 
For Immediate Release
Milka Duno wins Talladega pole
 
(TALLADEGA, Ala. - May 2, 2013) -- Milka Duno, in the No. 35 CanTV-Milkaway Toyota, became the first female ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards driver since 1988 to win the pole at Talladega Superspeedway Thursday afternoon.
 
Duno had the second-fastest time in the Menards Pole Qualifying presented by Ansell but when the time of Venturini Motorsports teammate John Wes Townley was disallowed following post-qualifying inspection, Duno was announced as the pole winner.
 
"This is fantastic," Duno said following her award. "We have been trying, trying, trying for the pole ever since Daytona. All day, I made my crew chief (Kevin Caldwell) crazy, saying 'what do we need to do?'"
 
The times of four cars were disallowed. Each of those drivers will start at the rear of the field in Friday's International Motorsports Hall of Fame 250. The race will begin at 4 p.m. (Central Standard Time) and will be broadcast live on SPEED.
 
Duno is the fourth female to win an ARCA pole award, including Moise, Shawna Robinson and Erin Crocker. Moise is the only other female pole winner at Talladega, claiming two poles at the 2.66-mile superspeedway in 1988.
 
The rest of the top five include Mason Mingus, Grant Enfinger, Justin Boston and Caleb Armstrong.
 
Mingus will enter the race second in the championship point race, Enfinger won the pole and race at Mobile earlier this year while Boston and Armstrong are the other Venturini Motorsports cars.
 
After inspection, ARCA racing officials said the qualifying efforts of Bobby Gerhart, Korbin Forrestor, Mark Thompson and Townley were being disallowed following the post-race technical inspection.
 
Duno, 41, qualified second behind Townley at the season-opening Daytona International Speedway race and led the first 11 laps before transmission troubles. Townley won the race. Duno had her career-best ARCA finish at Salem Speedway last weekend.
 
"We are very competitive," Duno said. "This is great. Now, I must go to my crew chief and talk about being better. I have to run the perfect race."
 
The Caracas, Venezuela driver is one of the most successful female sports car racers in history. She is a qualified naval engineer and has four master's degrees. She has participated in the 24 Hours of LeMans, the 24 Hours of Daytona and the Indianapolis 500. She competed in the American LeMans Series championship in the early 2000s before moving to the Rolex Sports Car Series in 2004.
 
The ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards is making its 51ststart at Talladega. The first ARCA race at Talladega came in 1969.
 
No female driver has won in the ARCA Racing Series in its 61 year history.
                                              
Friday's Int'l Motorsports Hall of Fame 250 is live on SPEED at 5:00 p.m. ET.
2013 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards Event #4   
Talladega Superspeedway, Talladega Alabama, 5-3-13   
International Motorsports Hall of Fame 250
Official Starting Grid   
POS   NO   DRIVER/HOMETOWN   TIME   SPEED
1   35   Milka Duno/Caracas Venezuela   53.652   178.484
2   32   Mason Mingus/Brentwood TN   53.787   178.036
3   90   Grant Enfinger/Fairhope AL   53.805   177.976
4   25   Justin Boston/Baltimore, MD   53.946   177.511
5   55   Caleb Armstrong/New Castle IN   53.987   177.376
6   99   Mason Mitchell/W. Des Moines IA   54.212   176.640
7   23   Spencer Gallagher/Las Vegas NV   54.268   176.458
8   3   Drew Charlson/New Bremen OH   54.536   175.590
9   92   Brennan Newberry/Bakersfield CA   54.549   175.549
10   42   Bo LeMastus/Louisville KY   54.558   175.520
11   44   Frank Kimmel/Clarksville IN   54.645   175.240
12   77   Tom Hessert/Cherry Hill NJ   54.657   175.202
13   82   Sean Corr/Goshen NY   54.659   175.195
14   88   Buster Graham/Lafayette LA   54.783   174.799
15   6   Ricky Ehrgott/Valrico FL   54.836   174.630
16   68   Will Kimmel/Sellersburg IN   54.856   174.566
17   02   Josh Williams/Port Charlotte FL   54.933   174.321
18   13   George Cushman/Waterville NY   55.030   174.014
19   08   Clay Campbell/Martinsville VA   55.105   173.777
20   19   Donnie Neuenberger/Edgewater MD   55.134   173.686
21   10   Cody McMahan/Chilhowie VA   55.148   173.642
22   54   Matt Kurzejewski/Mansfield PA   55.160   173.604
23   69   John Ferrier/Middletown NY   55.425   172.774
24   30   Terry Jones/Amherstburg Ontario   55.596   172.243
25   2   Thomas Praytor/Mobile AL   55.688   171.958
26   34   Darrell Basham/Henryville IN   55.930   171.214
27   40   Galen Hassler/Columbia MO   56.452   169.631
28   97   Roger Carter/Sunfield MI   56.541   169.364
29   94   Barry Fitzgerald/Sykesville MD   56.745   168.755
30   15   John Wes Townley/Watkinsville GA   Provisional   
31   48   James Hylton/Inman SC   Provisional   
32   22   Korbin Forrister/Cedartown GA   Provisional   
33   66   Mark Thompson/Cartersville GA   Provisional   
34   06   James Swanson/Clarksboro NJ   Provisional   
35   5   Bobby Gerhart/Lebanon PA   Provisional   
36   75   Benny Chastain/Tallahassee FL   Provisional   
ABOUT ARCA
The Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) is among the leading and most diverse auto racing sanctioning bodies in the country. Founded in 1953 by John and Mildred Marcum, the organization administers more than 100 events each year in multiple racing series, including the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards, the ARCA/CRA Super Series, the ARCA Truck Series and the ARCA Midwest Tour, plus weekly racing at Toledo and Flat Rock Speedways.
 
CONTACT:
Doug Donnelly, ARCA                                   
(419) 574-2685 (mobile)
[email protected] 
 
Don Radebaugh, ARCA
(419) 450-0611 (mobile)
[email protected] 
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