Category: ARCA

AM Racing | ARCA Menards Series
Toledo Speedway | Owens Corning 200

Fast Facts
No. 32 AM Racing Team:
Driver: Christian Rose
Primary Partner(s): Department of West Virginia Tourism
Manufacturer: Ford Mustang
Crew Chief: Matt Lucas
Spotter: Trevor Monn
Chassis Intel: AMR Chassis No. A-242
Engine: Ilmor Racing Technologies

Notes of Interest:

White Flag: AM Racing returns to the ARCA Menards Series full-time in 2024 with sophomore Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) driver Christian Rose behind the wheel of the team’s No. 32 Ford Mustang, continuing this weekend for the ARCA Menards Series season finale.

The 2024 ARCA Menards Series season will mark the first time that AM Racing has competed back-to-back full-time in the NASCAR-owned development series since three-time ARCA Menards Series winner Gus Dean drove for the organization during the 2017 – 2018 seasons, respectively.

Saturday afternoon’s Owens Corning 200 will conclude the 2024 ARCA Menards Series season at the series’ hometown track of Toledo Speedway in Toledo, Ohio. – just a couple miles from the Ohio –

Michigan border off Interstate 75.

Meet Christian Rose: Rose, a former Division 1 baseball player for the University of Maryland Eastern Shore has traded the glove and bat in for a steering wheel and helmet and has set achievable goals for his second full season of stock car competition aboard the team’s flagship No. 32 Ford Mustang.

Rose returns to the Statesville, N.C.-based team on the heels of his inaugural rookie ARCA schedule in 2023, which was highlighted by two top-five, 13 top-10 finishes, and the most laps completed by any ARCA driver last season at 2,550 of 2,624 laps or 97.2% throughout the 20-race season.

His strength of two top-five and five top-10 finishes in the final five races of the season vaulted Rose to third overall in the championship standings behind series champion Jesse Love and Andrés Pérez de Lara.

The 29-year-old also made two starts in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series, respectively, with starts at Richmond (Va.) Raceway and the season-finale at Phoenix (Ariz.) Raceway.

Partner Support: The Department of West Virginia Tourism will serve as the primary marketing partner on Rose’s No. 32 Ford Mustang in the final ARCA Menards Series race of the season at Toledo Speedway.

The Department of West Virginia Tourism promotes West Virginia as a leading four-season travel destination and a top state to live, work and retire.

Known as the Mountain State, West Virginia is one of the most scenic states in the United States and home to thousands of acres of parks and public lands, including America’s newest national park and 45 state parks and forests.

In addition to its majestic mountains and rolling hills, West Virginia is full of rich historic sites, enchanting art galleries, charming towns and an immense sense of belonging found only in its heaven-like landscapes.

For the final race of the season, the AM Racing team will throwback to the Department of West Virginia Tourism summer paint scheme from the 2023 ARCA season.

Squeaky Blue Clean: In March, AM Racing and Christian Rose proudly announced the addition of Blue Wolf as a partner to the team’s ARCA Menards Series platform for the remaining race in 2024.

Originally created by a West Virginia coal miner and a chemist to clean and degrease mining equipment, Blue Wolf quickly became trusted as a proven product for getting the job done.

As miners began taking the product home, they soon discovered that Blue Wolf worked great on everything from removing grease and coal dust from carpets and work clothes to pressure washing houses.

Today, Blue Wolf offers a full line of cleaners and degreasers for household, automotive, and industrial use.

Blue Wolf will serve in an associate role for Saturday afternoon’s race.

School In Session: On Friday morning, Rose and the No. 32 Department of West Virginia Tourism Ford Mustang will visit with the University of Toledo Formula SAE engineering students to discuss this weekend’s ARCA Menards Series season finale.

See You At Menards: Before tackling a full day of activity at Toledo Speedway on Saturday, Christian Rose and the No. 32 Department of West Virginia Tourism Ford Mustang will appear at the Oregon Menards on Friday, October 4, 2024, from 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. ET.

The Menards is located at 3100 Brown Road, Oregon, OH 43616-4031

Menards will also sell discounted grandstand tickets to the Owens Corning 200 at the guest services center.

Christian Rose ARCA Toledo Speedway Stats: Saturday afternoon’s Owens Corning 200 will mark Rose’s second ARCA start at the historic half-mile oval nestled in Toledo, Ohio.

In his previous effort, Rose delivered a track-best of fifth during last fall’s Shore Lunch 200 after starting seventh.

Christian Rose Career ARCA National Series Stats: In 47 career ARCA National Series starts, Rose has earned five top-five and 23 top-10 finishes highlighted by a career-best third-place finish achieved at Salem (Ind.) Speedway in September 2023.

Additionally, Rose has showcased 35 top-20 finishes overall since 2022.

Since 2022, he has maintained an average finishing position of 12.6.

To The Point(s): Entering Toledo, Rose is fifth in the ARCA Menards Series championship standings, 40 markers behind ARCA Menards Series driver Kris Wright for third, with one race remaining.

Just three markers separate Rose from the fourth in the championship standings, being currently occupied by Toni Breidinger.

Rose stands 120 points in the arrears to championship leader Andrés Pérez de Lara.

AM Racing stands a respectable eighth in the ARCA Menards Series championship owner standings.

Thanks For Your Support: With 95 percent of the 2024 ARCA Menards Series season complete, AM Racing and Christian Rose would like to thank their associate marketing partners for their support: AirBox Air Purifier, Blue Wolf Cleaners, Flying Circle, Mobil 1 and Whitetail Smokeless.

Kansas Speedway | Reese’s 150 Race Recap: In the 19th ARCA Menards Series race of the season, Rose returned to Kansas Speedway looking to add to an impressive resume at the 1.5-mile speedway.

Returning to the Department of West Virginia Tourism colors, Rose qualified his race car 15th ahead of 100 laps of action in the penultimate race of the 2024 season.

From the drop of the green flag, Rose maintained a good pace, but unfortunately, the team encountered a flat tire during the race, which sent Rose to pit road. The team quickly changed the damaged tire and put their driver back in contention.

The setback proved a lot to overcome in 100 laps, but Rose settled for a respectable 13th-place finish at the checkered flag.

Follow on Social Media: For more on AM Racing, please visit AMRacingteam.com, like their Facebook page (AM Racing), or follow them on Instagram and X | Twitter @AMRacingNASCAR.

For more on Christian Rose, please like him on Facebook (Christian Rose Racing), or follow him on Instagram (@christianroseracing) and X | Twitter (@CRoseRacing).

Christian Rose Quoteboard:

On Toledo Speedway: “Definitely heading to Toledo Speedway to get this monkey off our back that we’ve had for the last couple of races. My AM Racing guys have brought me fast Ford Musangs, but we just haven’t been able to overcome some bad luck and get back into the top-10.

“We’ll try again on Saturday afternoon at Toledo Speedway. I feel like Toledo is a good race track for me. It fits my driving style and we were able to capture a top-five finish to end the season together.

“That’s what we are looking for on Saturday. Another top-five to close out 2024 on a high note.”

Race Information:

The Owens Corning 200 (200 laps | 100 miles) is the 20th of 20 races on the 2024 ARCA Menards Series schedule. Practice begins Saturday, October 5 from 11:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. General Tire pole qualifying follows beginning at 1:00 p.m. The race is set to take the green flag later that afternoon shortly after 4:00 p.m. ET. The event will be televised live on FOX Sports 2 (FS2) and FloRacing. ARCARacing.com will also stream live timing and scoring throughout the entire day’s festivities.

About AM Racing:

AM Racing is a multi-tiered, multi-faceted Motorsports program headquartered in Statesville, N.C.

Established in December 2015, AM Racing is prided on faith, honesty and intelligent performance.

The family-owned team will compete in the ARCA Menards Series, the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN® Truck Series, the NASCAR Xfinity Series and various Dirt Modified events in its eighth year of competition.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (Sept. 27, 2024) – ARCA and Menards announced a multi-year extension that keeps the Eau Claire, Wis.-based home improvement retailer as the entitlement partner for all three series within the ARCA Menards Series platform, including the ARCA Menards Series East and West.

The agreement extends the relationship between two Midwestern-based family-owned companies that trace their roots back to the 1950s. ARCA was started in Toledo, Ohio by John and Mildred Marcum and is overseen by their grandson, Ron Drager. Now in its 72nd season, the ARCA Menards Series has contested over 1500 races at 180 different racetracks. The first Menards opened in 1958, and from humble beginnings the company has grown to 341 stores in 15 states across the Midwest.

“Menards has been the cornerstone of a strong foundation for ARCA and the ARCA Menards Series since 2009 when they became a presenting sponsor,” said ARCA president Ron Drager. “That relationship has only become stronger over the years and reached its pinnacle in 2019 when Menards became the series’ entitlement partner. It’s great to be associated with a company that knows racing inside and out and actively participates in building and growing the series. We are proud to continue to carry this relationship into the future.”

“We are thrilled to continue our relationship with the ARCA Menards Series,” said John Menard, President/CEO, Menards. “Our customers are hard-working people with strong Midwestern family values, and that aligns perfectly with the ARCA Menards Series, a series made up of hard-working racers who find a way to get things done on and off the racetrack.”

“Menards supports racing because the entire Menard family loves the sport,” said Mike Helton, Senior Advisor, NASCAR. “The continued partnership between Menards and ARCA is a tremendous benefit to the racers who compete in the ARCA Menards Series and the fans all across the country who love to see the stars of tomorrow racing at both grassroots-level short tracks and some of the biggest motorsports venues in the world.”

Acquired by NASCAR in 2018, the ARCA Menards Series platform has proven to be the premier training ground for drivers with aspirations of competing in one of the three NASCAR national series. In 2023, nearly 80% of the drivers racing across the three national NASCAR series – representing dozens of series championships and hundreds of race wins – started their journey in the ARCA platform.

The 2024 ARCA Menards Series championship will be determined on Saturday, Oct. 5 at the series’ home track, Toledo Speedway. The race will be televised live on FS2 starting at 4 pm ET; live timing and scoring data will be available at ARCARacing.com. Follow @ARCA_Racing on X (formerly Twitter) for up-to-the-minute updates.

About ARCA

The Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA), founded in 1953 by John and Mildred Marcum in Toledo, Ohio, and acquired by NASCAR in April 2018, is the leading grassroots stock car sanctioning body in the United States. Bridging the gap between NASCAR’s top three national touring series and weekly and regional tour racing all across the country, the organization sanctions over 100 races per year in the ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series East, ARCA Menards Series West, ASA STARS National Tour, ASA CRA Super Series, ASA Midwest Tour, ASA Southern Super Series plus weekly racing at Toledo and Flat Rock Speedways. For more information about ARCA visit www.arcaracing.com, or follow ARCA on Facebook (@ARCARacing) and Twitter (@ARCA_Racing).

About Menards

A family-owned and run company started in 1958, Menards is recognized as the retail home center leader of the Midwest with 341 stores in 15 states. Menards is truly a one-stop shop for all of your home improvement needs featuring a full-service lumberyard and everything you need to plan a renovation or build a home, garage, cabin, shed, deck, fence or post frame building. You’ll find a large selection of lumber, roofing, siding, construction blocks, trusses, doors and windows, plus cabinets, appliances, countertops, flooring, lighting, paint, plumbing supplies and more. To complete the job, Menards has quality hand tools, power tools, fasteners, electrical tools plus storage options and supplies for everyone from the weekend warrior to the pro!

Menards has what you need to complete your outdoor projects and keep your yard in tip-top shape including mowers, trimmers, blowers, pressure washers and more, plus a beautiful garden center stocked with plants, shrubs, trees, landscaping tools, grass seed, fertilizer options, outdoor décor and patio furniture. Menards also has everyday essentials like health & beauty products, housewares, pet and wildlife supplies, automotive items and even groceries. And at Christmas, an Enchanted Forest display area with impressive trees, lighting, decorations, ornaments, inflatables and more.

Menards is known for friendly Customer Service and as the place to “Save Big Money” with low prices every day, and sales too! For more information, please visit Menards.com to learn about our store locations, offerings and services.

ARCA Menards Series
The Race: Reese’s 150
The Place: Kansas Speedway
The Date: Friday, September 27, 2024
The Time: 5:30 pm ET / 4:30 pm CT
TV: Live, FS1
Radio: Live, MRN Radio
Distance: 100 Laps / 150 Miles

• The Reese’s 150 will be the 19th race of 20 for the ARCA Menards Series in 2024; it will be the 29th ARCA Menards Series race at Kansas Speedway since 2001.
• Andres Perez (No. 2 Max Siegel Inc. Chevrolet) leads the ARCA Menards Series championship standings by 53 points headed into the Reese’s 150; Perez will be searching for his first career ARCA Menards Series victory at Kansas Speedway, a track where his Rev Racing team has won twice before with 2022 ARCA Menards Series champion Nick Sanchez driving. Perez has two top-ten finishes in three Kansas Speedway starts, including a best of sixth in May 2023; he finished seventh earlier this season.
• Lavar Scott (No. 6 Max Siegel Inc. Chevrolet) sits second in the series standings behind his teammate. Scott finished fourth in his first start at Kansas Speedway in 2023 and was challenging for the victory in May when he scrubbed the wall and was forced to make an unscheduled stop for repairs resulting in a 14th-place finish.
• Tanner Gray (No. 18 A Place of Hope Toyota) finished second at Kansas Speedway in May after leading a race-high 84 laps. Gray rebounded from that disappointment to score his first career ARCA Menards Series victory at Charlotte Motor Speedway three weeks later. He finished third at Michigan International Speedway in his only ARCA Menards Series start since his Charlotte win.
• Isabella Robusto (No. 55 Mobil 1 Toyota) will make her fourth career ARCA Menards Series start and her first since finishing second in her dirt track debut at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in August. Robusto has finished second in all three series across the ARCA Menards Series platform; in addition to her runner-up finish at Springfield, she finished second in the East race at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway and the July 4 West race at Irwindale Speedway. The Kansas race will be her first on a track longer than a mile in length.
• Pinnacle Racing Group will field two entries for the second consecutive ARCA Menards Series race; five-time ARCA Menards Series winner Connor Zilisch (No. 28 Silver Hare Development / Chevrolet Performance Chevrolet) will be teamed with sprint car standout Corey Day (No. 82 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet). Zilisch won in his superspeedway debut at Michigan International Speedway in August; Day finished seventh at Bristol Motor Speedway in his second career series start and will be making his first start on an intermediate track.
• Nagoya, Japan resident Takuma Koga (No. 12 IKEDO Toyota) will make his second ARCA Menards Series start and his first since he finished 23rd in the combination race with the ARCA Menards Series West at Phoenix Raceway in March. Koga will race at Kansas Speedway on Friday then travel to California to race in Saturday night’s ARCA Menards Series West race at Madera Speedway.
• Kris Wright (No. 15 FNB Corporation Toyota) is third in the ARCA Menards Series championship standings, but will be looking to break a two-race streak of finishing outside the top ten. Wright, who has six top-five finishes this season including a career-best second at Talladega Superspeedway, finished 12th at Watkins Glen International and 13th at Bristol Motor Speedway.
• Toni Breidinger (No. 25 BoozyJerky Toyota) is fourth in the ARCA Menards Series standings and is returning to the site of her career best finish, third, which she scored last September. Breidinger is 42 points behind her teammate Kris Wright in the battle for third in the standings; should he finish third, she would tie Hailie Deegan, who was third in 2020, as the best finishing female driver in driver point standings in series history.
• The Reese’s 150 will be run under the Modified Live pit stop format. Every caution is an opportunity for teams to make a pit stop. Drivers who pit cannot lose positions relative to other drivers who pit as long as they do not lose a lap on pit road; the restart order will consist of lead lap cars that didn’t pit, lead lap cars that did pit, lap down cars that didn’t pit, lap down cars that did pit, the free pass car, cars that took a wave around, and cars under penalty. There will be a scheduled caution at or near lap 50.
• Should the race need to be extended into overtime, there will be unlimited attempts at a two-lap “green followed by white followed by checkered” finish. If the yellow flag is displayed after the white flag, there will be unlimited attempts at a one-lap “green-and-white-together followed by checkered” finish.

About ARCA
The Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA), founded in 1953 by John and Mildred Marcum in Toledo, Ohio, and acquired by NASCAR in April 2018, is the leading grassroots stock car sanctioning body in the United States. Bridging the gap between NASCAR’s top three national touring series and weekly and regional tour racing all across the country, the organization sanctions over 100 races per year in the ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series East, ARCA Menards Series West, ASA STARS National Tour, ASA CRA Super Series, ASA Midwest Tour, ASA Southern Super Series plus weekly racing at Toledo and Flat Rock Speedways. For more information about ARCA visit www.arcaracing.com, or follow ARCA on Facebook (@ARCARacing) and Twitter (@ARCA_Racing).

About Menards
A family-owned and run company started in 1958, Menards is recognized as the retail home center leader of the Midwest with 341 stores in 15 states. Menards is truly a one-stop shop for all of your home improvement needs featuring a full-service lumberyard and everything you need to plan a renovation or build a home, garage, cabin, shed, deck, fence or post frame building. You’ll find a large selection of lumber, roofing, siding, construction blocks, trusses, doors and windows, plus cabinets, appliances, countertops, flooring, lighting, paint, plumbing supplies and more. To complete the job, Menards has quality hand tools, power tools, fasteners, electrical tools plus storage options and supplies for everyone from the weekend warrior to the pro!

Menards has what you need to complete your outdoor projects and keep your yard in tip-top shape including mowers, trimmers, blowers, pressure washers and more, plus a beautiful garden center stocked with plants, shrubs, trees, landscaping tools, grass seed, fertilizer options, outdoor décor and patio furniture. Menards also has everyday essentials like health & beauty products, housewares, pet and wildlife supplies, automotive items and even groceries. And at Christmas, an Enchanted Forest display area with impressive trees, lighting, decorations, ornaments, inflatables and more.
Menards is known for friendly Customer Service and as the place to “Save Big Money” with low prices every day, and sales too! For more information, please visit Menards.com to learn about our store locations, offerings and services.

Sunflower State native has scored three top-15 finishes at the track

DE SOTO, Kan. (09/24/24) – After a second consecutive summer spent interning at General Motors in Michigan, Mandy Chick is set to return to the ARCA Menards Series in the Reese’s 150 at Kansas Speedway on Friday. She’ll be behind the wheel of her family-owned Chick Engineering No. 74 Chevrolet SS at the 1.5-mile D-shaped oval.

Chick, a native of De Soto, Kansas, has been attending races at the track her entire life. She has also found the most success in her ARCA career at the facility in Kansas City, Kansas, having posted top-15 finishes in all three of her starts there. Since early last year, she and her team have had the input of North Carolina-based Cook Racing Technologies as well, helping Chick achieve continued strong results.

“Kansas Speedway is the type of track I always have loved due to the speed and banking,” Chick said. “I have a ton of people around me investked in my success and I’m so thankful for the support and advice of Cook Racing Technologies as we work to develop a good setup for our team.”

Shortly after finishing 15th at Kansas in early May, Chick graduated from Terre Haute, Indiana’s Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. She then served as an engineering design intern at GM in the Strategic Vehicle Integration division on the Bumper, Fascia, Grille team.

“During my internship, I engaged in a diverse range of projects and gained valuable insights into how specific regulations influence vehicle designs,” she said. “I particularly enjoyed learning not just what we do, but also understanding why we do certain things, which is crucial for design and innovation. That kept me busy this summer and I loved it.”

The spirit of innovation and the culture at the historic automaker drove her to complete an engineering design internship for a second summer. Plus, she can transfer a variety of lessons learned at GM to her racing endeavors.

This week at Kansas Speedway, Chick will make her third and final ARCA Menards Series start of 2024 (she also raced at Daytona in February). She and her team will then begin preparing for next year with 2025 plans to be announced at a later date.

In the meantime, Chick has a variety of professional and personal milestones on the horizon.

“I am finishing my master’s in engineering management this fall at Rose-Hulman, getting married in December, and starting a full-time position as an engineer in the General Motors TRACK program in January,” she said. “Lots of exciting things are coming up and I’m thankful for the support of the amazing people around me.”

On Friday, fans can support Chick in the ARCA Menards Series Reese’s 150 and also take in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Kubota Tractor 200 for a discounted rate. Tickets for the Kansas doubleheader are available for just $25 per person at https://fevo-enterprise.com/event/Mandychick3. A FanWalk ticket is available for an additional $15. All tickets are digital and ready for race day.

The Reese’s 150 will start at 5:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. CT on Friday, September 27. FOX Sports 1 and the FOX Sports App will provide live television coverage, with the radio broadcast set for the Motor Racing Network (MRN).

Chick’s marketing partners for the weekend include JRC, FK Rod Ends, Fragola Performance Systems, Dynamic Drivelines, Aero Race Wheels, Day Construction, Pro Fab Headers & Exhaust, Whirlwind Ranch, Victory 23 Designs and Midwest Utility Lineman Training, LLC.

More information on Mandy Chick is available at www.mandychick.com.

• Defending series champion William Sawalich (No 18 Starkey / SoundGear Toyota) clinched the 2024 ARCA Menards Series East championship with his victory in Thursday night’s Bush’s Beans 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Sawalich outdueled Landen Lewis (No. 97 Grant County Mulch Chevrolet) on an overtime restart to score his eighth ARCA Menards Series victory of the year and third ARCA Menards Series East win of the season.
• Connor Zilisch (No. 28 Silver Hare Development / Chevrolet Performance Chevrolet) entered the race at Bristol with a 16-point lead in the ARCA Menards Series East championship standings and was on pace to clinch the title early in the race. Zilisch, who needed to only finish 12th or higher to win the title, was relegated to 26th at the finish after he was swept into a crash not of his doing while leading on lap 65. Zilisch finished second in the East standings, 12 points behind Sawalich.
• Lewis finished second in his first ARCA Menards Series appearance since he finished 20th at Bristol in 2023. Lewis won at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds in 2021 in just his second series start and is a two-time ARCA Menards Series West winner. He also finished second at Phoenix Raceway in March 2023.
• Lavar Scott (No. 6 Max Siegel Inc. Chevrolet) finished third after a stuck throttle in qualifying forced him to start 26th. Scott quickly worked his way through the field and avoided major problems while battling for position in and among the top ten to score his eighth top-five finish of 2024.
• Andres Perez (No. 2 Max Siegel Inc. Chevrolet) finished fourth to maintain a 53-point lead in the ARCA Menards Series championship standings over Scott with just two series races remaining.
• Dean Thompson (No. 5 Thompson Pipe Group Toyota) was the highest finishing of the five Venturini Motorsports entries in fifth.
• ARCA Menards Series West championship points leader Tyler Reif (No. 23 Sigma Performance Services/GMS Fabrication Chevrolet) finished sixth in his first ARCA Menards Series start since the second race of the season at Phoenix Raceway. Reif won in his ARCA Menards Series debut at Phoenix in 2023 and has two West victories in 2024. He leads the West standings by seven points over defending series champion Sean Hingorani with four races remaining.
• Corey Day (No. 82 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet) scored his best career series finish in seventh. Day drove a second entry fielded by Pinnacle Racing Group; his effort was overseen by Hendrick Motorsports crew chief Greg Ives.
• Talladega winner Jake Finch (No. 1 Phoenix Toyota) finished eighth in just his second short track appearance of the season. Finch finished 18th at Salem Speedway in his only other short track start this season.
• Lawless Alan (No. 33 AutoPARKIt Ford) finished ninth, his third top-ten finish in five ARCA Menards Series starts in 2024.
• Andy Jankowiak (No. 73 Acacia Energy Toyota) finished tenth, the final car on the lead lap.
• Zachary Tinkle (No. 11 Racing for Rescues Toyota) finished eleventh to secure fourth place in the final ARCA Menards Series East championship standings.
• The next race for the ARCA Menards Series is Reese’s 150 at Kansas Speedway on Friday, September 27 at 5 pm ET/4 pm CT. The race will be televised live on FS1 and broadcast on select affiliates of the MRN Radio network nationwide.

About ARCA
The Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA), founded in 1953 by John and Mildred Marcum in Toledo, Ohio, and acquired by NASCAR in April 2018, is the leading grassroots stock car sanctioning body in the United States. Bridging the gap between NASCAR’s top three national touring series and weekly and regional tour racing all across the country, the organization sanctions over 100 races per year in the ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series East, ARCA Menards Series West, ASA STARS National Tour, ASA CRA Super Series, ASA Midwest Tour, ASA Southern Super Series plus weekly racing at Toledo and Flat Rock Speedways. For more information about ARCA visit www.arcaracing.com, or follow ARCA on Facebook (@ARCARacing) and Twitter (@ARCA_Racing).

About Menards
A family-owned and run company started in 1958, Menards is recognized as the retail home center leader of the Midwest with 236 stores in 15 states. Menards is truly a one-stop shop for all of your home improvement needs featuring a full-service lumberyard and everything you need to plan a renovation or build a home, garage, cabin, shed, deck, fence or post frame building. You’ll find a large selection of lumber, roofing, siding, construction blocks, trusses, doors and windows, plus cabinets, appliances, countertops, flooring, lighting, paint, plumbing supplies and more. To complete the job, Menards has quality hand tools, power tools, fasteners, electrical tools plus storage options and supplies for everyone from the weekend warrior to the pro!

Menards has what you need to complete your outdoor projects and keep your yard in tip-top shape including mowers, trimmers, blowers, pressure washers and more, plus a beautiful garden center stocked with plants, shrubs, trees, landscaping tools, grass seed, fertilizer options, outdoor décor and patio furniture. Menards also has everyday essentials like health & beauty products, housewares, pet and wildlife supplies, automotive items and even groceries. And at Christmas, an Enchanted Forest display area with impressive trees, lighting, decorations, ornaments, inflatables and more.

Menards is known for friendly Customer Service and as the place to “Save Big Money” with low prices every day, and sales too! For more information, please visit Menards.com to learn about our store locations, offerings and services.

ARCA Menards Series at Watkins Glen International: General Tire 100 at The Glen Post-race Notes

• Connor Zilisch (No. 28 Silver Hare Development / Chevrolet Performance Chevrolet) earned his fifth ARCA Menards Series victory of 2024 in Friday’s General Tire 100 at The Glen. Zilisch started from the General Tire Pole and led 40 of the race’s 41 laps to score his fifth win in seven career series starts. Zilisch’s other two starts, including his series debut at Watkins Glen in 2023, resulted in second-place finishes.
• Zilisch also won Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Watkins Glen International in his series debut. The last driver to win in his Xfinity Series debut was 2021 ARCA Menards Series champion Ty Gibbs in February 2021 at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course.
• William Sawalich (No. 18 Starkey / SoundGear Toyota) finished second, 12.778 seconds behind Zilisch. Sawalich, who has won eight times in 2024, has eleven career wins, 22 top-five, and 23 top-ten finishes in 25 career ARCA Menards Series starts.
• Brandon Jones (No. 42 Lyons Bathtubs & Showers / Menards Chevrolet) finished third in his first ARCA Menards Series start since he won at Watkins Glen in 2023.
• Andres Perez (No. 2 Max Siegel Inc. Chevrolet) finished fourth after a track bar mount repair after qualifying forced him to start the race from the tail of the field. He extended his lead in the ARCA Menards Series championship standings to 54 points over his teammate Lavar Scott (No. 6 Max Siegel Inc. Chevrolet), who finished ninth.
• Connor Mosack (No. 23 Sigma Performance Services Chevrolet) finished fifth in his first start since the season’s first road course race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. It was the second top-five finish for team owner Joe Farre’; the Sigma Performance Services team, which also won the ARCA Menards Series West race at Sonoma Raceway with Sam Mayer driving, finished fourth at Iowa Speedway with 2014 ARCA Menards Series champion Mason Mitchell driving.
• Giovanni Ruggiero (No. 20 First Auto Group Toyota) finished sixth, the best finish for Venturini Motorsports and the organization’s only top-ten finish. Ruggiero also raced in the ASA STARS National Tour Glass City 200 at Toledo Speedway on Saturday, finishing second behind race winner and former ARCA Menards Series winner Casey Roderick.
• Thomas Annunziata (No. 44 Bayshore Mortgage Funding Ford) finished seventh after spending much of the race in the top five. He was spun late in the race after contact from another driver and dropped to tenth, but was able to regain three positions in the final 10 laps.
• Ryan Gemmel (No. 29 Diamond Brite / TC3 Turf Toyota) finished eighth in his ARCA Menards Series debut; Gemmel was driving for NEMCO Motorsports, owned by Joe Nemechek, which has won NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series races at Watkins Glen International with Ron Fellows driving.
• Dylan Lupton (No. 30 Lupton Excavation Ford) also recovered from an early race spin to finish tenth in his first ARCA Menards Series start since he finished fourth at Kansas Speedway in 2020.
• The race was slowed only once for one lap by the scheduled caution at halfway. Zilisch’s 106.673 mile per hour average speed is a series record.
• Zilisch’s 12.778-second margin of victory is the largest winning margin of 2024.
• The next race for the ARCA Menards Series is Bush’s Best 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway on Thursday, September 19. The race will be televised live on FS1 5 pm ET.

About ARCA
The Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA), founded in 1953 by John and Mildred Marcum in Toledo, Ohio, and acquired by NASCAR in April 2018, is the leading grassroots stock car sanctioning body in the United States. Bridging the gap between NASCAR’s top three national touring series and weekly and regional tour racing all across the country, the organization sanctions over 100 races per year in the ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series East, ARCA Menards Series West, ASA STARS National Tour, ASA CRA Super Series, ASA Midwest Tour, ASA Southern Super Series plus weekly racing at Toledo and Flat Rock Speedways. For more information about ARCA visit www.arcaracing.com, or follow ARCA on Facebook (@ARCARacing) and Twitter (@ARCA_Racing).

About Menards
A family-owned and run company started in 1958, Menards is recognized as the retail home center leader of the Midwest with 236 stores in 15 states. Menards is truly a one-stop shop for all of your home improvement needs featuring a full-service lumberyard and everything you need to plan a renovation or build a home, garage, cabin, shed, deck, fence or post frame building. You’ll find a large selection of lumber, roofing, siding, construction blocks, trusses, doors and windows, plus cabinets, appliances, countertops, flooring, lighting, paint, plumbing supplies and more. To complete the job, Menards has quality hand tools, power tools, fasteners, electrical tools plus storage options and supplies for everyone from the weekend warrior to the pro!

Menards has what you need to complete your outdoor projects and keep your yard in tip-top shape including mowers, trimmers, blowers, pressure washers and more, plus a beautiful garden center stocked with plants, shrubs, trees, landscaping tools, grass seed, fertilizer options, outdoor décor and patio furniture. Menards also has everyday essentials like health & beauty products, housewares, pet and wildlife supplies, automotive items and even groceries. And at Christmas, an Enchanted Forest display area with impressive trees, lighting, decorations, ornaments, inflatables and more.

Menards is known for friendly Customer Service and as the place to “Save Big Money” with low prices every day, and sales too! For more information, please visit Menards.com to learn about our store locations, offerings and services.

TOLEDO, OH (Sept. 10, 2024) – Former ARCA and NASCAR driver, Matt Tifft, of Cleveland, OH, will be making his return to asphalt circle track racing this coming Saturday, September 14at Toledo Speedway. Tifft will be competing behind the wheel of an ASA STARS National Tour car in the 36th running of the Corvetteparts.net Glass City 200 presented by DTS Drive Train Specialists & Courtyard By Marriott.

The 28-year-old competitor made a full-time run at the NASCAR Cup Series in 2019 but his season came to an abrupt end late in the season at Martinsville Speedway, when a seizure caused him to faint at the track. Tifft was taken to the hospital, was diagnosed with epilepsy, and his racing career was halted. This all came after Tifft had surgery a few years earlier, in 2016, to remove a benign tumor from his brain.

Fast forward to 2024, Tifft returned to the driver seat with a clean bill of health in a Dirt Super Late Model as well as road course racing, including the Trans Am Series. Tifft has had a busy schedule, especially on the dirt side, competing in over 30 events between dirt and road courses. This season, Tifft picked up a couple of wins on the road course at Road Atlanta and has had a couple of top five finishes on the dirt side.

Tifft will be driving a Super Late Model as a teammate to current ASA STARS point leader, Casey Roderick. It will be an Anthony Campi prepared #57 with support from his season long sponsors, PB B’laster and GUNK Degreasers.

“While I didn’t have any intentions of running any asphalt late model races this year, the opportunity came up to race with Anthony Campi racing here recently for the Glass City 200,” explained Tifft. “I’ve had a lot of fun on the dirt side of things but I wanted to race in a competitive series and see how I could do. I honestly don’t have any set expectations but want to go out and have fun and be competitive. Hopefully, we have a great run and come back for more in the future.”

While the dirt track racing has been a new experience for Tifft, returning to asphalt will be familiar territory as he was formerly an ASA Midwest Tour full-timer in 2012, where he finished 5th in the standings. Tifft was also an annual New Smyrna World Series Super Late Model racer between 2011-2014 and has made starts in other major asphalt Super Late Model events.

Tifft, originally from Hinckley, Ohio, now resides in Cleveland. He exploded onto the scene in 2013 when he finished fifth in his ARCA Menards Series debut at Toledo Speedway driving for WinTron Racing and team owner Kevin Cywinski. He’d return in 2014 racing for NASCAR Cup Series star Ken Schrader’s team, racking up five top-five finishes in ten starts including third-place finishes at Toledo, New Jersey Motorsports Park, and Chicagoland Speedway. He finished a career-best second that fall at Kentucky Speedway, which he would match the next year at Mobile International Speedway.

He has 77 NASCAR Xfinity Series starts to his credit with 9 top-five and 38 top-ten finishes; he has 25 career NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series starts with a best finish of fifth at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2016.

Saturday will be his first appearance at the Glass City 200 but he did make a Super Late Model start at the ½-mile in a CRA Super Series race in 2013. Tickets for the Glass City 200 at Toledo Speedway are available and can be found by clicking here. Tickets and pit passes will also be available at the track on race day. For those not able to attend the event, live coverage will be available at www.tracktv.com. The CorvetteParts.net Glass City 200 is scheduled for Saturday, September 14 at Toledo Speedway. The day’s activities kick off with two rounds of practice at 11 am and noon, while the starting lineup will be set in Go FAS Pole Qualifying at 2:45 pm. Local racing, including the ARCA Salenbein Excavating Late Model Sportsman division and ARCA Safety Kleen Factory Stock division season championship features are set to follow, with the ASA STARS National Tour on-track autograph session after. Driver introductions will take place at 5 pm, while the green flag will fly over the 200-lap main event at 5:30 pm ET.

Tickets are available at ToledoSpeedway.com; please call the track office (419) 727-1100 for more information.