Frank Kimmel knows he wasn’t good, in fact he knows there will be no where else to go but up.

Kimmel, in his first time racing at Rockingham Speedway in last year’s ARCA race, finished 10th, two laps behind Joey Logano.

“I was disappointed,” Kimmel said. “We made bad decisions in the pits and I wasn’t having a good day on the track. We had old tires on when the leaders were on new tires. We fell a lap behind and we weren’t able to make it up. We were hoping for the ‘lucky dog’ but he (Logano) was lapping everyone so quick.”

Despite what he terms a disappointing finish in the race, Kimmel feels he has learned a great deal about the ins and outs of “The Rock” for Sunday’s Carolina 200.

“I felt like we saw what some of the other teams did to be successful,” he said. “We are coming with a little more aggressive setup. With Joey not being there, that should open it up. There will probably be 10 to 15 cars that can be competitive.

“Joey had everybody beat last year. And if there is someone that is going to do it this year - I hope it’s me.”

The only nine-time points champion in the ARCA series, Kimmel believes he is coming into the weekend with some momentum after finishing seventh at Salem Speedway, a track he feels has some similarities to Rockingham Speedway.

“They both present a lot of similar problems,” Kimmel said. “You want to avoid getting into trouble. At Salem, I thought we had a pretty decent car, but we got caught up in a wreck on a restart and took us out of contention.”

Kimmel admits while he hopes he and his team learned a lot from last year’s practice time and race, he knows he doesn’t know the track like some of his other competitors like Ken Schrader.

Despite his lack of experience at “The Rock,” Kimmel is excited to have the chance to race here this weekend and again when the ARCA series returns in October.

“There is so much rich history at Rockingham Speedway,” Kimmel said. “The track has a ton of character and it’s a different type of track than the others we go to which makes it fun for the competitors. It’s a quirky little place.”

In his short time at Rockingham Speedway, Kimmel is hoping he has found the key to success.

“It’s an exciting track, but it doesn’t have a lot of grip,” he said. “Exiting turn one, the track really tightens up and it feels like the wall jumps out at you. Going into turn three the preferred line is down low even though that’s a little rougher spot on the track. But you have to make that work so you can carry as much speed through four.”

Kimmel, currently in fourth place in this season’s ARCA points race, understands he is looked at as the elder statesman in the series. He said he knows several cars will be entered this weekend to give younger drivers a chance to see what they can do behind the wheel of a stock car. Kimmel’s only apprehension is making sure those drivers and owners realize there is a championship to be won at the end of the year.

“I think for the most part, a lot of the younger guys try too be a little too aggressive to try and impress people,” Kimmel said. “It’s a sport, so everyone who they (ARCA) feel is qualified can come and compete. As long as the drivers and teams know there are teams out there trying to win the points race, not just that race, or just to say they raced out there.”