Sunrise, Sunset: The 41-car ‘Channel 5-205’ field will epitomize the character of the ARCA RE/MAX Series as young guns and veterans are expected to qualify for the ‘The Channel 5-205.’ The younger set is led by 17-year-old Shelby Howard, who became the youngest winner in the 51-year history of ARCA stock car racing by taking his first career win over defending series champion Frank Kimmel in Salem, Ind., on April 27, 2003. At 17 years and nine months, Howard surpassed former record-holder Kyle Busch, who, at 17 years and 11 months, held the distinction for just two weeks after taking a win in Nashville on April 11, 2003. Busch still holds the honor of being the series' youngest superspeedway winner. Howard is the series' youngest short-track winner as well as the youngest overall winner. The veterans are led by 63-year-old Vern Slagh, who became the oldest driver to win a Kentucky Speedway pole last season during qualifying for ‘The Blue Grass Quality Meats 200.’ Other veterans expected to be among the field include 55-year-old John Metcalf, who took the Kentucky pole for last year’s ‘Channel 5-155,’ the 40-year-old Kimmel, the 48-year-old Rick Carelli and 45-year-old Andy Belmont.   

Driving Divas: ‘The Channel 5-205’ could be the first race in Kentucky Speedway history to feature three female drivers should Kim Crosby, Christi Passmore and Deborah Renshaw qualify for the field. Crosby is a junior high school principal from Slidell, La. She is an instructor at the Buck Baker Driving School and also brings IHRA and NHRA drag racing experience to the ARCA circuit. Both Passmore and Renshaw raced at Kentucky Speedway last season. Passmore started 37^th and finished 41^st in the May ‘Channel 5-155’ at Kentucky Speedway. She enters the week ninth in the series points standings after posting season-best ninth-place finishes at both Salem, Ind., and Nashville. She’s making a bid to become the first woman ever to finish in the top 10 in the series final points standings. Renshaw started seventh and finished eighth in the July ‘Blue Grass Quality Meats 200,’ her ARCA RE/MAX Series debut. Renshaw is on the comeback trail after a troublesome 2002 when she was involved in a crash that claimed the life of fellow competitor Eric Martin. She will run a limited ARCA schedule in 2003.  

Kimmel’s Kentucky Kingdom: A visit to Kentucky Speedway must seem like a visit to an amusement park for Frank Kimmel. The four-time series champion is seeking his fourth series win at Kentucky Speedway in ‘The Channel 5-205.’ Kimmel is the winningest driver in Kentucky Speedway history after competing in all six career series events contested in the Commonwealth. His career Kentucky Speedway ledger contains three wins, four top-five and five top-10 finishes. He has the most pole awards of any series driver at Kentucky Speedway with two and has won from the pole twice. In addition, Kimmel has led 56 percent of the ARCA RE/MAX Series laps run at Kentucky Speedway. His lowest finish through six Kentucky starts was 12th in 2000 and his highest starting position was eighth, also in 2000. Kimmel broke into the win column for the first time in 2003 last Sunday, May 4, in Toledo, Ohio. It was his 44th career series win. He enters the week leading the series points standings. He holds a 160-point advantage over the second-place Billy Venturini.  

Overcoming Adversity: Inaugural Kentucky Speedway ARCA race winner Tim Steele returns to ARCA full-time this season after battling through medical problems for much of 2002. Steele won ARCA championships in 1993, 1996 and 1997. He entered this season as the series all-time leader in superspeedway victories with 24, pole awards won with 18 and superspeedway laps led with 2,308.  

Race Legend Visits Kentucky Speedway: On Saturday, May 10, Benny Parsons, the only stock car driver in history to win both the ARCA and NASCAR Winston Cup championships, will serve as ‘The Channel 5-205’ race grand marshal before providing color commentary for the live broadcast on WLWT-TV Channel 5. What’s it like to work with the lead NASCAR analyst for NBC Sports? Ask WLWT-TV Sports Director and race ‘play-by-play’ commentator Ken Broo.    

Fire and Safety Teams Ready for 2003: Kentucky Speedway Fire and Safety personnel were applauded during the 2002 season for their quick action during a serious wreck by Indy Racing League Infiniti Pro Series driver and actor Jason Priestley last August. This past winter, the driver made a return to Kentucky Speedway to visit with some of the speedway personnel which were on the scene of the incident last August. Fire and Safety personnel are made up in part by fire and rescue personnel from the counties that surround the speedway. All personnel undergo intense training and director Charles Williams learned his craft from the best in the business, the fire and safety team at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. 

It’s More Than Just Racing: The speedway will host a NASCAR Winston Cup Drivers Autograph session Friday night, May 9, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on the speedway’s main concourse. Series drivers Ricky Craven, Sterling Marlin, Jeremy Mayfield, Jamie McMurray and Jimmy Spencer will be on hand to meet and greet Kentucky Speedway fans. Saturday night also features an exclusive pre-race concert with Tammy Cochran beginning at 5:30 p.m. in the Turn 1 Concourse. The country star will sign autographs following her performance. The speedway pre-race show begins at 7:00 p.m. and will pay tribute to American heroes both home and abroad. A U.S. Army Apache helicopter demonstration is part of the show. 

Contacts: Tim Bray ø 859-578-2694, 859-991-1005 or tbray@kentuckyspeedway.com and Mike Schmaltz ø 859-578-2692, 859-991-0988 or mschmaltz@kentuckyspeedway.com 

Kentucky Speedway next with Channel 5-205

In addition to the live telecast on SPEED Channel, WLWT Channel 5, the NBC affiliate out of Cincinnati, is also getting in on the action. The event, recognized as the Channel 5-205, will also be televised live on WLWT's Channel 5.