ARCA Racing Series to Make 25th Appearance on "Quirky" Berlin Ra - 13abc.com Toledo (OH) News, Weather and Sports

ARCA Racing Series to Make 25th Appearance on "Quirky" Berlin Raceway Short Track Saturday, August 11

TOLEDO - From a 2.5-mile triangular superspeedway in Long Pond, Pa., to the quirky, less-than-a-half-mile Berlin Raceway short track oval, the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards is preparing for its late-summer shove down the road of diversity.

With Pocono Raceway on the calendar the week before, the ARCA Racing Series warriors will then switch gears just in time to take on Berlin Raceway Saturday, August 11 in the Berlin ARCA 200, marking the 25^th appearance of the world's most versatile tour since debuting on the Berlin Fairgrounds dirt track oval in 1958.

The present-day 0.4375-mile paved configuration is more circle than oval, features no backstretch wall, and requires drivers to make a 90-degree turn onto and a 180-degree turn off of pit road. Each characteristic figures to factor into an exciting Berlin ARCA 200, the 15^th race of 20 in the 2012 ARCA Racing Series season.

"Berlin Raceway is unlike any of the short tracks we go to in terms of its unique layout and pit road," said Ron Drager, president of ARCA. "It's been a staple of the tour for a number of years, and it seems that everyone from local guys like 2002 winner Fred Campbell to multi-time champions like Frank Kimmel has a chance to be successful."

The ARCA Racing Series is often regarded as the most versatile tour in America with its unique combinations of superspeedways, short tracks, road courses and even a couple of mile dirt tracks upcoming on the schedule in Springfield, Illinois in late August and in DuQuoin, Illinois in early September.

The unique layout of the Berlin oval only adds to the abundant flavor throughout the ARCA schedule in 2012.

The 200-lap race at Berlin begins at 8:30 p.m. Eastern, with live audio coverage and live timing and scoring featured on ARCARacing.com. Frank Kimmel is the leading winner at the track, with three victories (1999, 2003, 2004).

"I really enjoy Berlin," said Kimmel, who also holds nine ARCA Racing Series championships. "We have had a lot of success there and won a few races there. It's a quirky little race track. It's not all about power, and it's not about aerodynamics. None of that really plays into the outcome of the race at Berlin. It's more about how to get your car handling in order to get enough power so you can get through and up off the turns." 

In addition to a heated championship points battle between Chris Buescher (Roulo Brothers Racing/Roush Fenway Development Driver), Brennan Poole (Venturini Motorsports), Alex Bowman (Cunningham Motorsports/Penske Racing Development Driver), and Kimmel (ThorSport Racing), 16-year-old Chase Elliott has filed an ARCA entry for the Berlin ARCA 200. Elliott, the son of NASCAR champion Bill Elliott, is entered in the No. 9 Aaron's Dream Machine-HendrickCars.com Chevrolet. Elliott most recently finished a career-best second in his road course debut at New Jersey Motorsports Park in early July. He also finished 10^th in his ARCA debut at Mobile Int'l Speedway after qualifying second, and finished fourth in April at Salem Speedway, after qualifying third.

Drivers will prepare for the 200-lap race with the first of two practice sessions from 2-2:45 p.m., followed by a final practice from 3:15-4. Menards Pole Qualifying presented by Ansell goes off at 5, and fans will be treated to a driver autograph session on the track at 6:15. Pre-Race for the Berlin ARCA 200 gets underway at approximately 8.