Testing SpeedwayMedia.com

Category: Featured Headline

Featured headlines from SpeedwayMedia.com

NASCAR announces change to uncontrolled tire penalties
On Wednesday, NASCAR redefined specifics in the rule book to clarify adjustments with how officials will declare an uncontrolled tire violation during pit stops.

“After discussions internally and with competitors and teams, NASCAR will adjust how we officiate the uncontrolled tire rule to focus on preventing a safety hazard rather than concentrating on the subjective ‘arm’s length’ criteria,” NASCAR said in a statement.

The original judgment call of “arm’s length” will no longer apply, and is set around three cornerstone evaluations.
- Tire(s) cannot roll into traffic lanes of pit road outside of the designated team’s pit box;
- Removed tire(s) do not return to the outside half of the pit box;
- Tire(s) are handled in a safe manner, avoiding instances of bouncing or throwing tires.
NASCAR also made additional clarifications that any tires removed from the car during pit stops may not exceed the “proximity limits” to other pit boxes as noted in the NASCAR Rule Book. This new rule will take effect immediately, applying to the upcoming races at Pocono Raceway and Iowa Speedway for NASCAR’s top three national touring series.

“This is something we’ve been looking at for some time over the last year or two,” said Elton Sawyer, NASCAR’s Vice President of officiating and technical inspection. “The evolution of the pit stop has changed over time. There was a time when we needed to officiate that call based on an arm’s length.

“We have reviewed that numerous times and looked at it and feel like, in coordination with working with the teams, the timing is right to go ahead and remove that part of the rule from the rule book. We will continue to officiate uncontrolled tires. They still have to be controlled from the outside half of the pit box to the inside half.”

Another concern NASCAR addressed and made changes to was mandating outside tires to be changed first. Watkins Glen is quickly approaching the schedule, and since teams usually change the right side tires first at 37 races throughout the year, one race was the exception with pit wall on the opposite side. One strategy teams were considering was to continue changing right side tires first, which would then become the “inside” tire during pit stops at the New York road course.

For safety reasons, NASCAR regulated this and informed teams that if they elect to change four tires, the pit crew must change the outside tires first.

“This is something we’ve been working with the teams on,” Sawyer said. “They came to us and they had been looking at changing the inside tires first, and Watkins Glen would have been the first event that they would have been trying to do that.

“Through the collaboration, through some additional conversations, we felt like that going forward starting at Watkins Glen, for all four-tire stops you’d have to change the outside tires first. That’ll go into effect across all three national series and at every event starting at Watkins Glen next week.”

The penalty for uncontrolled tires remains the same: a pass-through penalty during green-flag runs or dropping to the rear of the field when under caution.
July 25, 2019
Nick Harrison, longtime NASCAR crew chief, dies at 37

Staff Report | NASCAR.com

Kaulig Racing announced Sunday morning that Nick Harrison, crew chief of the team’s No. 11 NASCAR Xfinity Series car, has died. He was 37.

A statement from team owner Matt Kaulig and team president Chris Rice read: “It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Nick Harrison, our beloved crew chief of the No. 11 car at Kaulig Racing. Please keep Nick’s family in your thoughts and prayers at this time.”

Kaulig Racing@KauligRacing

A statement from Kaulig Racing team owner, Matt Kaulig, and President, Chris Rice:

532 10:16 AM – Jul 21, 2019 Twitter Ads info and privacy 300 people are talking about this

No additional information was available.

“We are deeply saddened by the loss of longtime crew chief Nick Harrison, and offer our thoughts, prayers and support to his family, friends and Kaulig Racing colleagues,” NASCAR said in a statement.

Harrison has been a fixture in the garage for the past decade-plus, serving as a crew chief in all three NASCAR national series since 2006. He was atop the pit box for 120 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races from 2010-14, and 184 NASCAR Xfinity Series races.

His Xfinity Series career includes a stretch with Richard Childress Racing that produced four of his five career victories — three with Austin Dillon and one with Paul Menard. Harrison also won atop the pit box with Kurt Busch in 2012.

“Words can’t describe how I feel about (Harrison),” Dillon tweeted. “The man was one of the first people to believe in me in the Cup Series. He gave me an opportunity to drive for James Finch, which gave me confidence to believe in myself at the top level.”

This was Harrison’s first year with Kaulig Racing, and he and driver Justin Haley had two top-five finishes and and 12 top-10 finishes in 17 starts together. Harrison was at the track Saturday when Haley finished 13th at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

“Not just a crew chief, but a friend to everyone who knew him,” Haley tweeted Sunday morning. “I, and everyone at Kaulig Racing are devastated. He will be greatly missed.”

Drivers were quick to offer their condolences:

Austin Dillon✔@austindillon3

Words can’t describe how I feel about @NickHarrison111. The man was one of the first people to believe in me in the Cup series. He gave me an opportunity to drive for James Finch which gave me confidence to believe in myself at the top level. We were able to win the together…217 10:44 AM – Jul 21, 2019 Twitter Ads info and privacy 27 people are talking about this

Austin Dillon✔@austindillon3

multiple times in @XfinityRacing and a win in @NASCAR_Trucks. My favorite thing to this day to hear over the radio was his voice saying Hauling Balls. I hope today I hear it on the radio as we give it all we got on the track today for Nick. 374 10:44 AM – Jul 21, 2019 Twitter Ads info and privacy 42 people are talking about this

AJ Allmendinger✔@AJDinger

I’m so sad to see this. I was fortunate to work with Nick driving for James Finch. Nick was one of the most fun people I was ever around at the racetrack. Prayers with the team and the Harrison family. Very sad……. https://twitter.com/KauligRacing/status/1152945529367793665 …Kaulig Racing@KauligRacingA statement from Kaulig Racing team owner, Matt Kaulig, and President, Chris Rice:129 10:25 AM – Jul 21, 2019 Twitter Ads info and privacy See AJ Allmendinger’s other Tweets

Corey LaJoie✔@CoreyLaJoie

Man this is tough news. Nick was one my favorite guys at the track. His family will be in my prayers. https://twitter.com/kauligracing/status/1152945529367793665 …Kaulig Racing@KauligRacingA statement from Kaulig Racing team owner, Matt Kaulig, and President, Chris Rice:88 10:53 AM – Jul 21, 2019 Twitter Ads info and privacy See Corey LaJoie’s other Tweets

Daniel Hemric✔@DanielHemric

…….We will never understand why we are called home at the exact time that we are, but our good buddy Nick Harrison got that call last night. He never met a stranger, and would bring a smile to everyone’s face he was around. We love you man & you will be greatly missed 411 10:50 AM – Jul 21, 2019 Twitter Ads info and privacy 42 people are talking about this

Justin Haley✔@Justin_Haley_

Not just a crew chief, but a friend to everyone who knew him. I, and everyone at Kaulig Racing are devastated. He will be greatly missed.

583 10:41 AM – Jul 21, 2019 Twitter Ads info and privacy 120 people are talking about this

Kurt Busch✔@KurtBusch

We all lost a friend last night. We love you Nick Harrison. You were a leader, and a great friend to all.

Nick really helped me rebuild my career when I was at a low point. RIP

305 11:23 AM – Jul 21, 2019 Twitter Ads info and privacy

July 21, 2019
ARCA Menards Series Preivew- Iowa

The ARCA Menards Series continues the summer stretch by staying in the Midwest, visiting Iowa Speedway this Friday night. The track is located in Newton, Iowa just a few minutes east of Des Moines.

It will be the 14th race of the 2019 ARCA Menards Series season and with that, there are six races remaining until the season finale at Kansas Speedway in October.

With hot temperatures around all week and expected for tomorrow night’s race, the on-track action has certainly been heating up as well. Last week, future NASCAR superstar Chandler Smith continued his winning ways at Elko Speedway taking the checkered flag once again. It was Smith’s fifth win of his career and the third of the season. Speaking of Smith, his teammates had a little brush up on the last lap when Michael Self and Christian Eckes got together in the final turn taking each other out.

Shifting gears one week later, the young rookie Smith hopes to continue the on-track success at Iowa. He already has one start this season at Iowa by making his NASCAR national series debut last month for Kyle Busch Motorsports. Smith will try to take what he learned and apply it to Friday night’s race.

“This is a short track but it’s a big short track,” Smith said. “The biggest thing I will take back is how much I moved around the racetrack and all of the grooves. It’s a fast track and aerodynamics are important. I learned some things in the Truck race and I will be able to play around with some aero as well.”

His teammate Christian Eckes is having an inconsistent 2019 so far, but he is not giving up quite yet as he sits fourth in the points standings, 115 points behind teammate Michael Self. The Middletown, New York native has three starts at Iowa with a best finish of eighth in 2017.

“It’s definitely been a rough run at it so far this year,” said Eckes. “Our No. 15 JBL Audio Camry has had so much speed, just things haven’t been going our way by any means. Morale is high heading into Iowa this weekend. We’re ready to turn it around. We’ve done it before and we can do it again; let’s do it.”

After feeling dejected about taking out his teammate last week on the final lap, championship points leader Self looks forward to Friday night’s race at Iowa and hopes to come away with a clean racecar.

“Iowa is always a track I look forward to racing at,” Self says. “I’ve got a ton of experience there between K&N, ARCA and Xfinity, and have been fortunate to win there a couple of times and have some strong runs, so it’s nice going to a track that I’m comfortable at and know better than anywhere else we go on the schedule. Unfortunately, I feel like I’ve shot myself in the foot two years in a row there in the ARCA races and cost myself a shot at a win both times, so I definitely want to go in and be smart this weekend and put a solid run together without any mistakes.”

At Iowa, Self has two starts over the past two years, earning a fourth-place finish in his first outing there in 2017. Last year, he was taken out in a crash on Lap 92, which relegated him to an 18th place finish after leading 44 laps.

With all three Venturini Motorsports drivers having experience at Iowa, Stadium Super Truck driver Gavin Harlien will be making his second career ARCA start. Harlien recently competed at Gateway, which some think is a similar track to Iowa.

“I have been eager to get back in the car ever since the checkered flag waved at Gateway,” said the Phoenix, Arizona native. “Now that I have one ARCA race under my belt, I’m definitely feeling more confident heading into Iowa. I was able to get those first race nerves out of the way and run a clean race in the top 10. My goal was to get the car to the finish and learn as much as I can. Now that I’ve done that, I plan on being more aggressive in my last two races this season.

One team looks to break the powerhouse team of Venturini Motorsports and that’s Chad Bryant’s team of the No. 77 and No. 22.

Joe Graf Jr. sits fifth in the points standings, 225 points behind championship leader Michael Self. He earned a top-10 finish last weekend at Elko after a somewhat difficult couple of weeks.

Like Smith, Graf Jr. also competed at Iowa not too long ago in the NASCAR Xfinity Series where he finished 19th for Richard Childress Racing. The New Jersey native also had a recent test at the 7/8-mile speedway.

“Been looking forward to going back to Iowa for the last couple of weeks,” said Graf. “It’s a cool short track and without a doubt the more laps I circle around there, I feel like the better I get it.”

Despite earning that top-10 finish last weekend, he still wants more for Friday night’s race.

“We really need to have a strong run on Friday night,” Graf continued. “It hasn’t been the season we had been hoping for, but we still have a bunch of races stacked on the schedule and I’m hoping we can turn some heads this season.”

Graf’s teammate Corey Heim, however, does not have any starts at Iowa. Heim will be leaning on his crew chief Paul Andrews to help him learn about the track in Newton, Iowa.

“This weekend at Iowa Speedway is going to be a very new and exciting experience for me,” Heim said. “I’m really looking forward to a bigger track like Iowa because of my performance at Gateway a few weeks ago.”

While Heim does not have any prior starts at Iowa, he did compete in a test a couple of weeks ago to help him adjust and prepare for the race.

“We tested at Iowa a few weeks ago, and I feel good about it,” he added. “The track was very hot and slick, just like it’s going to be on race day.”

With Iowa being a short track, the youngster does have some short track experience by competing at racetracks like Pensacola (finished fifth), Salem (finished fifth), Nashville (11th), Toledo and Madison (10th), a fourth at Gateway and he finished fifth at Elko last weekend.

Eighteen-year-old Colby Howard will be returning to an ARCA car Friday night for Win-Tron Racing’s No. 32 machine. It will be his first start since finishing ninth at Madison last year for Mason Mitchell Motorsports.

“I’m really excited to be back in the ARCA Menards Series and making my first start with Win-Tron this weekend,” said Howard. “With our pro late model success, I was really wanting to try my hand at a bigger car again. I feel like I’ve grown as a driver and my management team at PMG hooked me up with Kevin Cywinski and Win-Tron to give me the opportunity to showcase my talents at this level once more. I’ve always enjoyed tracks where there are multiple grooves, and that’s one reason I’m looking forward to Iowa this weekend. It’s the biggest and fastest track I’ve ever been on, too.”

Another driver making his Iowa Speedway debut is KBR Development driver Carson Hocevar, in the No. 28.

“I am so stoked for Iowa. It is one track that I have had circled since the beginning of the season. It’s a really cool race track and based off our performance at Gateway, I think we will be strong this weekend in our GMPartsNow Chevrolet.”

While Howard and Holby do not have any starts at Iowa, Munford, the Alabama native has two starts to his name with a best finish of eighth in last year’s race.

“I can’t wait to get to Iowa Speedway. I think it’ll be a perfect race for us to bounce back from last weekend at Elko Speedway and get a string of consistent top-five finishes back. We could set ourselves up for a good points day and even better, a win. It’s a racer’s track for sure, which makes it all that more fun to race. There’s not one preferred line, that makes it exciting to pass and race with the cars around you.”

With Iowa Speedway being the 14th race of the season, it will mark the halfway mark for the Sioux Chief Short Track Challenge championship series. With just five races remaining for this challenge, Venturini Motorsports driver Chandler Smith leads the way with a 70-point lead over Joe Gibbs Racing driver Ty Gibbs. Michael Self follows in third, Bret Holmes and Carson Hocevar in a tie for fourth, and Corey Heim in sixth place.

Over the span of the next five races, the Sioux Chief Short Track Challenge will visit dirt tracks like Springfield and DuQuoin. Then it will visit Salem in September and have its season finale at the famed Lucas Oil Raceway on October 5.

Past champions include part-time JR Motorsports and full-time GMS Racing Gander Outdoors Truck Series driver, Sheldon Creed, who won in 2018. Austin Theriault won in 2017 driving for Ken Schrader Racing, current Xfinity Series Stewart-Haas Racing driver Chase Briscoe won in 2016 and Kyle Weatherman won in 2015 while driving for Cunningham Motorsports which is now owned by Chad Bryant.

Other drivers on the entry list include Tim Richmond, Jason Miles, Eric Caudell, Tommy Vigh Jr., Rick Clifton, Ty Gibbs, Travis Braden, Brad Smith and Scott Melton, which makes up 19 cars total for Friday night’s race, Fans With Benefits 150.

Iowa Speedway has seen 12 ARCA races since its first year back in 2006. The list of winners includes Steve Wallace, Frank Kimmel, Matt Hawkins, Parker Kligerman, Tom Hessert III, Ty Dillon, Alex Bowman, Grant Enfinger, Mason Mitchel, Chase Briscoe, Dalton Sargeant and Sheldon Creed.

If you want to win, you better have a good starting spot. The winners have come from inside the top five, nine times. Only once has the winner came outside the top-10 and that was Hawkins who did it in 2008. Drivers have won from the pole at least three times set by Creed in 2018, Dillon in 2011 and Wallace in its first race in 2006.

The speedway has only seen two first time winners, Hawkins and Hessert.

As in most cases, it will be a one day show for the ARCA Menards Series. The only practice session will take place from 11:45 a.m. – 1:15 p.m. Central time, live on arcaracing.com.

The General Tire pole qualifying is slated for 3:45 p.m. Central time and will also be live on arcaracing.com.

The Fans with Benefits 150 green flag is scheduled to fly a little after 8 p.m. Central, live on MAVTV and arcaracing.com.

July 18, 2019
Denny Hamlin rebounds to finish fifth at Kentucky after penalty

Coming into Kentucky Speedway, Denny Hamlin had finishes of 15th at Chicago and 26th at Daytona. After being involved in a big wreck last weekend at Daytona, Hamlin and his No. 11 crew were hoping to rebound at the 1.5-mile track.

Hamlin finished fourth in Stage 1 but received a penalty for an uncontrolled tire in Stage 2 leaving him with a 22nd place finish in the second stage. He worked hard all night, even leading for five laps before Hamlin had to make his final pit stop of the night. The late race caution gave the No. 11 team another shot at the win. Unfortunately, Hamlin would have to wait until New Hampshire for a shot at the win, as he wound up fifth at Kentucky.

Still, Hamlin was somewhat satisfied with his top five finish.

“We definitely had a fast car, a car that was fast enough to run up there with those guys,” Hamlin said in his interview with PRN. “Obviously, being back in the pack there with 80 to go was detrimental to try and win the race. We had to make the call with no tires there, we didn’t gain any track position, and we had worse tires than anyone around us. Still was able to get up to fifth, so pretty happy with that effort.”

“We have fast cars every week, as long as we have a clean race, we have chances to win and we just can’t have the penalties or the wrecks we have. You know, it’s just a combination of things and we’re really close.”

The fifth-place finish was Hamlin’s eighth top-five of the year. He is looking forward to New Hampshire this coming weekend, where he won in 2017.

July 14, 2019
Clint Bowyer satisfied with top 10 finish

It has been a frustrating season for Clint Bowyer and his No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing team. His best finish this season was second at Texas in March. Since then, Bowyer has had up and down results.

It seems as though when Bowyer would finish in the top five or top 10 in one race, he would wind up the 20s or 30s in the next race. He’s finished seventh at Bristol, third at Richmond, 29th at Talladega, ninth at Dover and fifth Kansas, while finishing 24th at Charlotte, fifth again at Pocono, 35th at Michigan, 11th at Sonoma, 37th at Chicago and 34th at Daytona prior to Kentucky.

After the stretch of bad luck, Bowyer and his team were hoping to leave Kentucky Speedway with a decent finish, at least a top-10, and if the opportunity presented itself, a win. He came close to doing just that.

On Friday afternoon, he qualified in the seventh position giving him good track position at a track where you need it if you want to have a shot at the win.

As the race started, Bowyer had a decent car throughout the night. He ran as low as 34th, obviously after green flag pit stops. He finished 18th in Stage 1 but earned a fifth-place finish in Stage 2.

When Stage 3 began, Bowyer was out front leading the race with former teammate Kurt Busch. He led from Lap 164 to Lap 201 for 38 laps. It would be the only time Bowyer was out front, as he would settle for a sixth-place finish.

At the end of it all, Bowyer was pleased with the effort and the speed of his No. 14 team.

“It was really crazy,” Bowyer told PRN in his post-race interview. “You look at that and think, could’ve, would’ve, should’ve with a fifth place run right there. However, with the month of June we had, where you go for it in that situation and get wrecked out, we can’t afford any of those. We gave up a position there. Again, you’re frustrated with that, but a good momentum boost for our team, a positive night for us.”

“Made some good calls on the box, Mike (Bugarewicz, Crew Chief) gave us some good track position. Our cars are really fast out front. Our Stewart-Haas cars have shown great speed, we have to work on race trim in traffic, things like that. We have some good tracks coming up for us, have a little positive mojo back for a change. Hell, I’ll take it.”

It was Bowyer’s ninth top-10 finish of the season and he currently sits 14th in the playoff standings. He will need more consistent finishes like those and possibly a win if he wants to compete for a championship later this season.

July 14, 2019
Erik Jones places third at Kentucky

Erik Jones and his Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 Craftsman Tools Toyota came home in the third position at Kentucky Speedway Saturday night after a late race restart.

During the race, Jones was battling and dealing with track position trying to get his team up front for a shot at the win. At one point, Jones pitted after Kurt Busch and Clint Bowyer in an attempt to come out in front of them once the stops cycled through. However, Jones would still be stuck in the back as race leader and teammate Kyle Busch would stay in the lead after the last round of pit stops.

The Michigan native caught a break with six laps to go when a caution came out for a spin in Turn 1, which set up a NASCAR overtime giving the field two additional laps.

Jones was right there behind his teammate Kyle Busch and even make a dive bomb move to try and race with Kurt Busch to take the lead. But, the Busch Brothers would go around Jones and battle it out for the win. When the race leaders were leaning on each other and bending fenders, Jones was in the hot seat in case the two would wreck each other.

Unfortunately, Jones watched the thrilling finish right in front of him and had to settle for a third-place finish.

“Just track position, qualified where we didn’t want to and had to work back from that,” Jones said to PRN in his post-race interview. “But you know, right from the start, the Craftsman Camry was pretty good. I felt comfortable in practice and how we were in race trim. Just had to work back from it, took us in the whole second stage to get up there. We finally were in position and got some good restarts, good pit stops, which helped us get up there on the last restart. You can’t ask for much more, you want to be there and have a shot, and we did that but didn’t have quite enough car or circumstances. A great day overall.”

With the third place finish, it would be Jones fifth top five of the season and his first since Pocono in June. He is currently 16th, occupying the last spot in the playoff standings.

July 14, 2019
Larson rounds out top-five finish for Chip Ganassi Racing

Kyle Larson and his No. 42 team were hoping to break through for a win at Kentucky Speedway after finishing second at Chicago two weeks ago and a disappointing 20th last week at Daytona.

Larson, however, qualified in the 19th position, not the qualifying spot he wanted or needed as it would take a lot of work to get to the front. In the first stage, he worked himself up to the 13th position which demonstrated how important track position is at Kentucky. In fact, Larson flew under the radar most of the night as he did not have the best car. His mid-race running position was ninth but he improved in Stage 2, finishing sixth.

Larson had a shot at the win with a late race restart with two laps to go. He was right behind his teammate Kurt Busch and gave him a shove. Busch went to the outside while Larson was stuck in traffic. In the end, the No. 42 driver had to watch his teammate Kurt Busch battle for the win while he ended his night with a fourth-place finish.

“I actually felt like we had a really good car, I just did such a bad job on those restarts and my balance was really loose,” Larson explained to PRN about his race. “I couldn’t gain anything and my track position wasn’t great the whole race, and then the very bottom of this frontstretch was rough as heck. I think I damaged my nose a little bit.”

“But it was cool to push Kurt (Busch, teammate) there past the leaders. You know, a good day for Chip Ganassi Racing, happy about that!”

Larson earned his third top-five finish of the year and he currently sits 13th in the playoff points standings.

July 14, 2019
Brett Moffitt so close yet so far away

Brett Moffitt was just inches away from going back-to-back this year but he ran out of gas on the backstretch with just a half lap to go Thursday night at Kentucky Speedway.

Moffitt tried to play the fuel mileage game, but fell short and finished in the seventh position.

“It’s a heartbreak for sure,” Moffitt said to MRN Radio. “Jerry (Baxter, Crew Chief) and everyone on this 24 did a great job tonight. I’ve never ran strong at Kentucky, so had one of the best trucks out here tonight. At the end of the race, we probably had the most speed which was great. But it’s definitely a heartbreak to lose them like that, unfortunately, we handed away another playoff spot to another manufacturer which is a Chevy team. It’s not great, but I thank them for their support and the Gallagher family, and everyone involved in this team. We were just one lap short, you gotta push it and we just pushed it a little too hard.”

Moffitt and his GMS No. 24 team qualified seventh and finished seventh in Stage 1. Moffitt did not record a top-10 finish in Stage 2, as he finished one spot short in 11th. He led twice for 35 laps.

It was Moffitt’s ninth top-10 of the year. He continues to lead the playoff points standings over Ross Chastain.

July 12, 2019
Ross Chastain clinches playoff spot with third place finish

Niece Motorsports driver and recent Xfinity Series winner, Ross Chastain came into Thursday night’s race just 10 points out of the top 20. Chastain needed to earn at least 10 more points in order to be playoff eligible and compete for the championship.

With a strong qualifying effort of fifth, Chastain was solid all night long. He never took the lead but had finishes of fifth and second in both stages.

Despite running in an unsponsored truck, Chastain put on a show for the fans. He ran as low as 10th in the final laps of the race. But thanks to pit strategy and a few drivers running out of fuel, Chastain found himself in the top five. Eventually, the Niece Motorsports driver would finish there with a fourth-place outing.

The strong stage efforts and the top five finish was just enough for Chastain and his crew to clinch a spot in the 2019 Truck Series Playoffs. However, even with the great news, the Florida native was somewhat disappointed with the outcome.

“It’s pretty cool to be upset with fourth,” Chastain said to MRN Radio. “Really, really loose all night, just behind from the beginning this weekend. We unloaded really tight and just never been here as a group. So just learning as we go and building a notebook for further down the road, but at the end of the day, it’s really cool to be disappointed with fourth with an unsponsored race truck.”

The fourth place finish earned him his fifth top five of the season and he currently sits second in the playoff standings.

July 12, 2019
ARCA Menards Series Preview-Elko

After a few weeks off, the ARCA Menards Series returns to action and continues their stretch toward the championship finale at Kansas Speedway in October.

The series will see their 13th race of the scheduled 20 this Saturday night at Elko Speedway, located in Elko, Minnesota in what is still a relatively new track for the ARCA Menards Series. So new that only a few of the series regulars have starts there.

That includes current ARCA Menards Series championship points leader Michael Self. Self has no starts at the short track in Minnesota but has been preparing himself by watching footage of old races.

“I’m usually not a huge fan of the short tracks,” Self admits, “but I’m actually really looking forward to Elko. I’ve watched a couple of the past races there as well as some onboard footage and the track just reminds me so much of the places we raced out west in the K&N series. Roseville, Colorado National, I-44, Stockton, and the Vegas Bullring were all 3/8-mile tracks that were on the schedule at some time when I was running it, so those are the tracks that really formed my stock car racing roots.”

Self leads the series standings over Bret Holmes by 35 points. He will look to stay as the points leader following Elko.

Another driver who does not have any starts, but is having a breakout year is NASCAR superstar Hailie Deegan. Deegan has only competed a couple of times this year in the ARCA Series but the results have been somewhat of a disappointment for the breakout star.

Deegan has only managed to finish one race that occurred at Pocono back in June, where she started fourth and finish seventh. Her other finishes include an 18th at Toledo after being wrecked out and 12th at Madison after her engine expired late in the going. Deegan hopes to have a better outing in her limited starts this time around at Elko.

“Coming out of the gate really strong is big for me,” said Deegan. “I like to come out of the gate strong and not have to work at it to get up to speed too much. I like to make my goal for each race and then get better throughout the day. As a racer, I always want to win. But I’m still early on in my career and still learning these ARCA cars. The goal for Elko is a top five. We have a top 10 in the ARCA series, now we need a top five. Once we get that first top five then we’ll adjust to our first win. We need to set a new goal every week and then work our way into it.”

Deegan has short track experience by competing and making a lot of noise in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West and East. Her best is in the West having two wins, five top fives and six top-10 finishes with 67 laps led, most of them occurring on short tracks like Irwindale, Tucson, Colorado and Douglas County.

While Self and Deegan do not have any track experience for the upcoming race at Elko Speedway, Bret Holmes, who currently sits second in points, does. Holmes has one start in his family owned No. 23 machine two years ago in 2017 where he finished fourth after starting second.

Elko is a short track where there has been some bumping and banging going around the last couple of years to determine the winner. If Holmes was put in the position Saturday night, he is not afraid to rub some fenders with the race leader, but also knows he has to keep the big picture in mind.

“I don’t mind it if it comes down to it,” Holmes said. “I own all of this stuff so it’s different when a driver owns all of the stuff. It’s more family-based and I work with our construction company and we try to make as much money as we can to come do this. I don’t think a lot of the guys we are racing against have that thought. I don’t mind it and I don’t want to outright wreck people but I don’t mind replacing some body panels.”

Like Holmes, Chad Bryant Racing driver Joe Graf Jr. has one start which came in last year’s race. Graf Jr. started fifth and finished third in the Chad Bryant owned No. 77 Ford. Despite his up and down year, he believes he can get back on track at Elko this Saturday.

“Being at the front and on the bottom,” he chuckled, “I learned a lot last year. Gus and I raced hard. Yeah, it got a little physical on the restart but I don’t think anyone expected different. You need to have tires, track position and luck to win at Elko. I’ve been waiting to get back to Elko since last year and I feel like it may be one of my best opportunities to get back in Victory Lane this season.”

While his Venturini Motorsports teammates do not have any recorded starts, the No. 15 of Christian Eckes does and he has been close to victory lane twice in his two starts. In 2017, he started fourth and finished second after leading 91 laps. In 2018, Eckes started on the pole and finished second while leading 36 laps.

“Elko has always been a track that I’ve really enjoyed going to,” said Eckes. “Grabbing the pole and finishing second last year definitely makes me excited coming back. It’d mean a lot to win there especially with the bit of a drought we’ve had here lately. All the guys on this JBL Audio team have been working extremely hard to get this year turned around, so we’re ready to go have some fun this weekend.”

Travis Braden and his family owned No. 27 also has one start at Elko, where he finished seventh after starting 11th. Braden believes, however, that Elko will be an intense and exciting short track race Saturday night.

“It’s always intense on short tracks, and this is the shortest, so you do the math,” he said with a laugh. “It’s going to be pressure-filled start-to-finish. Elko tends to allow for two grooves of racing in the corners, but those tiny straightaways sure get narrow if you end up side-by side. Sparks will fly at some point. You will have to be aggressive and take risks at some point in the race if you want to go to the winner’s circle. There’s no room to breathe until you get there.”

One driver, Corey Heim, who is taking over the No. 22 Chad Bryant Racing machine for the rest of the season has no experience at Elko. Despite not having the experience, Heim will have his teammate Graf Jr. and his team to rely on for any advice this weekend. What a birthday present it would be for the now 17-year-old future prospect to win on Saturday night.

“I’m very fortunate to have a lot of people around me who have plenty of experience around Elko,” Heim added. “They are all veterans. Paul’s been here before so I know he can set up our car pretty good and then I can talk to Joe if I need help with my driving line and whatnot. Saturday will go by in a hurry – but I’m excited to see what another new track brings for me.”

Heim does have short track experience this year, finishing fifth at Pensacola and Salem, 10th at Toledo and Madison, and the last time he raced at Gateway, he finished fourth.

There will be other drivers trying to make a name for themselves like Alex Clubb, Ty Gibbs, Chandler Smith, Sam Mayer, Carson Hocevar, Tim Richmond, Eric Caudell, Dale Shearer, Brad Smith, Howie DiSavino III, Mike Basham and rookie Tommy Vigh Jr.

The racetrack in Elko, Minnesota has seen five races since its first race back in 2012. Since then, there have been five different race winners and more than likely, we will see its sixth different winner Saturday night.

Brennan Poole won the first race in 2012 for Venturini Motorsports, Frank Kimmel in 2013 for ThorSport Racing, current Truck Series regular Grant Enfinger in 2014 for Howard Bixman, Austin Theriault in 2017 for Kenny Schrader and Gus Dean who won last year’s race for Win Tron Racing in a thrilling last-lap battle for the win.

If you’re going to have a shot at the win, you’re going to need to qualify well. The last five winners have come within the top five, with the exception of two that came from the top-10 in 2013 and 2018. No one, however, has ever won from the pole position. The closest a winner has come from was second back in 2014 by Enfinger.

It will be a one day show for the ARCA Menards Series at Elko Speedway. The only practice session of the day is scheduled for 2:05 p.m. ET lasting until 3:30 p.m. ET, live on arcaracing.com. General Tire Pole Qualifying will be seen at 5:15 p.m. ET and ARCA drivers will have two laps to qualify. It will also be live on arcaracing.com.

The Menards 250 green flag flies shortly after 9 p.m. ET Saturday, live on MAVTV with live leader board on arcaracing.com.

July 11, 2019