NASCAR Cup Series

Gerhart wins 7th career Daytona ARCA race

Published Feb. 13, 2011 12:44 a.m. ET

foxsports

New pavement, same result: Bobby Gerhart won the ARCA race at Daytona.

Gerhart held off the field for the final 10 laps to win Saturday's ARCA race at Daytona International Speedway - his seventh Daytona win in the minor league stock car racing series.

Chris Buescher finished second, followed by Matt Merrell, former motocross star Ricky Carmichael and Jason Bowles.

''It'll probably take a long time, maybe until I'm even done racing, until the meaning of what we've done really sets in,'' Gerhart said. ''But we're geared up to compete here, and I'm privileged to do that. I'm already thinking about next year.''

It was a warmup for upcoming NASCAR events on the repaved Daytona track, and drivers seemed to like the new smooth surface.

''It was something that needed to happen for sure,'' Gerhart said. ''You can't stop it when the track begins to fall apart. It will certainly make for better racing. Fantastic. They did a beautiful job.''

Gerhart said he nearly ran out of fuel in the closing laps of the race.

The Daytona ARCA race often is known for its big crashes, but Saturday's race was relatively clean until a big wreck with 17 laps to go. When the race restarted, Buescher and the rest of the field couldn't really challenge Gerhart for the lead.