

Pole sitter Chase Montgomery had a spark plug wire fall off on the start, and he dropped all the way to last. His crew was able to fix the problem on the first caution, but he lost a lap in the process.

He and Jason Jarrett, who also lost a lap after equalizing a right-rear tire on the first lap, battled back onto the lead lap. Jarrett, the son of Winston Cup start Dale Jarrett, finished 18th, and Montgomery was 21st.

"I guess it's part of the learning process," Montgomery said. "I'm just glad we were able to come back and get back on the lead lap. I think we showed some people that we had a fast car."

Women drivers Tina Gordon and Sunny Hobbs ran in the lead lap all day, and Gordon was as high as eighth. She fell back after a late pit stop and finished 26th; Hobbs was 31st.

"I love it here," said Gordon, no relation to Jeff or Robby Gordon. "It's just so different and exciting. It's been a great experience for me."

Michael Vergers had the day's only other accident, spinning and hitting the wall in Turn 2. He was not injured.

 

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