Palm Beach Int'l Raceway to Kick Off 2010 ARCA Racing Series Open Testing; Hoosier Rain Tire Could Debut.....

TOLEDO OH (12-23-09) - Following last weekend's ultra-successful three-day open test at Daytona Int'l Speedway, the ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards is getting ready for more.

 

Just two days after the season-opening Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 at Daytona on February 6, the 2010 calendar year ARCA Racing Series open test schedule will resume on Monday, February 8 at Palm Beach Int'l Raceway (PBIR) in Jupiter, Florida, series officials announced.

"We are pleased to have secured an open test date at PBIR on the heels of the Daytona race event," commented ARCA VP of Competition Joe Wells. "It makes great economical sense to schedule the Palm Beach test while a great number of the teams are already in Florida. Special thanks to Jason Rittenberry and the staff at PBIR for their efforts and cooperation in getting the date finalized."

The inaugural ARCA Racing Series race event at Palm Beach, set for February 27, will be the first of two road course events on the 2010 calendar - the other being at the New Jersey Motorsports Park road course August 15.

The race event at Palm Beach will include the debut of the 105-inch wheelbase car to accompany the longstanding 110-inch wheelbase car in ARCA competition. ARCA announced earlier that the 105 inch wheelbase chassis commonly used in NASCAR's Nationwide and Camping World East and West Series has been approved for all tracks except Daytona and Talladega, ARCA's two restrictor plate venues.

In addition, series officials, in conjunction with officials of Hoosier Racing Tire, also indicated that Hoosier could debut a rain tire during the open test. In the event of inclement weather, a dedicated rain tire could be available for the first time in an ARCA sanctioned on-track activity.

The ARCA-sanctioned open test at Palm Beach is, as are all sanctioned open tests, designed to provide experience to drivers without the individual costs associated with private testing. As part of the ARCA Safety Initiative, ARCA plans to sanction as many as eight open tests in 2010.

The PBIR open test is scheduled from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM with an hour break for lunch. The garage opens at 7:00 AM.

Palm Beach Int'l Raceway, a state-of-the-art 2.034-mile, 11-turn high-speed road course, is surrounded by SAVE soft barriers and features a 40-60' wide racing surface with a 6/10th-mile straightaway and 6-degree banked corner. The course also features high-intensity, low-glare lighting.

-credit: arca