Sean Corr Gets First ARCA Career Pole

Sean Corr will be leading the pack for ARCA Racing Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 at Daytona International Speedway

(DAYTONA BEACH, FL – FEB 17, 2012) Goshen, N.Y. racer Sean Corr, making best use of the Roush-Yates power under the hood of the No. 82 Empire Racing Ford, earned his first career ARCA pole position for Saturday’s Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 with a time of 49.271 sec at a lap speed of 182.663 mph, just .089 quicker than Ryan Reed’s second-place time.

Corr celebrated his Tuesday 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 [Gerhart] got disqualified. I hate to see people lose positions that way,” said Corr. “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.”

This is the first time a Ford has won the pole for the Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 since Kirk Shelmerdine won it in 2001.

All through practice, Corr’s Empire Racing Ford has been one of the fastest cars on the track. “The car was really smooth, it’s been working great all week,” added Corr in the post-qualifying press conference. “The Roush-Yates engine pulled great and the car felt really smooth," said Corr. "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. It was still very fast. I think we have a good shot at our team's first top-five for tomorrow.“

The 80-lap, 200-mile Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 airs live on SPEED at 4:30 p.m. Eastern tomorrow, with live timing and scoring available at ARCARacing.com. Gerhart is the defending and all-time leading winner at the track, with wins in 1999, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2010 and 2011.

The race is scheduled as the first of 20 this season.

For More Information on the Text Salute Project, Visit United Way website link http://www.unitedwayli.org/income/militaryassistance.

For more on Sean Corr, Empire Racing and marketing partnership opportunities for the 2011 racing season, please visit www.seancorrondemand.com.

Are you FORD tough? Connect with Roush Yates Performance Products and Roush Yates Engines through their official web site at roushyatesparts.com.

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About Empire Racing: Established in 2009, Empire Racing LLC. (empireracingllc.com) is a two-tier professional motorsports organization consisting of dirt and asphalt competition. Sean Corr, a 27-year old hailing from Goshen, New York pilots the team’s automobiles in the DIRTcar Series and Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) competition. In 2012, the team will begin a run for a championship in the ARCA Racing Series with intentions of moving into National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) next year. The team is headquartered in Goshen, New York with an additional operation in Mooresville, North Carolina.

Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200  Official Starting Grid
Pos, Driver/Hometown, Car, Time, Speed
1, Sean Corr/Goshen NY, No. 82 Empire Racing Ford, 49.271, 182.663
2, Ryan Reed/Bakersfield CA, No. 15 JDRF Chevrolet, 49.362, 182.326
3, Steve Blackburn/Prestonsburg KY, No. 94 Harley Davidson Pike-Pop's Chevrolet, 49.416, 182.127
4, Tom Hessert/Cherry Hill NJ, No. 52 Federated Auto Parts Toyota, 49.449, 182.006
5, Chris Windom/West Lafayette IN, No. 32 Justice Brothers-Gillund Enterprises Toyota, 49.475, 181.910
6, Cale Gale/Mobile AL, No. 6 Rheem Chevrolet, 49.516, 181.759
7, Drew Charlson/New Bremen OH, No. 28 Aluma Aluminum Trailers Chevrolet, 49.525, 181.726
8, Chris Buescher/Prosper TX, No. 17 Roulo Brothers Racing Ford, 49.537, 181.682
9, Chad Hackenbracht/New Philadelphia OH, No. 58 Tastee Chocolate Apples Chevrolet, 49.537, 181.682
10, Mikey Kile/Westlake LA, No. 1 ModSpace Ford, 49.547, 181.646
11, Brandon McReynolds/Mooresville NC, No. 4 Turner Motorsports Chevrolet, 49.576, 181.539
12, Mark Thompson/Cartersville GA, No. 66 Phoenix Air Toyota, 49.611, 181.411
13, Nelson Canache/Caracas Venezuela, No. 35 Venezuela Tourism Toyota, 49.677, 181.170
14, Alex Bowman/Tucson AZ, No. 22 Ebay Motors-St. Jude Children's Research Hospital Dodge, 49.797, 180.734
15, Brett Hudson/Owensboro KY, No. 09 Hudson Performance Drivelines Dodge, 49.941, 180.213
16, Milka Duno/Caracas Venezuela, No. 33 Cantv-milkaway Chevrolet, 49.971, 180.104
17, Frank Kimmel/Clarksville IN, No. 44 Ansell-Menards Toyota, 50.113, 179.594
18, Max Gresham/Griffin GA, No. 9 Made In USA Chevrolet, 50.134, 179.519
19, Aleks Gregory/Baton Rouge LA, No. 78 The Mosquito Patch Ford, 50.215, 179.229
20, Alex Kennedy/Aztec NM, No. 08 SprakerRacing.com Ford, 50.332, 178.813
21, Will Kimmel/Sellersburg IN, No. 68 Enterprise Software Development Ford, 50.375, 178.660
22, Fain Skinner/Live Oak FL, No. 39 CarportEmpire.com-CSBdirect.com Ford, 50.395, 178.589
23, Zach Ralston/Marion IA, No. 90 O-Ring Sales & Service Ford, 50.416, 178.515
24, Matt Lofton/Roxboro NC, No. 16 Strutmasters.com Chevrolet, 50.433, 178.455
25, Terry Jones/Amherstburg Ontario, No. 30 Jones Group Limited Dodge, 50.561, 178.003
26, Leilani Munter/Rochester MN, No. 12 The Cove/Dolphins Awareness Dodge, 50.578, 177.943
27, Ed Kennedy/Coppell TX, No. 00 Ralph Solhem Racing Chevrolet, 50.609, 177.834
28, Buster Graham/Lafayette LA, No. 88 Batter's Dream-RoushYatesParts.com Ford, 50.729, 177.413
29, Sloan Henderson/Franklin OH, No. 29 K Automotive Dodge, 50.746, 177.354
30, George Cushman/Waterville NY, No. 13 Vukelja Law Attorneys-AIP-Beveridge Medical Dodge, 50.810, 177.130
31, Brandon Davis/Huntington Beach CA, No. 2 ModSpace-Hixson/Belmont Ford, 50.813, 177.120
32, Rick Clifton/Circleville OH, No. 11 Syngenta Ford, 50.826, 177.075
33, Brennan Poole/The Woodlands TX, No. 25 Adcetera-The Ad Man Chevrolet, Provisional,
34, Mike Harmon/Birmingport AL, No. 31 American Heroes Ford, Provisional,
35, Spencer Gallagher/Las Vegas NV, No. 23 Allegiant Air Chevrolet, Provisional,
36, Paulie Harraka/Wayne NJ, No. 55 Country Music Artist Jaclyn North Toyota, Provisional,
37, Ed Pompa/Ballston Spa NY, No. 10 Milwaukee Crusher-Double H Ranch Chevrolet, Provisional,
38, Darrell Basham/Henryville IN, No. 34 Darrell Basham Racing Chevrolet, Provisional,
39, James Hylton/Inman SC, No. 48 Radon.com Ford, Provisional,
40, Bill Coffey/Danbury CT, No. 18 JM Sportswear-Fast Track Driving School Ford, Provisional,
41, Josh Williams/Port Charlotte FL, No. 02 Southwest Florida Cable Construction Ford, Provisional,
42, Bobby Gerhart/Lebanon PA, No. 5 Lucas Oil Slick Mist Chevrolet, Provisional,
43, Larry Barford Jr./Denton MD, No. 04 1st Mariner Bank-Trauma Doc Dodge, Provisional,