ARCA: Rookie Dakoda Armstrong on pole at Talladega. Canadians Steve Arpin and Terry Jones to start fifth and ninth, respectively

TALLADEGA AL (4-22-10) - Dakoda Armstrong, driver of the No. 22 Cunningham Motorsports Dodge, completed a qualifying lap at the 2.66-mile Talladega Superspeedway in 51.346 seconds (186.499 mph) Thursday to earn the Menards Pole Award Presented by Ansell and the first starting spot for Friday's Talladega ARCA 250.

The pole is the first for the 18-year-old Armstrong, who was seventh in line for the qualifying session. His previous best start in ARCA Racing Series competition came earlier this year at Daytona, where he started fourth. Armstrong will receive 15 bonus points in the ARCA Racing Series championship standings for qualifying first.

Armstrong had already proved his superspeedway might earlier in the day by finishing second in the opening practice behind Steve Arpin and the No. 55 Mike's Hard Lemonade Toyota.

Though he acknowledged that a top starting position may not be as important in a long event on a pass-heavy, competitive track like Talladega, Armstrong did not discount the significance of winning the pole.

"It means we have the fastest car," said the Penske Racing developmental driver. "Now it'd just be great if I could lead 94 laps like that."

Mikey Kile rebounded swiftly after changing a motor late in Thursday's practice. Driving the No. 25 Tag Heuer Eyewear Toyota as the 26th car in the session, Kile turned a lap in 51.419 seconds (186.235 mph) to take the second starting spot.

"I'm not worried about the motors," Kile said. "Toyota has built us good engines and we'll have the chance to run up front, so I'm not too worried."

Kile's position on the front row gives him 10 bonus points, meaning third qualifier and current series runner-up Justin Marks (51.513 seconds/185.895 mph) scored just five points for his third position. This leaves Steve Arpin, who led by 10 points after his win at Texas Motor Speedway, as the series points leader.

The Talladega ARCA 250 will take the green flag Friday at 4 p.m. Central, with live broadcast coverage provided by SPEED. More information is available on the Web at ARCARacing.com.

ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards

Talladega Superspeedway
Starting Grid, Talladega ARCA 250 (4-23-10)

POS      NO      DRIVER/HOMETOWN         TIME    SPEED 
1        22      Dakoda Armstrong/New Castle IN  51.346  186.499       
2        25      Mikey Kile/Westlake LA  51.419  186.235       
3        32      Justin Marks/Rocklin CA         51.513  185.895       
4        31      Tim George Jr./New York NY      51.514  185.891       
5        55      Steve Arpin/Fort Frances Ontario        51.537  185.808       
6        77      Tom Hessert/Cherry Hill NJ      51.625  185.492       
7        51      James Buescher/Plano TX         51.668  185.337       
8        09      Grant Enfinger/Fairhope AL      51.696  185.237       
9        30      Terry Jones/McGregor Ontario    51.721  185.147       
10       35      Hal Martin/Galliano LA  51.732  185.108       
11       15      Alli Owens/Daytona Beach FL     51.764  184.993       
12       66      Mark Thompson/Cartersville GA   51.807  184.840       
13       5       Bobby Gerhart/Lebanon PA        51.840  184.722       
14       4       Ricky Carmichael/Tallahassee FL         51.877  184.590       
15       60      Patrick Sheltra/Indiantown FL   51.918  184.445       
16       16      Joey Coulter/Miami Springs FL   51.920  184.438       
17       1       Chad McCumbee/Supply NC         51.962  184.289       
18       6       Brandon McReynolds/Mooresville NC       51.986  184.203       
19       75      Benny Chastain/Tallahassee FL   51.992  184.182       
20       11      Bryan Silas/Stuart FL   52.023  184.072       
21       36      Robb Brent/Shelby Township MI   52.094  183.822       
22       81      Craig Goess/Greenville NC       52.340  182.958       
23       44      Frank Kimmel/Clarksville IN     52.384  182.804       
24       52      Bill Baird/Sturgis KY   52.412  182.706       
25       82      Sean Corr/Goshen NY     52.497  182.410       
26       43      Kyle Martel/Lebanon PA  52.554  182.213       
27       38      Alex Kennedy/Aztec NM   52.715  181.656       
28       42      Scott Stenzel/Orlando FL        52.848  181.199       
29       14      Chase Mattioli/Long Pond PA     52.928  180.925       
30       76      Jerick Johnson/Faribault MN     53.090  180.373       
31       59      Nick Igdalsky/Long Pond PA      53.600  178.657       
32       48      James Hylton/Inman SC   53.712  178.284       
33       23      Mark Gibson/Winder GA   Provisional   
34       34      Darrell Basham/Henryville IN    Provisional   
35       28      Brent Cross/Cortland NY         Provisional   
36       26      Brad Smith/Shelby Township MI   Provisional   
37       06      Wayne Peterson/Pulaski TN       Provisional   
38       10      Marc Easton/Lake Saranac NY     Provisional   
39       68      Larry Meadors/Louisville KY     Provisional   
40       0       Rob Jones/Bowie MD      Provisional   
41       58      Chad Hackenbracht/New Philadelphia OH   Provisional   
42       94      Jason Basham/Henryville IN      Provisional   

From ARCA