Empire Racing LLC driver Sean Corr on Pole for ARCA Racing Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 at Daytona
- 1 Mar 2012
Seducing the very best from the Roush-Yates power under the hood of his No. 82 Empire Racing Ford, Corr earned his first career ARCA pole position heading into the Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200. With a time of 49.271 seconds and a lap speed of 182.663 mph, he squeaked by the second-place time of Ryan Reed by half a blink, a mere .089 of a second. This was the first pole award in 11 years for Roush-Yates Engines at Daytona International Speedway, and it was the first time a Ford has won the pole for the Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 since Kirk Shelmerdine won it in 2001. (Note: Earlier this week Roush-Yates FR9 engine won their second consecutive Daytona 500) Corr celebrated his February 21 birthday early after he inherited the top starting position from Bobby Gerhart, when Gerhart's car failed post-qualifying inspection. "It's unfortunate that Bobby got disqualified. I hate to see people lose positions that way. But this is definitely a dream come true," beamed a thrilled Corr. "If there's ever a race to get my first pole, it's definitely Daytona. There's no better place to get a pole." The indicators were in evidence early, as all through practice Corr's Empire Racing Ford was consistently one of the fastest cars on the track. "The car was really smooth, it's been working great all week," added the K&N sponsored driver in the post-qualifying press conference. "The Roush-Yates engine pulled great and the car felt really smooth. When it came off of turn-2, it hit a little bit of a headwind and I felt like the slowest guy ever going down the backstretch, but I guess it really wasn't." "The car was really good yesterday in practice, drafting, running side-by-side, and even in single-car runs," added Corr. "It was still very fast. I think we have a good shot at our team's first top-five for tomorrow." In 2011, Corr accomplished what most ARCA drivers couldn't get done all year. He finished all 19 races. Corr also experienced his career best finishes in the ARCA series with a 7th place finish in Madison and a 9th place finish in Iowa. He also had four 11th place finishes, twice at Pocono Raceway, and once each at Duquoin and Springfield. Corr finished 9th in the points race for ARCA. He also took 2nd place for Rookie of the Year and finished 93.43% of all laps raced in 2011. Demonstrating unqualified confidence in their talented driver, Corr's team is providing him with every opportunity at winning races in a stock-car. For the 2012 season Empire Racing LLC will run the full ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards schedule this year, under the guidance of crew chief Ben Leslie and team manager John Bellesfield. Find K&N products for your vehicle using the K&N application search then use the K&N dealer search to find a K&N dealer in your part of the world. |
