DAYTONA BEACH FL (2-10-06) - Whenever the ARCA RE/MAX Series makes its annual pilgrimage to Daytona Int'l Speedway, you can always count on a few things: the entry lists are usually lengthy, the weather is normally a refreshing break from the wintry mix at ARCA world headquarters, and Bobby Gerhart is usually fast.

Gerhart is so fast in fact, that he captured a record fourth Daytona ARCA 200 Pork Pole award Friday, becoming the only driver in the history of the series to earn four poles at the 2.5-mile speedplant, let alone four consecutive.

“It’s been five year of long, hard work,” said Gerhart. “We got the opportunity to put everything where we wanted it to. We started last year trying to build a car that would have a little bit more down force and along the way it looks like we didn’t even lose any speed."

Official Starting Grid & Qualifying Results

"For an ARCA team to do that caliber of a change is pretty big. We got away from what really worked for us for three straight years. I think what we’ve done is put together a better car as far as race runs go and a little bit better car.”

In dramatic fashion, Gerhart, in his own Lucas Oil Chevrolet, bumped Matt McCall's Robert Yates Racing Ford off the pole in the final moments of qualifying, thereby bumping himself into the record books.

Gerhart’s pole allowed him to surpass Ferrel Harris and two-time series champion Benny Parsons with the honor of holding the most Pork Poles at Daytona. Parsons, who went on to become a NASCAR Nextel Cup champion, secured consecutive Daytona ARCA poles in 1968, 1969 and 1970, while Harris won Pork Pole awards at Daytona in 1976, 1981 and 1984.

Should he find victory lane come Saturday, Gerhart will become the only driver in the 54-year history of ARCA to win four Daytona ARCA 200s. In 2005, he captured his third Daytona ARCA 200 victory, tying him with Iggy Katona for the most ARCA Daytona victories to-date. Gerhart, of Lebanon, Pennsylvania, has been testing heavily at both Daytona and Talladega in preparation for this year’s race.

But, if Gerhart is to secure a record fourth Daytona victory, he will have to do so with two very strong rookies on his tail. Robert Yates Racing leads a hefty field of driver development entries entered for the event. However, Gerhart welcomes the extra competition.

“I know there’s a mind set maybe in the garage area that we don’t want them (driver development entries) to be there, that they take away some of the luster,” said Gerhart. “But I don’t mind them here. ARCA needs to be the place for these young drivers to get developed, and I kind of look forward to it, actually.”

And, the driver development entries at Daytona seem to be especially competitive this year. Specifically, Robert Yates Racing young guns McCall and Stephen Leicht, whose speeds were good enough to occupy the second and third starting spots in only their first career ARCA RE/MAX Series qualifying attempts.

The young Yates protégés, each slated to compete in a handful of ARCA RE/MAX Series events this season, are using this weekend’s Daytona ARCA 200 to take advantage of the opportunity to refine their drafting skills on one of the nation’s premier superspeedways.

“Me and Matt drafted for the first time yesterday because we didn’t get to at the three day December test,” said Leicht. “We drafted with Kimmel and Justin Diercks a little bit. Our cars handled very well.”

Both of the young stars plan on competing in the NASCAR Busch Series in addition to their ARCA RE/MAX Series schedules in 2006.

“There’s a lot of teams with cup backing coming out here in ARCA,” said McCall. “I think the biggest thing is everyone wants some experience before they go to a Truck, Busch or Cup deal.”

ARCA RE/MAX Series veteran driver and car owner Matt Hagans, who finished fifth in last year’s ARCA Daytona event, posted a time of 48.931 seconds (183.932 mph), good enough to start fourth in Saturday’s Daytona ARCA 200. ARCA RE/MAX Series rookie Greg Barnhart, in the Panelite Ford rounded out the top five with a speed of 183.363mph.

Clocking in with a time of 180.585 mph, Chad McCumbee was the last entry to make the 41-car starting field based on his qualifying time. He will start Saturday’s Daytona ARCA 200 in the 32nd starting spot, with positions 33 through 41 based on provisionals.

However, Friday’s qualifying session was not quite as successful for some as they had hoped. While entering turn three in an attempt to take the green flag for qualifying, Mike Harmon, in the no. 38 Bert Oostlander Chevrolet, noticed that his oil line had come loose, dropping fluid onto the track. Harmon’s crew was able to savage the motor and continue qualifying. However, Harmon’s speed of 178.877 mph was not good enough to make the field based on qualifying speed alone. He starts 38th thanks to a provisional.

With 64 cars attempting to qualify for the 41 car starting field, a number of ARCA RE/MAX Series teams ended their day in heartbreak at the realization that they were one of 27 teams that had not made Saturday’s Daytona ARCA 200.

"We did our best,” said Terry Jones, driver of the no. 30 Jones Group Racing Dodge. “It costs a lot of money to race at the Cup level, and that’s basically what we’re running up against. It’s a good thing, really, to be able to run up against this kind of competition. And if you want to make the Daytona race, you better have your equipment ready.”