Kimmel: Despite Engine Failure, ‘It’s Hard To Be Upset’

Will Kimmel limps to pit road Friday at Charlotte Motor Speedway. (Jacob Seelman/Race Face Digital photo)

CONCORD, N.C. – Will Kimmel’s quest to “race impactful” ended in heartbreak just 13 laps into Friday evening’s General Tire 150 for the ARCA Menards Series at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

After shocking many by qualifying on the pole with a legacy ‘built’ engine and then leading the first 12 circuits over Joe Gibbs Racing standout William Sawalich, Kimmel was forced to the garage due to a massively disappointing engine failure.

A broken valve spring was identified as the culprit, scuttling what could have been a historic night for the family-owned Kimmel Racing organization.

“This is part of it, but man … this is tough to swallow,” said the nephew of 10-time ARCA national champion Frank Kimmel. “Coming off (turn) two, it kind of stumbled a little bit, and I stayed in [the throttle], but when it went down on seven [cylinders] pretty hard and got to where it wouldn’t run … I knew we had to bring it in.

“We just tried to spin it over and it’s hurt pretty good. I think [all the broken parts] stayed inside. It’s heartbreaking though.”

Kimmel looked to be the man to beat early, pulling out to a comfortable gap over Sawalich. Even when the teenager started to close back in, the 37-year-old’s veteran experience shone through before his day – literally – broke apart.

“The 18 (Sawalich) had run us back down because we were getting a little free, but we were ready for that [handling change] because this place acts like a big Salem (Speedway in Indiana),” explained Kimmel. “Man, we were close today.

“It’s hard to be upset when we went out leading; we blew up running P1 at Charlotte. But you can’t help but think about what could have been here.”

In the aftermath of Kimmel’s disappointment, FOX Sports analyst and former driver Phil Parsons made a point to give kudos for everything Kimmel showed despite the end result.

“There are so many highs and lows in this sport,” said Parsons. “Obviously, it was such a high for him, getting that pole here at Charlotte. It ends in such a low, but he has nothing to hang his head over. He can hold his head high because he showed this field that he was there, that their family car can be competitive and have a chance of breaking through.”

The next national ARCA Menards Series race is June 6 at Michigan Int’l Speedway.