SPRINGFIELD, Ill — Tayler Malsam knows a thing or two about racing on dirt.
But that experience was limited to sprint cars, not the late-model cars Malsam races in the ARCA RE/MAX Series.
Until Sunday, that is.
The 19-year-old Mill Creek, Wash., resident started 14th but finished fifth in the 46th Allen Crowe 100 on the mile clay oval track at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield, Ill.
“It was my first time running one of these cars (on dirt),” Malsam said by phone. “It was cool, a whole new experience — (stock cars) are a lot heavier and slower to respond.”
Nine-time ARCA RE/MAX Series champion Frank Kimmel led 83 of 102 laps en route to his seventh victory on the fairgrounds track. Kimmel is now tied with the late Dean Roper for most Allen Crowe 100 wins.
Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. passed Brian Tyler on the final lap to finish second, five lengths behind Kimmel. Tyler, who won the USAC Silver Crown Series race at Springfield the day before, was third and rookie Matt Carter, in his career first dirt-track race, finished fourth.
Earlier Sunday, Kimmel broke the one-lap qualifying mark with a average speed of 109.496 mph. The previous record of 107.778 was set in 2006 by Damon Lusk.
Originally from Sammamish, Wash., Malsam has raced 410 and 360 sprint cars the past two years for Monroe, Wash., based Rudeen Racing at Skagit Speedway and other dirt tracks around the country.
One of his sprint car career highlights was turning the fastest lap for a rookie at the 2007 Knoxville Nationals. Listed on his Web biography as his favorite track, Malsam sped around the half-mile Knoxville (Iowa) Raceway in 15.044 seconds.
Sunday was Malsam’s second-best finish in his rookie season in the ARCA RE/MAX series. He was third in the Pocono 200 on June 7 at Long Pond, Pa.
He will get another chance to use his dirt-track experience the next time the ARCA series races, on Sept. 1 at the Southern Illinois 100 at the DuQuoin (Ill.) State Fairgrounds.
A Dodge Developmental driver, Malsam will make his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debut on Wednesday, Aug. 20 at Bristol, Tenn.
On the Web: www.taylermalsam.com; www.arcaracing.com.
Sunday at Illinois State Fairgrounds
Springfield, Ill.
1. (1) Frank Kimmel, Ford, 102 laps.
2. (3) Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Ford, 102.
3. (6) Brian Tyler, Toyota, 102.
4. (5) Matt Carter, Ford, 102.
5. (14) Tayler Malsam, Dodge, 102.
6. (9) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 102.
7. (19) Tom Hessert III, Ford, 102.
8. (8) Scott Speed, Toyota, 102.
9. (15) Kelly Kovski, Chevrolet, 102.
10. (20) Doug Keller, Chevrolet, 102.
11. (12) Bradley Rietmeyer, Dodge, 102.
12. (11) Patrick Sheltra, Dodge, 102.
13. (33) Ken Butler III, Dodge, 102.
14. (22) Charlie Vest, Chevrolet, 102.
15. (17) John Wes Townley, Ford, 102.
16. (18) Donny Kelley, Chevrolet, 102.
17. (25) Michael Phelps, Dodge, 101.
18. (13) A.J. Henriksen, Ford, 101.
19. (16) Mark Littleton, Chevrolet, 101.
20. (21) Bryan Silas, Chevrolet, 101.
21. (32) Lance Stott, Dodge, 100.
22. (23) Mike Harmon, Chevrolet, 98.
23. (26) Brad Smith, Ford, 98.
24. (34) Justin Lofton, Dodge, 97.
25. (28) Gabi DiCarlo, Ford, 97.
26. (27) Darrell Basham, Chevrolet, 96.
27. (24) Norm Benning, Chevrolet, 92.
28. (31) Dale Shearer, Ford, 91, handling.
29. (2) Ron Cox, Chevrolet, 83, rear end.
30. (7) A.J. Fike, Ford, 78, engine.
31. (10) Bob Strait, Ford, 69, transmission.
32. (4) Dexter Bean, Chevrolet, 38, engine.
33. (36) Kyle Chady, Ford, 30, rear end.
34. (29) Tim Mitchell, Ford, 22, accident.
35. (35) James Hylton, Dodge, 2, handling.
36. (30) Greg Seevers, Chevrolet, 1, handling.
Race Statistics
Time of race: 1 hour, 19 minutes, 14 seconds.
Margin of victory: .921 second.
Caution flags: 6 for 32 laps.
Lap leaders: Cox 1-12, Bean 13-15, Kimmel 16-26, Keller 27-30, Kimmel 31-102.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
