Category: ARCA

Daniel Dye, No. 21 GMS Racing, Metra Chevrolet
Iowa Speedway Stats

- Daniel Dye has no prior starts at the .875-mile Iowa Speedway oval

2021 ARCA Menards Series Stats

• Starts: 2, Best start: 1, Best finish: 1

Career ARCA Stats

Notes:

• Daniel Dye will make his third career ARCA Menards Series national tour start on Saturday at the progressively banked Iowa Speedway.
• This weekend’s 150-lap event will mark the 17-year-old Daytona Beach, Florida drivers fourth career start for GMS Racing. Dye drove the No. 21 GMS Racing, Drivers Edge Development Chevrolet SS to victory lane last weekend at Berlin Raceway, in his second ARCA Menards Series start.
• Crew Chief Chad Bryant and Dye will work together for the fourth time, and the first start paired together at Iowa Speedway.
• Iowa Speedway is a 7/8-mile paved oval in Newton, Iowa, approximately 30 miles east of Des Moines.
• The No. 21 Chevrolet will once again carry the traditional white, orange, and black colors. Race to Stop Suicide will adorn the hood, with Metra on the quarter panels.
• The 132-mile Shore Lunch 150 ARCA Menards Series race will air live on MAVTV and NBC Sports Gold TrackPass, beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET.
• Dye will participate in a media luncheon Friday afternoon in Des Moines alongside Rusty Wallace, NASCAR executives, and other special guests.

Quote:

“I’ve got a lot of confidence going into Iowa this weekend with our GMS Racing Chevrolet. We had such a great car last weekend at Berlin, and I think we’re starting to get in stride on everything. Iowa seems like a pretty cool racetrack with a good bit of character, so I know I have a lot to learn as it will be my first ever time there. Chad and the guys have been working hard, and I can’t wait to get on track Saturday afternoon with the Race to Stop Suicide, Metra 21 Chevy.”

ABOUT GMS RACING

GMS Racing competes full-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series with drivers Sheldon Creed, Zane Smith, Tyler Ankrum and Chase Purdy. The team also competes in the ARCA Racing Series with Jack Wood and Daniel Dye. Since the team began in 2014, GMS Racing won the 2016 and 2020 Camping World Trucks Championship, the 2015 ARCA Racing Series championship as well as the 2019 & 2020 ARCA East championship and 2020 Sioux Chief Showdown Championship. GMS has grown to occupy several buildings located in Statesville, N.C. The campus also includes operations for GMS Fabrication. More information can be found at https://www.gmsracing.net/

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It’s been a season to remember for Ty Gibbs and Corey Heim.

The two 18-year-old ARCA Menards Series phenomenons have combined to win each of first nine races of the 2021 season. Gibbs holds the advantage with five wins to Heim’s four, but Heim leads the series championship standings by seven heading into the tenth race of the season at Berlin Raceway.

Gibbs, the grandson of Pro Football Hall of Fame head coach and NASCAR Hall of Fame team owner Joe Gibbs, has excelled not only in the ARCA Menards Series, but he’s won twice in the NASCAR Xfinity Series as well, becoming just the sixth driver to win in his series debut when he scored the victory on the road course at Daytona International Speedway in February. He currently leads all active drivers in ARCA with 13 career wins.

Heim ended 2020, in which he only competed on a partial basis, with a win in the season finale at Kansas Speedway. He dominated at Daytona to win the season opener on the sport’s biggest stage and then took another win at Talladega Superspeedway, giving him wins in the two highest-profile events of the season.

But what started as a cordial rivalry has intensified over the last month, with it nearly boiling over at Elko Speedway.

Gibbs dominated from the pole, leading 236 of the first 247 laps. Heim was the only other leader, taking the top spot for eleven laps before the one-third mark. Gibbs led the field to a restart to complete lap 247, but by the time the cars raced off turn two, Gibbs was fourth.

Heim had restarted directly behind Gibbs for the final restart, and once they got to turn one, he gave Gibbs’ Toyota a nudge, moving him out of the way and darting off to the lead. Not only would Heim slip past, but his Venturini Motorsports teammates Jesse Love and Gracie Trotter would as well.

Heim was unrepentant in victory lane.

“We have a couple dents on the bumper and on the door and they’re from the 18,” Heim said. “I think we’re pretty much even. I think he’s probably pretty upset. It was just payback for what he did to me earlier in the race.”

Although frustrated, Gibbs remained calm following the race.

“We’re going to keep moving on,” he said. “There’s no reason to worry about anything or have any issues. As a racecar driver I am always going to fight and try to win at all costs. We’re going to keep fighting and make it happen again later in the year.”

The dynamic duo will continue their battle for the championship when the second half of the ARCA Menards Series season kicks off in the Shore Lunch 150 at Iowa Speedway on Saturday night, July 24. Gibbs is the defending winner of the race, leading 140 of the race’s 150 laps on his way to a 1.4-second victory last year over Sam Mayer.

Heim’s only previous experience at Iowa Speedway came in 2019 when he finished sixth, ironically, right behind Gibbs. Could the rivalry that’s been simmering all season again reach the boiling point at Iowa? Only time will tell, but based on recent precedent, it’s safe to assume both will be in the mix fighting for supremacy in the final laps.

The race will also award points for the ARCA Menards Series East championship battle. Gibbs’ Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Sammy Smith currently leads those standings over Mason Diaz. Both of those drivers are expected to enter and compete. The Shore Lunch 150 is also a part of the Sioux Chief Showdown, a series within the overall ARCA Menards Series that allows drivers as young as 15 years of age to compete on oval tracks less than a mile in length and on road courses. Gibbs currently has a four-point advantage over Heim with three races complete.

Advance discount tickets for the Shore Lunch 150 are available at all Menards locations across Iowa for just $20. For event information please visit IowaSpeedway.com and ARCARacing.com.

Saturday, July 24
Track: Iowa Speedway, 7/8-mile oval
Race: 11 of 20
Event: Shore Lunch 150 (150 laps, 132 miles)

Schedule
Practice: 5:15 p.m. ET
Qualifying: 7:00 p.m. ET
Race: 9:00 p.m. ET (MAVTV)

Taylor Gray, No. 17 Ripper Coffee Ford Fusion

• Gray enters Iowa Speedway this weekend for his fourth start of the ARCA Menards Series season and third of five straight races with the series.
• Last Saturday evening at Berlin (Mich.) Raceway, the young driver started and finished fourth for his second consecutive top-five finish in his two races since returning from injury.
• The Shore Lunch 150 will be Gray’s second career start at Iowa Speedway. Last July he qualified second and finished fifth in the 150-lap event.
• While crew chief Chad Johnston has never called a race at the 7/8-mile speedway, he has called 52 races in the Cup Series at tracks shorter than one mile in length with one win, 10 top-fives and 20 top-10s.
• Click here for Gray’s career statistics.

Thad Moffitt, No. 46 CleanPacs/Aqua ChemPacs Ford Fusion

• Moffitt enters his 11th ARCA Menards Series race of the season at Iowa on Saturday night as one of only four drivers to compete in every series event thus far.
• The 20-year-old driver suffered his first DNF of the season last weekend at Berlin Raceway after contact with another car in the final stage caused damage to the front suspension.
• Moffitt and crew chief Derek Smith have one previous start together at Iowa coming last season where they qualified eighth and finished 10th.
• At tracks less than one mile in length, the Trinity, North Carolina native has sixteen career starts with three top-five and eight top-10 finishes.

Joey Iest, No. 54 ASN/Basila Ranch Ford Fusion

• Iest enters his sixth race of the 2021 ARCA Menards Series East season on Saturday evening at Iowa Speedway in Newton. The race is a combination race between the ARCA Menards Series and the ARCA Menards Series East and will serve as the fifth race of the Sioux Chief Showdown.
• The 18-year-old driver last competed on July 3rd at Irwindale (Calif.) Speedway with the ARCA West series behind the wheel of the #54 for Naake-Klauer Motorsports. He qualified second and finished third in the 150-lap event.
• Saturday will be the first appearance at the 7/8-mile oval for Iest.
• In five ARCA East starts with DGR this season, the Madera, California native has four top-fives and five top-10s with three fifth-place finishes, an eighth and a second.
• Iest currently sits third in the ARCA East series standings, 34 points behind first place and eighth in the West series standings, 19 points behind first place.

Newton, IA (July 19, 2021) – NASCAR Hall of Fame inductees Rusty Wallace and Joe Gibbs will headline a busy day of pre-race activities leading up to Saturday’s Shore Lunch 150 for the ARCA Menards Series at Iowa Speedway.

Wallace, the 1989 NASCAR Cup Series champion, will participate in an autograph session alongside his son Steven and the other drivers on the concourse between qualifying and the race. The elder Wallace is a 55-time Cup Series winner and is now a member of the broadcast team on MRN Radio. He is also the designer of Iowa Speedway. Steven is a four-time ARCA Menards Series winner, including the very first race ever run at Iowa Speedway in 2006. They will both be honored on the pre-race stage with Rusty driving the pace car leading the field to the green flag.

Gibbs, a three-time Super Bowl-winning head coach in the NFL and a 200-time winner across the nationally-touring NASCAR series, will offer the invocation before the start. Gibbs grandson Ty Gibbs has won five ARCA Menards Series races in 2021 and 13 times overall in his brief career. He also won in his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut on the road course at Daytona International Speedway in February and followed with a win at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May.

NASCAR vice-chairman Mike Helton will also be in attendance on Saturday, celebrating the 16th season of racing at the 0.875-mile D-shaped oval located about 30 minutes east of Des Moines in Newton. Ron Hutcherson, Larry Clement, and Mason Mitchell, three Iowans who have won ARCA Menards Series championships, will also be in attendance and honored during pre-race activities. Hutcherson is a three-time series champion, winning three straight from 1972 through 1974; Clement in a nine-time champion, providing cars for driver Frank Kimmel as they dominated from 1997 through 2007; and Mitchell won the championship driving for a family-owned team in 2014. NASCAR fan favorite Ken Schrader, a 19-time ARCA Menards Series winner, will also be in attendance.

In addition to the driver autograph session featuring the Wallaces, Schrader, and the Iowa ARCA legends, other fan activities on the concourse include displaying Clement’s first ARCA racecar – a superspeedway car originally built by Hendrick Motorsports for NASCAR Hall of Famer Buddy Baker – the Sioux Chief sim racing gaming trailer, the Van Wall John Deere display, and a cornhole tournament. There will also be live music behind the grandstands and the night will be punctuated with a fireworks display.

Advance discounted tickets are available for the Shore Lunch 150 at each of the Menards locations throughout Iowa. For more information, please visit IowaSpeedway.com and ARCARacing.com.

Few cars in NASCAR’s modern history have engendered more online discussion than Hendrick Motorsports chassis 2405. It’s not a car that has a particularly famous on-track record, but it has built an impressive following among fans who have seen a photo of the car, on jackstands, dressed in Jeff Gordon’s familiar DuPont Automotive Finishes colors. The car looked exceedingly familiar, but it had an unfamiliar number: 46.

Gordon was originally going to wear the No. 46 on the sides of his cars throughout his rookie season in 1993, three years after Days of Thunder was released. But the licensing agreements put in place for the blockbuster movie precluded the number being used, at least on a full-time basis. The team did get clearance to use the number for a one-off attempt at Talladega Superspeedway in July of that season, but future NASCAR Hall of Famer Buddy Baker missed the starting field by just 0.02 seconds.

After that ignominious outing, Hendrick Motorsports sold the car to an Iowa businessman who wanted to go superspeedway racing. Little did anyone know it would be the impetus to a dynasty that lasted nearly 15 years.

Larry Clement brought the car, still painted in the “Rainbow Warrior” colors with the number 46 on the side, to the 1993 ARCA Menards Series season finale Atlanta with veteran dirt track racer Bob Hill at the wheel. Still in its infancy with a driver that had never raced on a track that large or fast before, Clement’s new team performed well. Hendrick chassis 2405 carried Hill to a top-five finish – fourth – and laid the first brick in a foundation that would result in 75 victories and nine series championships.

Hill qualified the car third out of 75 entries at the 1994 season opener at Daytona and was in the hunt for the win before he was blocked on pit road during a late-race pit stop and was relegated to seventh at the finish. The likeable Iowan delivered Clement’s first ARCA win on the mile dirt at Springfield in 1994, and would go on to three more victories, all on one-mile dirt tracks, at the Indiana State Fairgrounds and DuQuoin State Fairgrounds. Hill would also make the highlight reel for the team as he and his on-board camera rode out a wild flip in the 1996 season opener at Daytona.

Clement recalled his team’s first starts as the ARCA Menards Series prepares to race at the track he was instrumental in getting built, Iowa Speedway.

“There were 14 drivers in the race with NASCAR Cup Series experience,” he said, recalling the 1993 race at Atlanta. “Our driver, Bob Hill, finished fourth because we got a lap down on a green-flag pit stop one lap before a yellow flag. He ran right with the three lead lap cars. It was his first asphalt race. That was the year, 1993, that he won the NASCAR Busch All-star tour championship for dirt late models, an incredibly competitive series. Bob went on to win four ARCA races before taking a job with the SABCO NASCAR team as shop foreman. That’s when we joined with Frank Kimmel, who had one ARCA win, but had unlimited potential. As they say, the rest is history.”

It was in 1996 that Clement teamed up, on a part-time basis, with a short track ace out of Clarksville, Indiana who had started to make a name in the ARCA Menards Series. Frank Kimmel was racing the bulk of the short tracks and the occasional superspeedway event for owner Don Falldorf. The two owners worked out a deal to share the car number, still 46, to keep both Hill and Kimmel high enough in owner points. Kimmel won three times for Falldorf while carrying Clement’s car number in 1996 and earned a full-time ride in Clement’s cars in 1997.

The Clement/Kimmel combination started slowly, with just one win in 1997 but exploded in 1998 when they earned nine wins and the duo’s first series championship. After finishing second in the series standings in 1999, they combined to make stock car history when they scored eight consecutive series championships. Over those eight years, Kimmel found the path to victory lane an astounding 54 times.

Clement also discussed the role ARCA played in getting the track up and running.

“If it wasn’t for ARCA, the speedway would not exist,” Clement said. “It was at an ARCA driver’s meeting at Michigan in 1996 that ARCA president Ron Drager introduced a group who were going to be partners with Bruton Smith and build a track in Illinois. When that didn’t happen, they moved the project to eastern Iowa and eventually to Newton. Ron and ARCA were the first series to commit a race to the track. ARCA has raced at Iowa more times than any other series since.”

Clement will be honored for his accomplishments as an owner during pre-race activities leading up to the Shore Lunch 150 at Iowa Speedway in Newton on Saturday, July 24. Clement will participate in the autograph session held on the fan concourse at 6:45 pm CT, just prior to driver introductions and he will have chassis 2405 on display as well.

Discounted tickets to the Shore Lunch 150 at Iowa Speedway are available at Menards stores throughout Iowa for just $20.

Saturday, July 17
Track: Berlin Raceway, 7/16-mile oval
Race: 10 of 20
Event: Zinsser SmartCoat 200 (200 laps, 88 miles)

Schedule
Practice: 4:15 p.m. ET
Qualifying: 6:00 p.m. ET
Race: 8:00 p.m. ET (MAVTV)

Taylor Gray, No. 17 Ripper Coffee Ford Fusion

• Gray made his return to the seat of the No. 17 Fusion last Saturday night at Elko (Minn.) Speedway. After spending the majority of the 250-lap event in the top-three, he was forced out of the racing groove exiting turn two on the final lap and had to settle for a fifth-place finish.
• The 16-year-old driver will make his third ARCA Menards Series start of the season and fifth start overall in 2021 at Berlin (Mich.) Raceway on Saturday evening.
• The 7/16-mile oval will mark another new track for both Gray and crew chief Chad Johnston.
• In 14 career ARCA Menards races, the Ford driver has nine top-five and 13 top-10 finishes. His only finish outside the top-10 was an 11th-place effort at Toledo (Ohio) Speedway last season.
• The yellow and black colors of Ripper Coffee Company will adorn Gray’s Fusion at Berlin. They were also on the car at Phoenix (Ariz.) Raceway in March.

Thad Moffitt, No. 46 Clean Harbors Ford Fusion

• Moffitt enters his tenth race of the 2021 ARCA Menards Series season on Saturday evening at Berlin (Mich.) Raceway.
• This will be Moffitt’s first visit to the unique Berlin race track in his 38th career ARCA Menards Series race.
• The Trinity, North Carolina driver extended his streak of top-10s to eight with his ninth-place finish at Elko. He was battling for the sixth position coming to the white flag and was spun out entering turn one. It was the 21st top-10 of his ARCA career.
• With his four top-fives and eight top-10s, the No. 46 Clean Harbors Fusion remains third in the series standings for the ARCA Menards Series.

ELKO, Minn. – Willie Mullins enjoyed one of the best races of his life Saturday night at Elko Speedway.

Mullins, driving the No. 10 Ford in a partnership between Mullins Racing and Andy Hillenburg’s Fast Track Racing, scored an eighth-place finish in the ARCA Menards Series Menards 250 at Elko Speedway in front of a large gathering of family and friends.

The finish Mullins’ best effort in ARCA competition on a short-track and also bettered the team’s best ARCA-sanctioned short-track finish, which was previously a ninth-place finish by Davey Callihan at Southern National Motorsports Park in Kenly, N.C., earlier this year.

“It was the best short-track weekend we’ve ever had,” Mullins said. “We worked really hard to have a car that worked that good. We were finally able to put all the pieces together last weekend at Elko.

“It was one of the highlights of my racing career,” Mullins continued. “After Southern National and Davey showing us our equipment was good, I was able to go to Elko and show everybody our equipment is just as good with me in it and prove that I can drive a race car and prove to myself I can be competitive with the top half of the field.”

Mullins started the day by setting a strong pace in practice, where he was 10th fastest. That was followed by an 11th-place qualifying effort for the 250-lap event.

“Once we went out for practice I was able to be in the top-10 and be very competitive,” Mullins said. “We knew we were really good for everything we’ve had in the past. We qualified really good, qualified 11th, but we picked up another tenth in qualifying.”

Once the race began Mullins’ rode in the back half of the top-10 with the goal of staying on the lead lap throughout the majority of the event. He was able to do this, which put him in position to capitalize when drivers in front of him made mistakes in the final 30 laps of the race, opening the door for his eighth-place finish.

“We stayed on the lead lap. That was our main goal, to stay on the lead lap,” Mullins said. “We were able to capitalize on a couple of peoples mistakes and we were able to get an eighth-place finish out of it.”

Mullins said the finish would not have been possible without Hillenburg and the rest of the ARCA family, with multiple people coming together to help make the program possible.

“A huge thank you to Andy Hillenburg and his crew for taking our car to Elko, crewing it and making sure we had a competitive group working on the car to help support our effort,” Mullins said. “Andy and the rest of our ARCA family really came together to help us at Elko and make sure we were competitive and we can’t thank everyone enough for that.”

The No. 10 Mullins Racing/Fast Track Racing Ford carries sponsorship support from Crow Wing Recycling, CW Metals, Bugsy’s Auto, Snap On by Timmy Brann, Dinah Marie Photography Crawford Sprinkler of Raleigh and CorvetteParts.net.

For more information on Mullins Racing, please visit mullinsracing.net, like them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/mullinsracing and follow them on Twitter at @mullins_racing.

Saturday, July 9
Track: Elko Speedway, 3/8-mile oval
Race: 9 of 20
Event: Menards 250 (250 laps, 94 miles)

Taylor Gray, No. 17 Ford Performance Fusion

Start: 3rd
Finish: 5th

• Gray qualified third for the Menards 250 in his first race back from injury since Phoenix (Ariz.) Raceway in March.
• The first caution flag waved on lap 23 followed by another yellow on lap 46 with the Ford driver riding in fourth. He advanced to the third position on lap 70 and took command of second on lap 86.
• The first competition caution happened on lap 100 and the team would pit for two tires, fuel and adjustments to free up the car.
• The No. 17 restarted second on lap 105 and maintained that position for the duration of the second stage of the race until the second competition caution waved on lap 175.
• After taking four tires and fuel under the caution, Gray restarted in second with 70 laps remaining. A quick caution on lap 185 put the Ford Performance Fusion in third and on the next restart he locked up the tires entering turn one and fell to fifth.
• A late race yellow set up a three lap shootout to the finish with Gray in fourth. A chaotic battle for the top four positions left the driver with no choice but to lift and settle for a fifth-place finish.

Thad Moffitt, No. 46 Clean Harbors Ford Fusion

Start: 6th
Finish: 9th

• Moffitt qualified 6th for the 250-lap event at Elko (Minn.) Speedway.
• The Clean Harbors Fusion maintained sixth position for the opening 45 laps around the 3/8-mile track. Contact with the 15 car on lap 46 left both cars sideways in turn two. Moffitt quickly came down pit road to check for any damage and rejoined the field in 10th for the restart.
• When the caution flag waved on lap 100 for the first competition caution, the No. 46 was up to seventh. The team changed right side tires, added fuel and made adjustments to improve the balance of the car.
• On lap 110, Moffitt broke into the top-five for the first time in the race. When the second competition caution came out on lap 175, he was in the sixth position. He pitted for four tires and fuel to gear up for the final leg of the race.
• The Trinity, North Carolina driver broke into the top-five yet again on lap 199 and held the position until lap 230. He was running in sixth when the white flag waved. but was spun out entering turn one and ended up with a ninth place effort.

Next event: Zinsser Smart Coat 200 at Berlin Raceway in Marne, Michigan on July 17 at 8 p.m. ET.

ELKO, Minn: Rette Jones Racing is set to compete in their sixth ARCA Menards Series race of the season but first for new driver Adam Lemke in Saturday night’s Menards 250 at Elko (Minn.) Speedway.

The historic short track may be new to Lemke, a native of Hollister, Calif., but his Mark Rette-led team thankfully has plenty of experience at short tracks in the premier ARCA Menards Series division giving the 18-year-old confidence ahead of Saturday night’s race.

“I’m looking forward to this weekend with Rette Jones Racing,” said Lemke. “This is a great opportunity for myself and our marketing partners and I cannot wait to get to Elko and get some laps with practice and then focus on qualifying and the race.”

Lemke has been winning championships for more than half his 18 years, starting in Quarter Midgets at age eight and rising through the Mini Cup ranks. In 2017, he graduated to the USAC Western Midget Series and finished second in overall points and clinched the Rookie of the Year award.

In 2018, he won both the pavement and overall championships in the USAC Western Midget Series, as well as Rookie of the Year honors in the RPM Pro Late Model Series at Madera (Calif.) Speedway.

He graduated to the immensely popular and competitive CARS Tour where he joined JR Motorsports and competed in nine of the 11 CARS Late Model Stock events and finished 11th in the championship standings.

Most of Lemke’s racing efforts for 2020 were sidelined due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but he did compete in a few CARS Tour races, as well as competed for Hawk McCall Motorsports in the NASCAR Advanced Auto Parts Weekly Series.

Having a diverse background in short-track racing is likely to play into Lemke’s hands this weekend, but the teenager also knows that he has a lot to learn about the heavier “stock cars” that the ARCA Menards Series requires.

Still, Lemke has spent a lot of time digesting and preparing for Saturday night’s Menards 250 and hopes his short-track mentality will be a benefit in his ARCA debut.

“I’ve been so fortunate and blessed to experience and win a lot in such a short amount of time,” added Lemke. “No doubt moving to the ARCA Menards Series and these heavier cars will be challenging, but that’s where I will lean on my team for guidance and direction.

“Our goal is a top-five finish at Elko. And based on the speed the team has shown this year, I think we can not only accomplish that but contend for the win too.”

JRi Shocks will serve as the primary partner for the ninth ARCA Menards Series race of 2021. In addition, Rette Jones Racing also welcomes Ford Performance, Goodridge Fluid Transfer Systems, Jones Group Demolition and Abatement, Mahle, Off-Axis Paint and Slick Products as associate marketing partners on the team’s No. 30 Ford Fusion.

“We are all looking forward to Elko,” offered co-owner and crew chief Rette. “Adam has been extremely focused on preparing for his ARCA Menards Series debut. He has been asking a lot of questions, reviewing as much data as he can, and so on. Overall, we feel we are well prepared as a team.”

RJR is co-owned by Canadian entrepreneur and former race car driver Terry Jones.

Additional details on Lemke’s 2021 program are forthcoming.

For more on Adam Lemke, please visit like him on Facebook (Adam Lemke) or follow him on Twitter (@AdamLemkeRacing).

For more on Rette Jones Racing, please visit RetteJonesRacing.com, like them on Facebook (Rette Jones Racing) or follow them on Twitter (@RetteJones30).

The Menards 250 (250 laps | 94 miles) is the ninth of 20 races on the 2021 ARCA Menards Series schedule. Practice begins Sat., Jul. 10 with a one-hour practice session from 3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. General Tire pole qualifying is set for a short time later at 5:30 p.m. The race is set to take the green flag shortly after 9:00 p.m. The event will be televised live on MAVTV and NBC Sports Gold Pass. ARCARacing.com will also stream live timing and scoring throughout the entire weekend festivities. All times are local (CT).

About Rette Jones Racing:

Headquartered in Mooresville, North Carolina, Rette Jones Racing (RJR) was founded in 2015 with the intent of building a successful racing operation built around the fundamentals of hard work and a never-give-up attitude.

Owned by racers Terry Jones and Mark Rette, RJR plan to field a full-time entry in 2021 in the ARCA Menards Series East, while also hopeful to field vehicles in the ARCA Menards Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS).

The winning ARCA East team also offers technical and setup intel as part of its technical alliance partnership program.

Saturday, July 10
Track: Elko Speedway, 3/8-mile oval
Race: 9 of 20
Event: Menards 250 (250 laps, 94 miles)

Schedule
Practice: 4:30 p.m. ET
Qualifying: 6:30 p.m. ET
Race: 10:00 p.m. ET (MAVTV)

Taylor Gray, No. 17 Ford Performance Fusion

• After being sidelined from competition for 13 weeks, Gray will make his second ARCA Menards Series start of the season on Saturday night at Elko (Minn.) Speedway. His last race with the national series was at Phoenix (Ariz.) Raceway in March where he finished ninth.
• The Ford Performance driver also has a pair of third-place finishes with the ARCA East series in February at New Smyrna (Fla.) Speedway and Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola.
• The Menards 250 will be the first ever start at the 3/8-mile oval for both Gray and crew chief Chad Johnston.
• Saturday will begin a stretch of five straight weeks of racing for the 16 year old. He will follow the ARCA Menards Series schedule through Watkins Glen, where he intends to do double duty with ARCA and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

Thad Moffitt, No. 46 Clean Harbors Ford Fusion

• Moffitt enters his ninth race of the 2021 ARCA Menards Series season on Saturday evening at Elko (Minn.) Speedway.
• The North Carolina native collected his fourth top-five of the season two weeks at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway with a fifth-place effort.
• Moffitt’s streak of top-10 finishes stands at seven heading into this weekend. With four top-fives and seven top-10s, the No. 46 Fusion remains in third in the series standings for the ARCA Menards Series and the Sioux Chief Showdown.
• Similar to teammate Taylor Gray and his crew chief, Moffitt and Derek Smith will be making their first appearances at Elko as well.