ARCA

Chicagoland: Stuart Kirby preview

Stuart Kirby Ready To Make Strong Return To ARCA RE/MAX Series At Chicagoland JOLIET, Illinois (August 26, 2009) - - After a nearly four year absence from ARCA RE/MAX Series competition, Bowling Green, Kentucky native Stuart Kirby will return to ...

Published: Oct 2, 2009, 4:19 PM

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Stuart Kirby Ready To Make Strong Return To ARCA RE/MAX Series At Chicagoland

JOLIET, Illinois (August 26, 2009) - - After a nearly four year absence from ARCA RE/MAX Series competition, Bowling Green, Kentucky native Stuart Kirby will return to the limelight and attempt to make the Ansell Cut Protection 150 at Chicagoland Speedway behind the wheel of the No. 66 Hendren Motorsports Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS.

Kirby, no stranger to success in the ARCA RE/MAX Series is looking to make his presence known in this one-off deal that could spark into more should the event play into the hands of the long-time ARCA team Friday afternoon.

In order for Kirby to get back in the saddle, the team tested at the 1.5-mile track last Wednesday with satisfactory results. While Kirby feels the team will be competitive for the 15th race of the year, he offered some major changes to the team's automobile in order to find more speed.

Kirby is no slouch when it comes to speed at the Chicagoland Speedway. In 2005, Kirby won the ARCA pole in an entry fielded by Bob Schacht Motorsports but a mechanical failure on the first lap evaporated the team from competition which leaves a little redemption on the table for the former NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) competitor.

"The test went pretty good," Kirby said. "We didn't waste a single minute of time. The biggest obstacle we faced was the tightness of the car. We worked throughout the day to get the car a little freer but it wasn't quite enough. I'm not worried though; we should be okay."

If the successful entrepreneur is worried about qualifying for the show; he isn't showing it. "I would by lying if I said I wasn't worried," said Kirby. "I'm not worried about making the field; I'm just worried about something going wrong like blowing a tire or something out of control that could keep us from making the rest. But if you worry about stuff like that you shouldn't even be racing to begin with. We'll mind our matters if you will for practice throttle hard for qualifying and leave nothing on the table for the race."

Chicagoland will also be a reunion of sorts for Kirby and Crew Chief Walter Giles. Giles called the shots when Kirby competed in the NSCS in 2005 driving the No. 51 Marathon American Spirit Motor Oil Chevrolet for owner Joe Auer.

"It was nice to hear a familiar person on the radio," added Kirby. "Walter and I have worked together in the past; so he knows what I like in a racecar, so he's going to do everything he can to give me the best racecar he can. I just want to thank him and the entire Hendren Motorsports operation for the opportunity."

Currently, Kirby does not have any agreement to run any remaining ARCA RE/MAX Series events with the Hendren Motorsports team following Chicagoland Speedway but the former late model driver is hoping that will change.

"Right now Chicago is it," Kirby sounded. "We don't really have any sponsors for the car, so we're hoping to go to Chicagoland and put forth everything we have. I would like to do Kansas Speedway and maybe Rockingham to wrap up the year and then we'll see what develops for next year. One thing is for sure, we don't plan to leave without making some kind of statement."

In his 15 ARCA RE/MAX Series starts, Kirby has mounted six top-five finishes and posted eight top-10 runs. He has posted two career-best runner-up finishes at Lowe's (N.C) Motor Speedway ('01) and Kansas Speedway ('02) respectively. He has controlled the ARCA field five times for 39 laps.

-credit: skPR

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