(TOLEDO, Ohio) - Six ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards drivers will appear Friday evening in West Michigan to promote traffic safety in conjunction with the Holland Department of Public Safety.

Nine-time ARCA Racing Series champion Frank Kimmel, Chad McCumbee, Tom Hessert, Chad Hackenbracht, Max Gresham, and Kenzie Ruston will all participate in the Holland Department of Public Safety's Race Day event tomorrow, one day before competing in the Hantz Group 200 at Berlin Raceway in Marne.

The annual event will take place from 5-8 p.m. at the Menards store at 572 East 16th Street in Holland, and will feature numerous show cars from the ARCA Racing Series.

Race Day is designed to promote traffic safety and utilizes several local and national series race car drivers and their teams. The purpose is to educate the public on the importance of proper seatbelt and child restraint use. The goal of the event is for children to see the colorful race cars and have the chance to look closely at the belts and other safety equipment that is used, along the way learning that safety can be "cool."

Additional local racers will be on hand to talk with the community about the importance of safety restraint use and not being distracted while driving.

The HDPS Fire Division will have a smokehouse simulator on site to teach children of all ages about fire safety. Those in attendance will have the chance to try the "seatbelt convincer," as well as see the "Beat the Heat" drag racing car of Allegan County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Bud Randall. WTNR Thunder 94.5 of Grand Rapids will host a live radio remote from 5-7.

The 200-lap Hantz Group 200 at Berlin Raceway begins at 8:30 p.m. Eastern Saturday, with live audio coverage and live timing and scoring featured on ARCARacing.com. Frank Kimmel is the leading winner at the track, with three victories (1999, 2003, 2004).

Drivers will prepare for the 200-lap race with a 90-minute practice at 2:30 p.m. and Menards Pole Qualifying presented by Ansell at 5, and fans will be treated to a driver autograph session on the track at 6:15. ARCARacing.com will feature live timing and scoring coverage of all on-track events.

The ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards features 19 events at 16 tracks on its 2011 schedule. The series has crowned an ARCA national champion each year since its inaugural season in 1953, and has toured over 200 race tracks in 28 states since its inception. The series tests the abilities of drivers and race teams over the most diverse schedule of stock car racing events in the world, annually visiting tracks ranging from 0.4 mile to 2.66 miles in length, on both paved and dirt surfaces as well as a left- and right-turn road course.

Founded by John Marcum in 1953 in Toledo, Ohio, the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) is recognized among the leading sanctioning bodies in the country. Closing in on completing its sixth decade after hundreds of thousands of miles of racing, ARCA administers over 100 race events each season in two professional touring series and local weekly events.

CONTACT:

Rob Brewer, City of Holland (616) 355-1707 r.brewer@cityofholland.com

Griffin Hickman, ARCA (419) 574-2685 (mobile) ghickman@arcaracing.com

Don Radebaugh, ARCA (419) 450-0611 (mobile) dradebaugh@arcaracing.com