Category: ARCA

ARCA Menards Series East

The Race: Dutch Boy 150
The Place: Flat Rock Speedway, Flat Rock, Mich.
The Date: Saturday, May 18, 2024
The Time: 7:30 pm ET
TV: Live, FloRacing
Distance: 150 Laps / 37.5 Miles

• The Dutch Boy 150 at Flat Rock Speedway is the fourth race of the 2024 ARCA Menards Series East season and the 599th race in East Series history dating to 1987. It is the third and final stand-alone race for the East series this season; the remaining races are all combination races with the ARCA Menards Series.
• The Dutch Boy 150 is the second ARCA Menards Series East race at Flat Rock; last year’s race, won by William Sawalich, was the first. The ARCA Menards Series raced 56 times at Flat Rock Speedway from 1953 through 2000.
• Seventeen-year-old Connor Zilisch enters the Dutch Boy 150 with a five-point lead in the ARCA Menards Series East championship standings over William Sawalich. Zilisch has started the season with three top-five finishes, including his first career series win at Dover Motor Speedway in April. Zilisch started the season with an LMP2 class victory in the Rolex 24 at Daytona and backed it up with a class victory at the 12 Hours of Sebring.
• Reigning series champion William Sawalich returns to Flat Rock Speedway to defend his 2023 race victory fresh off his first win of the 2023 season; Sawalich dominated last Saturday’s Music City 150 at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway to record his first East win of the season. Sawalich won the ARCA Menards Series / ARCA Menards Series West combination race at Phoenix Raceway in March.
• Gio Ruggiero dropped to third in the ARCA Menards Series East standings after a disappointing 14th-place finish at Nashville after a cut left rear tire sent him into the turn one wall. Ruggiero will look to rebound at the series tightest, smallest track, a track that has a lot of similarities to his home track, Seekonk Speedway. Ruggiero is the 2023 ASA CRA Super Series champion, the 2023 ASA Southern Super Series champion and started the 2024 season with a win in the ARCA Menards Series East opener at Five Flags Speedway.
• Toni Breidinger will round out the Venturini Motorsports stable in the Dutch Boy 150. Breidinger will be making her first stand-alone East start since Dover in 2023 where she finished seventh. He best career East finish was fifth in the combination race at Iowa Speedway in 2023.
• Venturini Motorsports founders and co-owners Bill and Cathy Venturini earned their first career ARCA Menards Series victory at Flat Rock Speedway in June 1983. Bill would win 12 races in his career as a driver in the ARCA Menards Series and is the 1987 and 1991 series champion. Cathy Venturini, his crew chief and over-the-wall pit crew member, was also the championship-winning car owner in 1987 and 1991.
• Zachary Tinkle heads into the Dutch Boy 150 off his best career East finish, fourth, last Saturday night at Nashville. Tinkle drives for 1995 ARCA Menards Series national champion Andy Hillenburg, who won at Flat Rock en route to the title.
• Sawyer, Michigan native Matt Kemp returns to Fast Track High Performance Racing to make his second career East start. Kemp, who has visited victory lane at Flat Rock in the Midwest Classic Racers dwarf car series, finished 19th in his series debut last year at Iowa Speedway.
• Reigning ARCA Menards Series West champion Sean Hingorani set the ARCA Menards Series East qualifying record at Flat Rock Speedway in 2023 with a lap at 12.761 seconds/70.527 miles per hour.
• William Sawalich established the 150-lap ARCA Menards Series East race record at Flat Rock Speedway in 2023, winning the race in 38 minutes, 48 seconds at an average speed of 57.990 miles per hour.
• Last year’s Dutch Boy 150 was slowed by cautions 3 times for a total of 17 laps.
• Previous ARCA Menards Series winners at Flat Rock Speedway include Julian “J.H” Petty (2, 1953), Bob Hunter (1957), Bill Lutz (1958), Les Snow (1965), Iggy Katona (1966), Bobby Watson (1969), Andy Hampton (1970), Ramo Stott (1971), Ron Hutcherson (1972, 1974), A. Arnold (1973), Moose Myers (1976, 1978, 1979), Bill Green (1977), Bill Kimmel (1978), Jim Cushman (1979), Marvin Smith (3, 1980; 2, 1981, 1995), Bob Dotter (1981), Lee Raymond (1982, 1983), Bobby Jacks (1982) Bill Venturini (1983; 2, 1984), Ed Hage (1985; 1986; 2, 1987), Bob Keselowski (1988, 1991), Tracy Leslie (1988), Dave Weltmeyer (1989; 2, 1992; 1994, 1996), Grant Adcox (1989), Bobby Bowsher (1990, 1991), Harold Fair (1993), Jeremy Mayfield (1993), Gary Bradberry (1994), Andy Hillenburg (1995), Joe Ruttman (1995), Tim Steele (1996, 1997), Frank Kimmel (1998, 2000), and Bill Baird (1999).
• From 1954 through 1956, Flat Rock Speedway was promoted by “Big Bill” France, and the cornerstone event in 1954 was a 500-lap main event for NASCAR-style cars. That race was won by Lee Petty. His cousin Julian won twin 250-lap main events that were a part of the ARCA Menards Series calendar the previous year.
• NASCAR legend Curtis Turner won a NASCAR Convertible Series race at Flat Rock Speedway in July 1956. Turner started eighth and was the only driver to complete all 250 laps; he finished two laps ahead of “Tiger” Tom Pistone. Allen Adkins won a 200-lap main event for the Convertible Series in August 1956 by a whopping 19 laps over second-place finisher Dick Joslin.
• The 1956 Convertible races included two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Joe Weatherly, who finished fourth in July, nine-time Cup Series winner Bob Welborn, who was third in July and sixth in August, and 1955 ARCA Menards Series West champion Danny Letner. Glen Wood, one of the founding members of the famed Wood Bros. Racing team and a member of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, also competed in the August race but finished 18th after a right front tire failure. Seven-time USAC Champ Car winner (now the NTT IndyCar Series) winner Jud Larson was also in the July race; he finished 19th in the 23-car field.
• The Dutch Boy 150 will run straight through with no scheduled breaks; teams will have two tires in their pit stall for emergency use only. All tire changes must be for damaged tires only and have to be approved by ARCA officials.
• Should the race need to be extended into overtime, there will be unlimited attempts at a two-lap “green-white-checkered” finish. Should the caution be displayed after the white flag, there will be unlimited attempts at a one-lap “green and white together” finish.

• Reigning series champion William Sawalich earned his first ARCA Menards Series East victory of 2024 with a dominant performance in the Music City 150 at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway. Sawalich started third but took the lead at lap five, and except for getting beat to the start/finish line on a restart, led the rest of the way to score his fifth career series victory in his tenth career start.
• Isabella Robusto tied the record for best finish by a female driver in an ARCA Menards Series East race, second, and did so in her series debut. Kenzie Ruston set the record when she finished second at Iowa Speedway in 2014.
• Connor Zilisch finished third, his third top-five finish in three career ARCA Menards Series starts. Zilisch assumed the lead in the series championship standings and unofficially holds a five-point lead over Sawalich headed into the Dutch Boy 150 at Flat Rock Speedway.
• Zachary Tinkle finished a career-best fourth, his third top-ten finish of the season.
• Andrew Patterson made his ARCA Menards Series debut driving for team owner Mark Noble and finished fifth.
• Tyler Scofield scored his first career top-ten finish in sixth; Scofield made his series debut at Five Flags but fought electrical problems which relegated him to a 15th-place finish.
• Caleb Costner finished a career-best seventh; combined with his teammate D.L. Wilson’s tenth-place finish they put both of the Costner Motorsports team’s cars in the top ten.
• Jayson Alexander, an active member of the North Carolina Army National Guard and the University of North Carolina Charlotte ROTC program, finished eighth in his series debut, giving team owner Andy Hillenburg two cars in the top ten.
• Nashville late model regular Hunter Wright gave the MAN Motorsports team two top-ten finishers with his ninth-place finish.
• Gio Ruggiero led the ARCA Menards Series East championship standings coming in to the Music City 150, and he started the day by scoring his first career General Tire Pole Award. Ruggiero led the first four laps but experienced a cut left rear tire while battling with Connor Zilisch for the second position; the tire went down as he entered turn one on lap six sending him hard into the turn one wall. Ruggiero would return to the track to pick up four positions but would call it a night after 49 laps. He finished 14th.
• Tanner Reif experienced engine issues in practice forcing the Cook Racing Technologies team to change engines before the race; Reif made it to the grid for the start but experienced overheating problems. As he tried to get to pit road to have those problems looked at, he made contact with the tire protecting the end of the pit wall doing significant damage to his car and ending his night. He finished 15th.
• The next race for the ARCA Menards Series East is the Dutch Boy 150 at Flat Rock Speedway on Saturday, May 18. The race will be streamed live on FloRacing at 7:30 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.

ARCA Menards Series East

The Race: Music City 150
The Place: Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville, Nashville, Tenn.
The Date: Saturday, May 11, 2024
The Time: 9:15 pm ET / 8:15 pm CT
TV: Live, FloRacing
Distance: 150 Laps / 89.4 Miles

• The Music City 150 is the third race of the 2024 ARCA Menards Series East season and the sixth time the series has raced at Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville in its history. It will be the 597th race in series history dating back to the series’ inception in 1987.
• Previous ARCA Menards Series East winners at Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville include Rogelio Lopez (2007), Matt Kobyluck (2008), Sammy Smith (2021, 2022), and Luke Fenhaus (2023).
• Rogelio Lopez and Luke Fenhaus each earned their first career ARCA Menards Series East victory at Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville.
• Luke Fenhaus led only the final two laps en route to victory in 2023. He took the lead on an overtime restart to beat eventual ARCA Menards Series East champion William Sawalich to the finish line by 0.327 seconds. Fenhaus’ 2 laps led are the fewest by any East winner at Nashville; Matt Kobyluck led just 11 laps en route to the victory in 2008.
• Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville hosted 42 NASCAR Cup Series races from 1958 through 1984, nine NASCAR Xfinity Series races from 1984 to 2000, and five NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races from 1995 through 2000. The ARCA Menards Series raced at Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville 29 times from 1959 to 2019.
• The East races in 2007 and 2008 were 150 laps; the races in 2021 through 2023 were 200 laps. The 2024 race returns to the event’s original 150-lap race distance.
• Gio Ruggiero, who won the season opener at Five Flags Speedway, enters the Music City 150 with a three-point lead in the ARCA Menards Series East championship standings over Dover Motor Speedway winner Connor Zilisch. Reigning series champion William Sawalich is third, 15 points out of the lead.
• Connor Zilisch enters the Music City 150 off his first career ARCA Menards Series East victory at Dover Motor Speedway. That race was a combination race with the ARCA Menards Series; his team, Pinnacle Racing Group, won its second consecutive ARCA Menards Series race last Saturday with Connor Mosack driving at Kansas Speedway. Pinnacle Racing Group is also the team Luke Fenhaus was driving for when he won at Nashville in 2023.
• Isabella Robusto will make her ARCA Menards Series East debut driving for Venturini Motorsports; she finished sixth in her ARCA Menards Series West debut at Phoenix Raceway in March.
• Two-time ARCA Menards Series West winner Tanner Reif will make his ARCA Menards Series East debut driving for Cook Racing Technologies. Reif won at Irwindale Speedway and the 1000th West race in series history at Evergreen Speedway in 2022.
• Local Pro Late Model star Hunter Wright will make his second ARCA Menards Series East start driving for team owner Mark Noble. He finished fifth in his series debut at Five Flags Speedway. Noble will field a second car for Andrew Patterson, who will be making his East debut.
• The 18-car entry list represents the most cars entered for an ARCA Menards Series East race at Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville since 28 were entered in 2008.
• William Sawalich holds the ARCA Menards Series East track qualifying record at Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville, set in 2023, at 19.414 seconds/110.512 miles per hour.
• Sammy Smith set the ARCA Menards Series East track race record in 2021, winning a 200-lap race with an average speed of 91.438 miles per hour.
• There will be a 5-minute break at or near lap 75. Teams will have the opportunity to change tires, add fuel, and make adjustments and/or repairs.
• The record for most lead changes in an ARCA Menards Series East race at Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville is 12 set in 2008. The fewest number of lead changes is one set in 2022.
• The record for the most cautions in an ARCA Menards Series East race at Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville is 8; the record for most laps under caution is 44 in 2007. The fewest cautions is 3 set in 2021 and matched in 2022; the fewest laps run under caution, also set in 2021, is 12.
• Only one ARCA Menards Series East race at Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville has gone into overtime, 2023, won by Luke Fenhaus.
• Should the race need to be extended into overtime, there will be unlimited attempts at a two-lap “green-white-checkered” finish. Should the caution be displayed after the white flag, there will be unlimited attempts at a one-lap “green and white together” finish.

TEMPERANCE, Mich. (May 7, 2024) – For the third consecutive year, Milwaukee-based Sprecher craft soda will be the entitlement sponsor of the ARCA Menards Series race at The Milwaukee Mile. The Sprecher 150 will run on the same day as the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series 175-mile race, giving race fans a total of 325 miles of door-to-door racing action with the purchase of one ticket.

The ARCA Menards Series’ history at The Mile dates back to 1958 when NASCAR Hall of Famer Fred Lorenzen won a combined race with the United States Auto Club stock car tour. The next six races at The Mile were combination races with USAC; Tony Bettenhausen won in July 1959, Rodger Ward won in August 1959, Lorenzen won again in September 1959, and Bettenhausen won for the second time in July 1960. After a 22-year hiatus, Dean Roper scored the victory in August 1982, and “The Dyer Flyer” Dave Weltmeyer earned the first of his 13 career ARCA Menards Series wins in August 1983.

After another 22-year hiatus, Frank Kimmel scored his 58th career ARCA Menards Series win in 2005. Phil Bozell won in 2006, with Kimmel earning his 71st career series victory in 2007. After a 14-year hiatus the series once again returned in combination with the ARCA Menards Series East; Ty Gibbs led every lap in 2021, the first of three consecutive wins at The Mile for Joe Gibbs Racing. Sammy Smith won in 2022, and 16-year-old William Sawalich won in 2023.

“We are pleased to have our friends at Sprecher back on board in their hometown as we extend our long and storied history at The Milwaukee Mile,” said ARCA president Ron Drager. “Milwaukee is one of the most challenging racetracks on the schedule, and the fans in attendance will get to see two great races on the same day with the ARCA Menards Series leading into the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.”

“Milwaukee is our hometown, so we’re thrilled to continue our relationship with the ARCA Menards Series and The Milwaukee Mile,” said Sharad Chadha, CEO of Sprecher. “We hope to see all of our friends and neighbors out at the racetrack in August!”

Ticket information for the Sprecher 150 can be found at TrackEnterprises.com; for complete event information, including live timing & scoring of all on track activities, the complete weekend schedule, and broadcast updates, please visit ARCARacing.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, please follow @ARCA_Racing on Twitter.

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 racing all across the country, the organization administers more than 100 events annually, including the ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series East, ARCA Menards Series West, 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.

About Sprecher
Established in 1985, Sprecher is Milwaukee’s original craft brewery. Sprecher brews more than 20 different craft sodas, including their world-famous, award-winning Sprecher Root Beer. Sprecher craft sodas are fire-brewed and made with honey to produce a unique bold flavor with antioxidants. Sprecher’s craft sodas are available in more than 49 states as well as online.

• Connor Mosack won Saturday’s Tide 150 ARCA Menards Series race at Kansas Speedway. It was his second career ARCA Menards Series win and his second consecutive series victory at Kansas Speedway; he also won the last time the series raced at the 1.5-mile tri-oval in September.
• Mosack won at Kansas Speedway last fall driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, and the car he beat was the No. 28 Pinnacle Racing Group Chevrolet driven by Carson Kvapil. Mosack won the Tide 150 driving for Pinnacle Racing Group, and the car he beat was the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota driven by Tanner Gray, the car he drove to victory last fall.
• Mosack’s victory was the second consecutive ARCA Menards Series victory for Pinnacle Racing Group; the team – led by 2020 ARCA Menards Series championship-winning crew chief Shane Huffman – also won at Dover Motor Speedway last week with 17-year-old phenom Connor Zilisch driving.
• With wins at Dover Motor Speedway and Kansas Speedway, Chevrolet has won two consecutive ARCA Menards Series races for the first time since Nick Sanchez won at Talladega Superspeedway and Kansas in 2022 driving for Rev Racing. Prior to Dover, Toyota had won 14 consecutive ARCA Menards Series races. Chevrolet’s last victory came at Iowa Speedway when Luke Fenhaus won driving for Pinnacle Racing Group.
• General Tire Pole Qualifying was scrubbed due to a wet track surface after early morning rain showers; series officials instead gave teams 40 minutes of practice. Per the rule book, the starting line-up was set by practice speeds with Tanner Gray earning his second career General Tire Pole Award and his first since 2019 at Kansas.
• Gray led 86 of the race’s 100 laps and Mosack led the other 14. Mosack took the lead for the first time on the race’s final restart at lap 83; Gray retook the lead at lap 84 and led the next three laps before Mosack retook the lead for the final time with a dozen laps remaining.
• Driving for Venturini Motorsports, Dean Thompson finished third in his first ARCA Menards Series start of 2024. Each of the top-three finishers did double duty on Saturday by racing in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race that evening. Tanner Gray finished seventh in the Truck race with Thompson in eighth; Lawless Alan, who finished eleventh in the Tide 150, was 26th while race winner Connor Mosack finished 30th.
• Venturini Motorsports had three drivers in the top five finishers: Dean Thompson, fourth-place finisher Kris Wright, and Talladega winner Jake Finch in fifth. Amber Balcaen finished eighth and Toni Breidinger was tenth to put all five of the team’s entries in the top ten.
• With his seventh-place finish, Andres Perez maintains the ARCA Menards Series championship points lead. He has a six-point advantage over Greg Van Alst, who finished 12th.
• Marco Andretti finished ninth to score his first career series top-ten finish. Andretti will turn his attention to making his 19th career start in the Indianapolis 500 before returning to the ARCA Menards Series platform for two road course races with the ARCA Menards Series West at Portland International Raceway and Sonoma Raceway.
• Tenth-place finisher Toni Breidinger made her 50th career ARCA Menards Series start in the Tide 150. She will tie Gabi DiCarlo for second on the series’ all-time most starts by a female driver list at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Christi Passmore leads all female drivers with 66 career ARCA Menards Series starts.
• The next race for the ARCA Menards Series is the General Tire 150 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Saturday, May 24. The race will be televised live on FS1 at 6 pm ET and will be 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.

KANSAS CITY, Kan: Life is good for Greg Van Alst at the moment.

Van Alst’s recent performance at Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway was a true testament to his unwavering determination and resilience. Despite a challenging race, he showcased his grit by securing his second top-10 of the 2024 ARCA Menards Series season and an impressive eighth-place finish in the General Tire 150.

This achievement, along with his consistent efforts, has allowed the Anderson, Ind. native to maintain a strong position in the ARCA championship point standings as he prepares for the first intermediate track of the season at Kansas Speedway on Saturday, May 4.

Van Alst’s race at the Monster Mile was a true test of his and his Van Alst Motorsports team’s mettle. Led by crew chief Jim Long, they displayed resilience and strategic prowess, not only recovering from being lapped early in the race but also finishing on the lead lap, sitting just one point behind a sophomore ARCA Menards Series driver.

“Dover was a true test of our resilience. Despite the challenges, we managed to finish in the top-10 and keep the car intact,” shared Van Alst. “As a car owner and driver, I couldn’t ask for more. I’m eager to move on from Dover and head to Kansas Speedway, a track that has grown on me in the ARCA schedule.”

The 1.5-mile Kansas Speedway certainly holds a bit of sentiment for the ARCA Menards Series veteran. In the spring of 2021, Van Alst secured his first career top-10 finish in The Sunflower State with a seventh-place effort.

Since his notable seventh-place finish in the Land of Oz in the spring of 2021, Van Alst has been a force to reckon with in the ARCA Menards Series. His impressive track record includes a significant win at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway in February 2023, along with five top-five and 20 more top-10 finishes.

With a firm commitment to competing for the ARCA Menards Series championship this year, Van Alst is returning to Kansas Speedway with a clear goal. He’s not just aiming for another top-10 finish; he’s also eyeing the opportunity that a clean day of competition will allow him to re-secure the ARCA points lead for the second time in 2024.

“We’ve been relentless in our pursuit of perseverance in the past couple of weeks and month,” affirmed Greg Van Alst. “Fortunately, our No. 35 race vehicles have sustained minimal damage, allowing us to gain a slight edge. But we’re not complacent. We’re hungry for improvement, and we’re determined to get better.

“We know that our hands are tied a little bit with the equipment and limited resources we have to work with, but we are trying to keep our heads held high and just focus forward.”

Van Alst admittingly admits that his all-volunteer team has suffered speed on the intermediate tracks throughout his ARCA career. While he certainly has the speed to contend for a top-10 finish, Van Alst and his gang want more.

To help them find more speed, Greg and company will partake in Friday’s ARCA Menards Series open test at Kansas Speedway, where he hopes five hours of on-track time will prove to be extremely beneficial for not only Saturday afternoon’s Tide 150 but the upcoming General Tire 150 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway on May 24.

“If we are able to find something that allows us to pick up a tenth or more during the open test on Friday, it’s a small victory for us,” explained Van Alst. “For us, this five hours of track time is crucial. We can use the time to try new things or revert back to the old.

“We want to survive Kansas Speedway this weekend and look ahead to Charlotte with a positive finish, where I hope we can capitalize on points and then reset and prepare for the short tracks, which is where I think our team excels most.”

This weekend, the family-owned team welcomes CB Fabricating as the primary partner of the team’s No. 35 Ford Fusion for 100 laps of action.

Headquartered in Anderson, Ind., CB Fabricating offers a complete list of fabricating from design, laser cutting, CNC punching, forming, welding, powder coating, and assembly.

In addition to CB Fabricating, Zaki Ali (Injury & Criminal Trial Attorney; 1-888-649-1-ALI), Norton Transport and Top Choice Fence will serve as associate partners for Van Alst’s 43rd career ARCA start.

“The ARCA season is a continued grind and I’m super blessed to have CB Fabricating back on board as the primary partner this weekend at Kansas,” sounded Van Alst. Chris Barkdull and CB Fabricating have been our primary partners for every ARCA race I’ve run at Kansas, so it’s great to have them back in that role, as well as our other partners.

“We just need to do what we did last year and that was to have a drama-free race and bring home a top-10 finish. If we can do that, we should be in a good spot to either take back the ARCA points lead or keep it still within arm’s reach.”

Since 2002, Van Alst has 42 ARCA Menards Series starts to his credit, one win, five top-five and 21 top-10 finishes.

For more on Greg Van Alst and Greg Van Alst Motorsports, please visit GregVanAlst.com, like them on Facebook (Van Alst Motorsports) and follow him on X | Twitter (@GregVanAlst35).

The Tide 150 (100 laps | 150 miles) is the fifth of 20 races on the 2024 ARCA Menards Series schedule. Practice is set for Saturday, May 4, from 9:25 – 9:55 a.m. Group qualifying will begin at 10:10 a.m. The race is set for later in the day, scheduled to take the green flag shortly after 1:00 p.m. The event will be televised live on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) with the Motor Racing Network (MRN) and SiriusXM Satellite Radio (XM channel 391 | online channel 981) handling the radio waves. ARCARacing.com will also stream live timing and scoring throughout the entire weekend festivities.

Discounted tickets available

DE SOTO, Kan. (05/02/24) – Mandy Chick will make her second ARCA Menards Series start of the year on Saturday at Kansas Speedway, the track where she has found the most consistent success in her young career.

The De Soto, Kansas, native grew up attending races at the fast 1.5-mile D-shaped oval and turned in finishes of 12th and ninth there last season.

Now she is looking for even more in her Chick Engineering No. 74 Chevrolet SS.

“Our team has worked hard on the car since our last Kansas race and I feel confident I can follow up our solid finishes last year with an even stronger finish this weekend,” said Chick, a 22-year-old mechanical engineering major at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology In Terre Haute, Indiana.

Chick, who just wrapped up her term as president of her Tri-Delta sorority chapter, kicked off her 2024 campaign with the ARCA season-opener at Daytona International Speedway in February. However, she never got a chance to show her car’s speed after being caught up in a multi-car crash on Lap 4 and another accident that ended her day several laps later.

With Daytona in the rearview mirror, she and her family-owned team are focused on the unique challenges presented by the Kansas track in Saturday’s Tide 150.

There will be no shortage of support for Chick during the race’s 100 laps with plenty of family and friends in attendance at the facility in Kansas City, Kansas.

“I am looking forward to returning to my home track and seeing a lot of local fans,” Chick said.

Those fans have the opportunity to purchase tickets to both Saturday’s ARCA Menards Series Tide 150 and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Heart of America 200 for a discounted rate of $25 per person at https://fevo-enterprise.com/event/Mandychick. A FanWalk ticket providing a closer look at the action is available for an additional $15. All tickets are digital.

Plus, fans can quench their thirst with Chick’s product partner Sprecher Brewing Co. and use affiliate discount code “Chick15” to unlock 15% off their online store purchase at www.sprecherbrewery.com. 

The Tide 150 is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. ET/1:00 p.m. CT on Saturday, May 4. Television coverage is set for FOX Sports 1 and the FOX Sports App, with the radio broadcast slated 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.

TEMPERANCE, Mich. – Atlas Roofing will become the entitlement sponsor of the ARCA Menards Series race at Iowa Speedway, the opening act of what is sure to be a historic weekend of racing. The Atlas 150, set for Friday, June 14, will be followed by the return of the NASCAR Xfinity Series to Iowa Speedway on Saturday, and then the inaugural NASCAR Cup Series race at the 0.875-mile oval located just 30 minutes east of downtown Des Moines.

“We have a long history at Iowa Speedway dating back to the track’s opening in 2008,” said ARCA president Ron Drager. “We’ve consistently had tremendous support from the community and the race fans in Iowa, and we’re thrilled to be a part of this historic weekend.”

Previous ARCA Menards Series winners at Iowa Speedway include inaugural winner Steve Wallace, son of track designer and 1989 NASCAR Cup Series champion Rusty Wallace, NASCAR on NBC pit reporter and NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Parker Kligerman, current NASCAR Cup Series drivers Ty Dillon, Chase Briscoe, and Ty Gibbs, NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers Sheldon Creed, Chandler Smith, and Brandon Jones, and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver Grant Enfinger. West Des Moines native Mason Mitchell, the 2014 ARCA Menards Series champion and 2015 Iowa Speedway winner, has recently announced his intentions to compete in the Atlas 150 as well.

The decision to come on board for the biggest weekend of stock car racing in the state of Iowa was helped by the simple fact Atlas, a leading North American manufacturer of innovative, high quality building products, is opening a $200 million manufacturing facility with 100 full-time employees in nearby Clinton, Iowa.

“Atlas is excited to sponsor the ARCA Menards Series race at Iowa Speedway,” Matt Erdman, National Sales Director at Atlas shared. “It’s a chance for us to celebrate our newly announced state of the art Iowa manufacturing facility that is currently in construction, and it gives us another great opportunity to further support our partnership with both Menards and ARCA.”

Based in Atlanta, Atlas Roofing Corporation manufactures roof shingles, polyiso insulation, molded polystyrene, and paper and coated facers for new construction, remodels, and renovations.

Ticket information for the Atlas 150 can be found at IowaSpeedway.com; for complete event information, including live timing & scoring of all on track activities, the complete weekend schedule, and broadcast updates, please visit ARCARacing.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, please follow @ARCA_Racing on Twitter.

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 racing all across the country, the organization administers more than 100 events annually, including the ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series East, ARCA Menards Series West, 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.

About Atlas

Atlas is an innovative, customer-oriented provider of asphalt shingles, roof underlayments, roof ventilation, rigid insulation, architectural and industrial molded components and solutions, and cutting-edge coated and paper facers and underlayments for a diverse set of markets. From a single asphalt shingle manufacturing facility in 1982, Atlas has grown to 33 manufacturing facilities in North America providing worldwide product distribution. Products from the company’s four major divisions, Polyiso Roof & Wall Insulation, Shingles & Underlayments, Molded Products, and Web Technologies, are manufactured in state-of-the-art facilities and shipped from our network of manufacturing plants and distribution facilities in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Atlas’ mission is to deliver leading products and solutions that enrich the lives of those they touch, by nurturing a culture of agility, teamwork, and accessibility that attracts the most talented people in our industries. For more information please visit www.atlas-arc.com.

• Connor Zilisch won Friday’s General Tire 150 at Dover Motor Speedway. He is now credited with a victory in both the ARCA Menards Series and ARCA Menards Series East. He’s the 359th driver to win at least one ARCA Menards Series race and the 130th driver to win at least one ARCA Menards Series East race.
• Combined with Jake Finch’s victory at Talladega Superspeedway last week, it’s the first time there have been back-to-back first-time winners in the ARCA Menards Series since Tyler Ankrum and Luke Fenhaus won at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and Iowa Speedway in consecutive races in 2023.
• Finch won the ARCA Menards Series East race at Dover in 2023 at 17 years, 10 months, and 13 days of age. Zilisch won in 2024 at 17 years, 10 months, and 4 days of age.
• Gio Ruggiero finished second at Dover, his second runner-up finish in two career ARCA Menards Series starts. He also finished second at Phoenix Raceway in March. Ruggiero, who won the series opener at Five Flags Speedway, now unofficially leads the ARCA Menards Series East championship standings by three points over Zilisch.
• Carson Kvapil finished third in his second career ARCA Menards Series start; he finished second in his series debut at Kansas Speedway last September. He finished second in Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Dover.
• Lavar Scott, from nearby Carney’s Point, New Jersey, finished fourth in front of dozens of friends and family members. It was Scott’s first top-five finish of the season and ties his best career ARCA Menards Series finish.
• Andres Perez unofficially assumed the ARCA Menards Series championship points lead with his fifth-place finish. Perez’s unofficial lead is just one point over eighth-place finisher Greg Van Alst.
• Kris Wright persevered for a sixth-place finish despite getting together with Venturini Motorsports teammate Toni Breidinger on lap 136. Breidinger’s day was cut short, relegating her to 15th at the finish.
• Andy Jankowiak scored his best finish of the season in seventh, his first lead-lap finish of the season.
• Caleb Costner earned his first career ARCA Menards Series top-ten finish in ninth. His teammate D.L. Wilson finished eleventh.
• Zachary Tinkle, who was awarded with the 2023 General Tire Spirit Award at the pre-race driver’s meeting, finished tenth; it was his first top-ten finish in the ARCA Menards Series since he finished ninth at Berlin Raceway in 2023.
• Christian Rose led the ARCA Menards Series championship standings entering the General Tire 150, but he made hard contact with the turn 4 wall completing lap 74 and finished 21st. Rose has finished in the top five in four of his last six ARCA Menards Series starts.
• William Sawalich set a track record in General Tire Pole Qualifying at 161.812 miles per hour and led 67 of the race’s first 108 laps. He and Zilisch made contact while racing for the lead after the second of the two scheduled race breaks and his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota made significant contact with the turn 4 wall, ending his day in 17th position. It’s the first time in 10 career ARCA Menards Series East starts that Sawalich finished outside the top five.
• Alex Clubb made his 50th career ARCA Menards Series start. He completed 96 laps before electrical issues sidelined him, leaving him 18th at the finish.
• The next race for the ARCA Menards Series is the Tide 150 at Kansas Speedway on Saturday, May 4. The race will be televised live on FS1 at 2 pm ET and will be 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.