Corey LaJoie scored his second ARCA Racing Series victory in his first visit to Pocono Raceway Friday. Photo courtesy ARCA Media
Corey LaJoie is definitely on a roll.
The Richard Petty Motorsports development driver came from the back of the 36-field Friday to win the ModSpace 125 at Pocono Raceway. It was his first-ever visit to the track. He took the lead with two laps to go when the leader, Erik Jones, scraped the wall and went to pit road.
“It just all worked out again,” he said. “Either way, we’re here in victory lane.”
Driving a Roulo Brothers Racing Ford, LaJoie also won at Chicagoland Speedway in July when the leader ran out of gas coming to the white flag. His second ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards win was just as dramatic. He was in the lead when he pitted on lap 34. He came out and eventually had a battle with Chase Elliott for the second position, but was about five seconds behind Jones.
“I don’t know what happened to him,” LaJoie said. “I was digging for all it was worth. We were catching him. His car was getting bigger in my windshield, but he was too far ahead.”
However, with two laps to go, Jones went to pit road. LaJoie grabbed the lead, saw the white flag and finished 17.013 seconds ahead of runner-up Frank Kimmel. Justin Boston finished third and Brennan Newberry fourth.
“People might say we got lucky twice, but if we weren’t in that position, we wouldn’t have been here,” LaJoie said.
It was a lightning-fast, 50-lap race with zero cautions and an average speed of 162.221 mph. It was over in a race-record 46 minutes and 14 seconds.
The top seven cars finished on the lead lap. Spencer Gallagher finished fifth, Mason Mingus sixth, Will Kimmel seventh and Mason Mitchell eighth.
Elliott, who became the youngest superspeedway winner in series history when he won at Pocono Raceway June 8, finished ninth after a tire issue with nine laps to go sent him to pit road.
Kyle Martel was 10th in the final race standings.
Nick Igdalsky, vice president of Pocono Raceway, finished 11th. Jones finished 12th after leading the most laps – 25.
Frank Kimmel came up just short of his record 80th ARCA Racing Series victory, but was pleased with the run. Ultimately, he increased his lead in the point standings.
“I had a fourth- or fifth-place car and we came out of here second,” he said.
Kimmel said the team planned to pit when it did, but never expected the race to stay green the entire time. He was the first of the leaders to come down pit road for tires and fuel.
“I thought we were in good shape,” he said. “Corey did a great job in the pit stops and beat us out of pit road. I’d like to know what he did so I can be a little better next time.”
It was a career-best finish for Boston, who had three fourth-place finishes this year entering the ModSpace 125.
“We had a really good day,” he said. “We had a really good car. I felt like I was out there by myself the way the stops worked out.”
Qualifying was rained out, putting Frank Kimmel at the start of the field for the race. LaJoie had to go to the back after stopping to make a wheel adjustment on pit road after the pace laps started. He made his first laps at Pocono Raceway during a 75-minute practice session about three hours before the race.
“This track is hard, let me tell you,” LaJoie said. “No joke. All three corners are different. It’s hard to get a rhythm here. I tried a few things out and started getting it pretty good.”
The ARCA Racing Series will go from the 2.5-mile superspeedway of Pocono Raceway to the short track of Berlin Raceway in Marne, Michigan, for a race at 8 p.m. Saturday.
ARCA Racing Series
Pocono Raceway – Long Pond, PA
ModSpace 125 – Aug. 2, 2013
| FIN | STR | NO | DRIVER/HOMETOWN | TEAM & CAR | LAPS | STATUS |
| 1 | 18 | 17 | Corey LaJoie/Concord NC | Medallion Financial Ford | 50 | Running |
| 2 | 1 | 44 | Frank Kimmel/Clarksville IN | Ansell-Menards Toyota | 50 | Running |
| 3 | 6 | 25 | Justin Boston/Baltimore MD | ZLOOP Computer & Electronics Recycling Toyota | 50 | Running |
| 4 | 31 | 92 | Brennan Newberry/Bakersfield CA | Qore 24 Chevrolet | 50 | Running |
| 5 | 16 | 23 | Spencer Gallagher/Las Vegas NV | Allegiant Travel Chevrolet | 50 | Running |
| 6 | 2 | 32 | Mason Mingus/Brentwood TN | 811 Call Before You Dig Toyota | 50 | Running |
| 7 | 3 | 22 | Will Kimmel/Sellersburg IN | Cunningham Motorsports Dodge | 50 | Running |
| 8 | 26 | 82 | Mason Mitchell/W. Des Moines IA | Happy Cheeks-Mason Mitchell Motorsports-Empire Ford | 49 | Accident |
| 9 | 23 | 9 | Chase Elliott/Dawsonville GA | Aaron’s-Hendrickcars.com Chevrolet | 49 | Running |
| 10 | 36 | 43 | Kyle Martel/Lebanon PA | Hanover Cold Storage-Finish Line Transport Chevy | 49 | Running |
| 11 | 29 | 86 | Nick Igdalsky/Stroudsburg PA | Camel Beach Water Park-ModSpace Chevrolet | 49 | Running |
| 12 | 4 | 15 | Erik Jones/Byron MI | Venturini Motorsports Toyota | 48 | Engine |
| 13 | 19 | 02 | Josh Williams/Port Charlotte FL | Allegiant Travel Ford | 48 | Running |
| 14 | 35 | 74 | Garrett Smithley/Kannapolis NC | Peachtree City Golf Cars Chevrolet | 48 | Running |
| 15 | 7 | 55 | Taylor Ferns/Shelby Township MI | Venturini Motorsports Toyota | 48 | Running |
| 16 | 5 | 77 | Tom Hessert/Cherry Hill NJ | Barbera’s Autoland Dodge | 48 | Running |
| 17 | 27 | 5 | Bobby Gerhart/Lebanon PA | Lucas Oil-Mav TV Chevrolet | 48 | Running |
| 18 | 34 | 07 | Brian Kaltreider/Orangeville PA | Independent Graphics-Century 21 Ford | 47 | Accident |
| 19 | 14 | 40 | Dominick Casola/Holmdel NJ | A. Casola Farms Dodge | 47 | Running |
| 20 | 28 | 88 | Buster Graham/Lafayette LA | MashburnMachine.com Ford | 47 | Running |
| 21 | 10 | 35 | Milka Duno/Caracas Venezuela | Cantv-Milka Way Toyota | 47 | Running |
| 22 | 9 | 69 | Brad Lloyd/Napa CA | Messina Wildlife Ford | 47 | Running |
| 23 | 21 | 10 | Ed Pompa/Ballston Spa NY | Milwaukee Crusher-Double H Ranch Chevrolet | 46 | Running |
| 24 | 11 | 2 | Thomas Praytor/Mobile AL | Realtor Chevrolet | 45 | Running |
| 25 | 32 | 7 | Brent Cross/Cortland NY | Roy Clark Trucking Chevrolet | 45 | Running |
| 26 | 15 | 06 | James Swanson/Clarksboro NJ | GreatRailing.com Ford | 44 | Running |
| 27 | 12 | 34 | Darrell Basham/Henryville IN | Darrell Basham Racing Chevrolet | 43 | Running |
| 28 | 13 | 97 | Roger Carter/Sunfield MI | Carter 2 Motorsports Dodge | 42 | Running |
| 29 | 17 | 48 | James Hylton/Inman SC | Radon.com Ford | 42 | Running |
| 30 | 33 | 84 | Chad Boat/Phoenix AZ | Billy Boat Motorsports Toyota | 38 | Running |
| 31 | 22 | 0 | *Wayne Peterson/Pulaski TN | Wayne Peterson Racing Chevrolet | 22 | Handling |
| 32 | 20 | 68 | Chris Bailey Jr./South Park PA | Clarksville Schwinn Ford | 6 | Wh. Bearing |
| 33 | 24 | 11 | Dick Doheny/Ballston Spa NY | Doheny Racing Ford | 6 | Axle |
| 34 | 30 | 13 | George Cushman/Waterville NY | Sangerfield Auto & Tire-Stearners Backhoe Chevy | 2 | Engine |
| 35 | 8 | 99 | Don Thompson/Carlisle PA | Roulo Brothers Racing Ford | 1 | Vibration |
| 36 | 25 | 3 | Steve Fox/Hazleton PA | A & N’s Motorsports Heaven Dodge | 0 | DNS |
| *0 Relieved by Don Thompson | ||||||
| Menards Pole Award Presented by Ansell: None, rained out | ||||||
| Margin of Victory: 17.013 secs | Cautions: None | |||||
| Time of Race: 0:46:14 | Average Speed: 162.221 mph *NTR | |||||
| Lap Leaders: Kimmel 1, 8-15 (9); Jones 2-7, 22-29, 37-47 (25); Elliott 16-21 (6); LaJoie 30-34, 48-50 (8); Boston 35-36 (2) | ||||||
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