The dream became a reality this afternoon in sunny Daytona Beach, as Russ Dugger took the track for pre-qualifying practice in the #12 Accell Construction Chevrolet amongst a star-studded field of rookie drivers.
"When we came down to test in December, the car was good. Today, you could really feel the difference in every improvement, every little detail. The team worked so hard to improve on this car since December," ARCA rookie Russ Dugger said. "It was a long afternoon of practice, but well worth it. We learned a lot."
Though it might have been hard to see at top speed, the car was wearing a yellow and black Batman logo with the word "Daddy" front and center, a signal to his young family watching at home who believe their dad fights crime on the race track.
On this day, Dugger guided the "Batmobile" to a fastest lap of 50.108 seconds at 179.692 mph, which was more than fast enough to put him into Saturday's field. Gosselin and Dugger set quick times early, but weren't done trying to find more speed and practiced well into the afternoon looking for that extra tenth or two.
The ARCA Slick Mist 200's entry list - with south american open-wheel talents Milka Duno and Nelson Piquet Jr. alongside the familiar US faces of Ricky Carmichael and Danica Patrick - has generated sky-high interest in the race amongst motorsports fans and the media. Of those drivers, only Piquet and Patrick were faster in the 2nd session.
Dugger returns to the track next tomorrow, February 5th, at 11:00am for Menards Pole Qualifying Presented by Ansell, where he hopes to put the #12 solidly in the field for Saturday's race.
