April Salem winner Christian Eckes (No. 15 JBL Audio Toyota) led the only practice session for the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards Kentuckiana Ford Dealers Fall Classic 200 at Salem Speedway on Saturday afternoon. Eckes turned a lap ay 17.377 seconds/114.980 miles per hour to lead the 24-car field in the 90-minute session.
Eckes led his Venturini Motorsports teammate Chandler Smith (No. 20 Craftsman Toyota), who timed in at 17.385 seconds/114.927 miles per hour. Eckes and Smith dueled for the win at Salem in April before Smith found the wall on the final lap, leaving him tenth at the finish.
Kaden Honeycutt (No. 43 C&S Trailers Ford) was third quickest in his series debut, timing in at 17.406 seconds/114.788 miles per hour. Daytona and Chicagoland winner Michael Self, in his first attempt at Salem, was fourth quick at 17.459 seconds/114.440 miles per hour. Local favorite Will Kimmel (No. 69 FASS Diesel Fuel Systems Ford) rounded out the top five at 17.460 seconds/114.433 miles per hour.
Current ARCA Racing Series championship leader Sheldon Creed was sixth, Chase Purdy was seventh, Sioux Chief Short Track Challenge point leader Zane Smith was eighth, Jack Dossey III was ninth, and Elko winner Gus Dean was tenth.
Only one incident slowed the session; Eric Caudell spun down the backstretch and made slight contact with the inside wall.
General Tire Pole Qualifying is slated for 4 pm ET with the green flag on the Kentuckiana Ford Dealers Fall Classic scheduled to wave at 7:15 pm ET; the race will be broadcast live on MAVTV while ARCARacing.com will have live timing & scoring, track updates, and scanner audio for registered users.
ARCA PR
