The opening ARCA race of 2010 drew a record crowd and the most-watched audience in the series' history, with Bobby Gerhart taking the win from the front.
The 2010 Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 was an ARCA Racing Series event held on 6 February 2010 at Daytona International Speedway. Bobby Gerhart won from Mark Thompson, with John Wes Townley third. It was Danica Patrick's stock car debut, and the race drew a record crowd and 2.4 million viewers.
Bobby Gerhart won the 2010 Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 on 6 February 2010 at Daytona International Speedway in Florida. It opened the 2010 ARCA Racing Series season and was the 49th running of the event. Gerhart led 51 laps on his way to the win, which was his seventh ARCA victory and his sixth at Daytona.
What is Daytona International Speedway?
Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, which opened in 1959. The main layout is a 4.0 km (2.5 mi) permanent tri-oval superspeedway, and the track also has a 5.729 km (3.560 mi) sports car course and a motorcycle course. NASCAR's most prestigious race, the Daytona 500, is held there and opens the season.
The track was built in 1959 by William Bill France Sr. to host racing previously held on the former Daytona Beach Road Course. Its banking let cars go faster and improved sightlines for spectators. Lights were installed around the track in 1998, and the speedway was repaved in 1978 and again in 2010.
Besides NASCAR, the track also hosts races for ARCA, AMA Superbike, IMSA, SCCA and Motocross. The speedway sits 50 miles north of Orlando, and its infield was renovated in 2004. Dale Earnhardt holds the most wins at Daytona, with 34 career victories across the various races he contested there.
Danica Patrick's stock car debut drew a record crowd and 2.4 million viewers, but Bobby Gerhart won the race.
How did December testing set the stage?
ARCA held a three-day testing session from 18 to 20 December 2009. The sessions mostly lasted a few hours, and the first was cut short by bad weather after only 35 minutes. Danica Patrick drove a stock car for the first time in her career during that testing, running only four laps at full speed.
Patrick ranked 12th overall in the session. Narain Karthikeyan, the first Indian driver to compete in Formula 1, placed 17th. At the end of the first session Mikey Kile, driving for Venturini Motorsports, set the fastest time at 49.804 seconds, which averaged 180.708 mph (290.821 km/h). Steve Arpin and Alli Owens followed as second and third quickest.
Brandon McReynolds, the son of the veteran NASCAR crew chief Larry McReynolds, was fourth, and Joey Coulter rounded out the top five. The testing showed that the field included several drivers who would later be in the race.
Who led the official practice sessions?
The official practice session was held on 4 February 2010 and lasted nearly five hours. James Buescher, the winner of the previous year's race, set the fastest time at 49.355 seconds, an average of 182.352 mph (293.467 km/h). Teammates Mikey Kile and Mark Thompson of Venturini Motorsports were second and third.
Frank Kimmel, a nine-time ARCA champion, was eighth quickest, and Bobby Gerhart was 18th. Patrick Sheltra, the Florida native, was sixth, and Danica Patrick posted the 17th-fastest time overall. Patrick said afterwards that the car had felt stronger and more comfortable with every run.
Five other women also took laps in practice. Alli Owens placed 13th, Leilani Munter 32nd, Milka Duno 44th, Jennifer Jo Cobb 47th and Jill George 50th.
How did qualifying decide the grid?
Qualifying was held on 5 February. James Buescher, driving for Phoenix Racing, took the pole with a time of 49.575 seconds, an average of 181.543 mph (292.165 km/h). Buescher said he had been unsure how the shifting wind would affect the field, and that his team would skip the happy hour practice to avoid damaging the car.
Mikey Kile earned second, and Joey Coulter took third. Dakoda Armstrong and Bryan Silas completed the top five. Patrick and Sheltra posted the same lap time of 50.059 seconds, and Sheltra took 11th place on the basis of his 2009 owner's points.
Nine drivers failed to qualify, including Lance Fenton, Matt Lofton and Mike Holt. A second practice session was cancelled after periods of steady rain.
How did the race start?
The race began at 4:30 p.m. Eastern time, with Buescher and Kile leading the field to the green flag. The first caution came on lap seven after a multiple-car incident that became known as The Big One. Bill Baird lost control coming into turn two and hit the outside wall head-on, and Steve Blackburn slammed into the side of his car.
As cars came back down the track, more drivers piled in. Smoke from the wreck made it hard for drivers and spotters to see, and nine drivers were eventually involved. The incident set the tone for a race that would produce several large crashes.
The race restarted on lap 17, but the caution flew again soon after. Dakoda Armstrong blew a tyre coming into turn one, spun through the grass and was hit by Craig Goess as he rejoined. Both drivers were out of the race.
What happened after the restart on lap 25?
A second caution followed two laps after the restart on lap 25, when Jesse Smith blew a tyre and hit the outside wall. Jill George, who was trying to avoid the wreck, lost control in turn four and flipped into the outside wall. She climbed out under her own power, though her car was badly damaged.
The race was red-flagged for nearly 30 minutes to clean up the debris. Bobby Gerhart took the lead from Buescher during the stop. Buescher had led every lap under the earlier cautions, and Gerhart's decision to pit early became important later on.
The field restarted on lap 32 and ran about ten laps before a fourth caution came out for two separate incidents. Nick Igdalsky spun in turn two, and Frank Kimmel and Mikey Kile were both spun from behind, by Nelson Piquet Jr. and Bryan Silas respectively.
How did Danica Patrick's race unfold?
Patrick, who had attracted most of the media attention all weekend, brought out the fifth caution after the race resumed on lap 46. Sean Corr and Piquet made contact in turn four, and Patrick moved to the inside, making it three cars wide. Piquet forced her off the track and into the grass, and she came back across the track sideways.
Patrick said afterwards that she had gone straight into the grass, then came back sideways with her hands off the wheel. Her team was shouting at her to get back into the race, and she hit the throttle until the car caught. She saved the car and avoided the wall.
Patrick ran at the back for much of the race. She later said she had been hanging out in the field, and that there were many yellow flags. She went from last to the top five at one point, and her finish was a strong result for a debut stock car race.
How did the late laps play out?
A violent crash involving Barry Fitzgerald brought out a caution with 22 laps to go. Nelson Piquet Jr. spun Fitzgerald from behind coming out of turn two, and the car flipped several times before coming to rest on its wheels. Fitzgerald climbed out unhurt under his own power.
The field restarted with 17 laps to go. With 14 laps left, Steve Arpin made side contact with Joey Coulter, then made contact again while trying to get around Piquet, who was a lap down. Arpin then made major contact with Piquet, who went down pit road, and Coulter went through the grass before rejoining. No caution flew.
With three laps to go, Nick Igdalsky and Terry Jones made contact in turn one, and Jones blew a tyre entering turn three. Alli Owens and Darrell Basham spun in turn four, but no caution came out because both drivers were below the racing surface when they spun.
What was the final result?
Bobby Gerhart held off the field to take the checkered flag. It was his sixth victory at Daytona, which made him the driver with the most ARCA wins at the track. He credited the team's plan, which was to pit early if a caution came out, and the caution arrived on lap 13 with the pits opening on lap 14.
Mark Thompson of Venturini Motorsports finished second, and his teammate John Wes Townley was third. Pole sitter James Buescher took fourth, and Patrick Sheltra completed the top five. Danica Patrick, making her stock car debut, finished sixth in a photo finish with Ricky Carmichael.
Patrick said she had mostly stayed in the pack, and that the race had many yellow flags. She said she held the yellow line and then ran high late in the race. Tommy Joe Martins, Bryan Silas and Steve Arpin completed the top ten.
How big was the audience?
Because of Patrick's stock car debut, more than 118,000 fans attended the race, making it the most attended ARCA race in history. ARCA's website received 715,721 pageviews, compared with 211,776 before the event. The broadcast on the Speed Network reached 2.4 million viewers, the most-viewed ARCA race to that point. Much of that attention followed from one entry, and the race is still remembered more for the debut than for the winner.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Date | 6 February 2010 |
| Venue | Daytona International Speedway, 4.0 km (2.5 mi) tri-oval |
| Distance | 80 laps scheduled |
| Winner | Bobby Gerhart, 7th ARCA win, 6th at Daytona |
| Top five | Gerhart, Mark Thompson, John Wes Townley, James Buescher, Patrick Sheltra |
| Laps led by Gerhart | 51 |
| Pole | James Buescher, 49.575 seconds, 292.165 km/h (181.543 mph) |
| Danica Patrick | 6th in her stock car debut |
| Audience | 2.4 million viewers on Speed Network |
Why does this race matter?
The race was mostly remembered as Danica Patrick's stock car debut after her move from IndyCar to NASCAR. Nelson Piquet Jr., the former Formula 1 driver, also made his stock car debut in the race, and the event had six female drivers in the field, the most in a single ARCA race.
The record crowd and viewing figures showed how much interest the race could draw for ARCA. The series was able to gain more media attention and more fans as a result of the debut.
