When rain fell at Lowe’s Motor Speedway Thursday night, Kirk Shelmerdine took a chance it would last. It did, long enough for Shelmerdine, who decided not to pit when the shower started, to win the EasyCare 150 when ARCA officials called the race after 66 of the scheduled 100 laps. It’s Shelmerdine’s first win of the season and third series victory. “Had the whole race gone green, we would have been in trouble with fuel and tires. It was tough to pass and I wanted to see how we would run up front, so I stayed out,” the driver said. “I thought I would get to run with (Kyle Busch), but he pitted, too. I’m glad he did.” Frank Kimmel, who clinched his fifth ARCA championship, and Busch far outpaced their competition early in the race, but both elected to pit when the caution first came out for the rain. “We didn’t have the fastest car and didn’t out-run anybody, but we were out front when it counted,” Shelmerdine said. Shelmerdine is best-known as the crew chief in four of the late Dale Earnhardt’s seven Winston Cup Championships. At age 25, he became the youngest crew chief to ever win a Cup race and three years later went on to become the youngest crew chief to win the championship. A.J. Henriksen finished second Thursday night, Jeremy Clements third, Andy Ponstein fourth and David Boggs completed the top five. Kimmel ended up 21st and Busch, 17th.(ThatsRacin.com)(10-10-2003)
