Sixteen-year-old Carson Hocevar (No. 28 Scott’s/Berger Chevrolet/KBR Development Chevrolet) sped to the General Tire Pole for Sunday’s ARCA Menards Series Kentuckiana Ford Dealers ARCA 200 at Salem Speedway. Hocevar turned a fast lap of 17.073 seconds/117.027 miles per hour around the high-banked 0.555 mile oval located in the hills of southern Indiana, about half an hour north of Louisville.
Hocevar, from Portage, Michigan, was recently signed to the Driver’s Edge Development program, spearheaded by Lorin Ranier for GMS Racing and JR Motorsports. He also earned the General Tire Pole Award last season at his home track, Berlin Raceway, in Marne, Michigan.
“It’s great to finally get to qualify and get a pole,” he said. “Last year we got the pole at Berlin but that race was rained out and we set the fast lap in practice so we got the pole. It’s awesome to get the pole in qualifying. My KBR Development guys gave me a great car. There’s a big difference in two laps and 200.”
Hocevar nipped current ARCA Menards Series championship leader and defending race winner Christian Eckes (No. 15 JBL Audio Toyota) for the pole. Eckes timed in at 17.169 seconds/116.373 miles per hour. He will line up outside the front row. Ty Gibbs (No. 18 Monster Energy/Terrible Herbst/ORCA Coolers/Advance Auto Parts Toyota), who was fastest in practice, qualified third at 17.171 seconds/116.359 miles per hour. Pensacola winner Michael Self (No. 25 Sinclair Lubricants Toyota) qualified fourth at 17.175 seconds/116.332 miles per hour and Joe Graf, Jr. (No. 77 EAT SLEEP RACE Ford), last year’s winner at Berlin, was fifth at 17.174 seconds/116.271 mph.
Corey Heim (No. 22 Speedway Children’s Charities Ford) was sixth, last year’s September Salem winner Chandler Smith (No. 20 Craftsman/828 Logistics Toyota) was seventh, Tanner Gray (No. 54 Gray Racing/Valvoline/Durst Toyota) was eighth, Sam Mayer (No. 21 Chevy Accessories Chevrolet) was ninth, and Bret Holmes (No. 23 Holmes II Excavation/Southern States Bank Chevrolet) was tenth.
There was only one incident in qualifying. Morgen Baird (No. 11 Fast Track High Performance Racing) spun off of turn two and made slight contact with the inside wall on the backstretch. He will start 15th.
The Kentuckiana Ford Dealers ARCA 200 at Salem Speedway is scheduled for a 2 pm ET start on Sunday, April 14. The race will be televised live on MAVTV. For ticket information, visit SalemSpeedway.com or call 888-246-7223. ARCA for Me members can access live timing & scoring, live track updates, and live chat at ARCARacing.com. New users can register for free with a valid email address at ARCARacing.com/login.
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