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Morris Becomes First Three-Time Winner Of Virginia is for Racing Lovers 300

MARTINSVILLE, Va. (October 21, 2012) – Philip Morris held off Lee Pulliam in a final six-lap sprint to the finish to win the Virginia is for Racing Lovers 300 at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday, but it was a gutsy decision on a late restart that proved to be the difference in the race for the four-time NASCAR Whelen All-American Series national champion.

Morris took the high line and ran deep into Turn 1 on a restart on Lap 126 to get past race leader Matt Bowling. Morris started on the outside and drove deep into the corner to get past Bowling and he remained out front the rest of the afternoon.

For Morris, he was just glad the move worked.

“I didn’t think the car would go through the turn,” said Morris. “I should have wrecked but I didn’t and I got such a good run in to the Turn but I didn’t want to stay up there up high.”

Pulliam held on for second, B.J. Mackey was third with Ryan Wilson and Brandon Butler fourth and fifth, respectively.

Finishing sixth through 10th were C.E. Falk, Matt Bowling, Kris Bowen, Justin Boston and Adam Long.

With the victory, Morris became the first three-time winner of the annual late model stock race at the speedway and it was a great end to a frustrating season for the Ruckersville driver.

“You know it was really frustrating to find out just before the season began that I would not have a ride, but I just knew that meant bigger things were ahead for us,” Morris said. “We tested and ran as much as we could to get ready for this race.”

Pulliam, the 2012 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series champion, finished one position short in his attempt to become the first repeat winner of the race.

“We had a really good car today and I tried to save my car in the first half of the race, but we weren’t quite where we needed to be in our set up,’ Pulliam said. “The car was a lot better in the second half but we just couldn’t get started on the restarts and I could get past him on the final run to the finish.”

The race was slowed 11 times by caution. A total of 23 cars out of the 42-car field finished the race.

Racing returns to Martinsville Speedway this weekend with the TUMS Fast Relief 500 week. Qualifying is set for Friday, the Kroger 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race is Saturday and the TUMS Fast Relief 500 is Sunday.

Tickets for all events are available and may be purchased by calling 877.RACE.TIX or online at martinsvillespeedway.com.

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October 22, 2012
Morris takes the win in the VA is for Racing Lovers 300

[media-credit name=”Roger Holtsclaw” align=”alignright” width=”224″][/media-credit]Phillip Morris drives his Clarence’s Steak House Chevy to the victory in the VA is for Racing Lovers 300 at Martinsville Speedway. Morris held off NASCAR Whelen All American Series national champion Lee Pulliam in the closing laps to secure his third win at the prestigious event.

During the first half of the race, Morris seemed to have everything under control with very little challenges from anyone. As the halfway break neared, BJ Mackey began to close on Morris and appeared to have the stronger car. Garrett Campbell went into the intermission in third after running strong for the first 75 laps.

Morris lost several positions during the break, with several strong cars now in front of him. Campbell had problems as well. The crew discovered a bad radiator hose that was causing an overheating issue. The team restarted at the back of the pack after the break and only completed one lap before falling out. A few laps later another strong contender, Matt McCall, headed to the garage area with an apparent engine problem.

Triple Crown contender Matt Bowling took the top spot and appeared to have the car to beat, Pulliam and Morris used strategy with the restart cone to put themselves in the right position to work their way back to the front. Mackey, who was very strong before the back began to fade and couldn’t hold off the challenge of Morris and Pulliam. One by one lead cars began to fall back, Morris and Pulliam made it back to the top two spots. The two battled each other through several yellows that lined them up side by side, but in the end, Morris was able to hold off the champ.

Morris said after the race, “I knew the last five laps was going to be like qualifying laps because Lee is so good.”

CE Falk secured the Virginia Triple Crown Championship with a sixth place finish. Falk said he struggled all day, but “…the crew worked on the car all day and finally got it right at the end.”

Another exciting event at Martinsville has come to a close. The Virgina is for Racing Lovers organization has re-signed to sponsor the race again next year. It should prove to be just as exciting!

October 21, 2012
Changes in VIFRL 300 format seem to be a success at Martinsville

[media-credit id=100 align=”alignright” width=”224″][/media-credit]The annual 300 lap Late Model race at Martinsville Speedway implemented a few changes this year, going away from the traditional qualifying format. This seasons race will be seeded using heat races. On Saturday, drivers were divided into groups of ten cars and sent out on the track to run five laps at speed. The best lap turned of the five becomes the official “qualifying” lap. This lap time seeds the drivers into their perspective heat race with the fastest starting on the pole in heat race 1, second fastest lap will start from the pole in heat race 2 and so on.

Obviously, this format was a great idea. After the dust settled Saturday the two fastest drivers were tied down to the thousandth of a second! The fastest “qualifier” had to be determined by the NASCAR Whelen All American Series national points standings. That tiebreaker gave the pole to the 2012 National Champion, Lee Pulliam. Matt McCall will officially be second and will start from the pole in heat race 2. Mike Darne will start up front in heat race 3, and Garrett Campbell will be leading the way in heat race 4.

Other notables in the field: Dennis Setzer starting second in heat 3, who had a successful career in the top 3 divisions of NASCAR. Late Model veteran Frank Deiny will be starting fourth in heat 2. Former NASCAR Whelen All American Series National Champion Phillip Morris starts second in heat 4. Triple crown contender CE Falk starts ninth in heat 2, with his closest triple crown competitor Matt Bowling starting second in the same heat.

Each heat consist of twenty cars and drivers must finish in the top eight in their heat to make the main. Heat race results will seed 32 cars, a last chance qualifier race will be held with the top ten finishers completing the 42 car main event. If Saturday’s results are any indication, the racing Sunday will be phenomenal.

October 21, 2012
Defending Champ Pulliam Leads Qualifying For Virginia is for Racing Lovers 300

MARTINSVILLE, Va. (October 20, 2012) – In a race that has a reputation for close competition, it shouldn’t have been a surprise when two drivers turned in identical times for the top starting spot for Sunday’s Virginia is for Racing Lovers 300 at Martinsville Speedway.

Lee Pulliam and Matt McCall turned in matching fast times of 20.301 seconds (93.276 mph) Saturday afternoon. Pulliam was awarded the top position in a tiebreaker, which was national points standings. Pulliam, defending champion of the race, also won this year’s national championship.

Under this year’s new all-heat race format, Pulliam will start on the pole of the first 25-lap heat race while McCall will start first in the second heat. Garrett Campbell will start on the pole in the third heat race while Mike Darne will be the pole-sitter in the fourth heat race.

Deac McCaskill had the fifth best speed of the day, followed by Matt Bowling, Dennis Setzer, Philip Morris, Josh Berry and Brandon Butler.

Sunday’s action begins at 12 p.m. with the first of the four 25-lap heat races. The top eight finishers in each heat race will advance to the 150-lap feature. After the fourth heat race there will be a 50-lap last-chance race for the cars not making the field in the heat races. The top 10 finishers in the last-chance race will advance.

Tickets for Sunday’s race are $25 and may be purchased at the Martinsville Speedway ticket office, which opens at 9 a.m. Sunday.

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October 20, 2012
$25K, a clock and a crown up for grabs at Martinsville

[media-credit id=100 align=”alignright” width=”231″][/media-credit]The Virginia is for Racing Lovers 300 set for Sunday, Oct 21 at Martinsville Speedway. Come see 42 cars take the green with one goal, to win the clock. The infamous grandfather clock has been a longstanding traditional trophy given to Martinsville Speedway race winners for many years. For the Late Model racers that are here this weekend , it may be their only chance to earn one. Many of these racers will never compete at a higher level in the NASCAR ranks, but are highly competitive in the Late Model world.

To compliment the prestigious trophy, a nice check for $25,000 also goes to the winner. It will be a much larger payday than most of these teams are used to. Many weekly short tracks only pay $1,500 to $2,000 to win, so this weekends purse will definitely go a long way to recover some of the cost the teams incur during the season.

Another interesting prize for this weekends race will be the crown, yes and actual crown, given to the Virginia Triple Crown winner. The Triple Crown consist of three major Late Model races in the state of Virginia throughout the year. The Triple Crown tracks are South Boston, Langley Speedway, and wrapping up at Martinsville. Points are awarded at each event, with the driver accumulating the most points in the three races being crowned the champion. In addition to an actual crown, the winner champion will also receive a $5,000 bonus check and of course bragging rights!

The contenders for for the triple crown are, the leader with 83 points, CE Falk III, who was the winner of the South Boston race, Matt Bowling, the winner of the Langley event just four points back and Nick Smith, the self proclaimed underdog who is 19 points behind leader Falk. All three drivers expressed confidence at the track Saturday as they prepared for practice. Laughter erupted in the media center when referring to winning the triple crown, Falk asked Bowling, “Does that mean you bump me out of the way if I was running third?”, Bowling replied, “I would bump you out of the way if we were running tenth!”

Given all the pressure the drivers are under this weekend, they seem loose and relaxed and ready for 300 laps of competition,and with a total of 86 cars trying to secure one of the 42 starting spots, it will be very tough 300 laps of competition.

October 20, 2012
Chris Buescher Wins ARCA Championship with Roush Yates Engines

Mooresville, NC (October 19, 2012) Chris Buescher finished eighth in Friday night’s Kansas Lottery 98.9 at Kansas Speedway to bring home the 2012 ARCA Racing Series Championship after an extraordinary season with his Roush Yates engine.

Buescher entered the final race of the season just 85 points ahead of former ARCA Champion Frank Kimmel and needed to finish 12 or more positions ahead of Kimmel to seal his title hopes. After 99 laps of dueling top competitors in the series, Buescher stayed in the top 10 most of the night to cross the finish line eighth and become the series’ 30th different champion.

“This is absolutely amazing,” said Buescher in Victory Lane. “So much work goes into this and we’ve had so much help. I’m very proud to get Ford back in Victory Lane. This really makes all the work worth it.”

Buescher has finished in the top 12 on 45 occasions during his ARCA Racing Series career, a success rate of 84.9 percent in his 53 starts. He won four races in 2012 and has become the only driver in the history of the ARCA Racing Series to complete every single lap in a season. Gary and Rusty Roulo of Roulo Brother racing own the No. 17 Ford that Buescher drives and have been running Roush Yates engines for over 5 years.

“I’m so proud of this team,” said Gary Roulo. “Chris Buescher has done an amazing job this season as our driver and everyone at Roush Yates engines have helped along the way. We couldn’t be happier about this Championship.”

Nick Ramey, Manager of the ARCA engine program at Roush Yates, is excited to win the ARCA Championship at Roush Yates. Ramey has been building engines with the Yates family for many years and is very proud of the entire No. 17 team.

“I’m very excited for Chris Buescher and the Roulo Brothers,” said Ramey. “Chris is a great kid and to win an ARCA Championship at only 19 years old tells me he is going to have a future in racing. Roush Yates engines have performed well all year and it’s great to bring home a championship.”

The ARCA championship is the sixth championship Roush Yates has captured so far in 2012. To learn more about Roush Yates engines, please call 1-877-798-RYPP or visit www.roushyates.com.

Roush Yates Engines

Kenna Primm info@roushyates.com 877-798-RYPP

About Roush Yates

Roush Yates, of Mooresville, N.C., designs, engineers and crafts high performance racing engines with the power to perform and the horsepower and durability you’d expect from legendary NASCAR pioneers Jack Roush and Robert Yates. The partnership of power and precision has come from merging the knowledge and experience of two legendary engine builders, both with a passion for winning today and powering up for tomorrow. In 2009 Doug Yates purchased his father’s half of Roush Yates Engines to become a co-owner in the company.

As CEO, Doug Yates leads a staff of 180 engineers and technicians who design, assemble, test, and service racing engines at two separate state-of-the-art facilities in Mooresville, North Carolina. Here, the best minds and latest technology are hard at work producing over 1,000 racing engines each year for teams in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, ARCA, Grand-Am, FIA GT3, Dirt Late Model, Sprint cars, and NHRA Pro Stock. At Roush Yates Engines, the mission is Power Performance, which is achieved through innovation, design, precision engineering, and skillful craftsmanship. Building the best engines in racing today, providing service that’s second to none, and honoring a commitment to research and development are the heart of Roush Yates Engines.

In June 2011, Roush Yates’ Performance Products division expanded to a new 50,000 sq. ft. retail center in Mooresville to better serve the entire performance industry with mass-produced new parts, customized new parts, and used parts; racer consumables as well as chassis dynamometer testing services.

Roush Yates Performance Products is not responsible for errors with photography, typographical content, or pricing and are subject to correction and/or change without notice. Some parts are not legal for sale or use in California on any pollution controlled motor vehicle.

October 20, 2012
Alex Bowman wins Kansas Lottery 98.9 in thrilling late race pass; Chris Buescher wins championship

[media-credit name=”ARCARacing.com” align=”alignright” width=”320″][/media-credit]Alex Bowman would take the lead with 15 laps to go in a thrilling three-wide pass by Grant Enfinger and Brennan Poole and never look back, taking the win in the Kansas Lottery 98.9 for his fourth victory of the season.

“Cool to get another one,” Bowman said in victory lane. “It’s been awhile. Good to have everyone at Cunningham Motorsports behind me.”

Meanwhile, Chris Buescher would come home solidly in the top 10 to win the championship. The 19-year-old becomes the youngest series champion, bringing home the first championship for the Roulo Brothers after having a consistant season. Buescher would win the championship, 75 points ahead of nine-time series champion Frank Kimmel.

“This is definitely exciting,” Prosper, Texas native said afterwards. “It’s definitely going to take a little while for this one to sink in. It’s hard to race that way, trying to conserve tires. We had a couple issues, but I was just trying to do everything I could so nothing crazy happened there. Hats off to the Roulo Brothers and Roush Fenway. David Ragan’s been a huge part of my career, and there are a lot of others that mean a lot to my career.”

On-track, it’d be Bowman stealing the headlines as he would win his sixth pole of the year with a new track record as a result of the repave. Bowman would lead the opening 60 laps, before falling back to eighth after a pit stop under caution. He would work his way through the field, passing Kimmel for third with 17 laps to go.

With 15 laps to go, Brennan Poole would get alongside Grant Enfinger for the lead off of turn four. As they came across the start-finish line, Bowman pulled down to the apron to make it three-wide. He would clear Enfinger going into turn one, and then cleared Poole in the middle of the corner.

There’d be a late caution with 14 laps to go as Chris Windom’s left rear tire flew off, causing him to make contact with Brennan Davis and then the wall. Windom’s loose tire hit Nelson Canache’s car, causing a crack in the lexan windshield, as well as hood damage.

[media-credit name=”ARCARacing.com” align=”alignleft” width=”320″][/media-credit]The restart would come with six laps to go and Bowman would get a good restart, putting a second between himself and Enfinger with two laps to go take the victory. As a result, Bowman would take home Rookie of the Year honors.

“That’s a cool thing to win,” Bowman said. “We really thought we had a shot at the championship, but we had a lot of bad luck this year. Hopefully we can get some things lined up for next year.”

Kevin Swindell would pass Enfinger on the last lap to bring home his Venturini Motorsports Toyota in the second position.

“The first part, we were really worried about the tire game and trying to make sure we were there at the end,” Swindell said. “We knew we had a good piece once the fuel ran off. We got our self buried a little deeper than we wanted, but made it exciting at the end.”

Enfinger would finish third after being the only driver to take two tires on lap 60 under a round of yellow flag pit stops.

“We definitely wanted to be in victory lane right now,” Enfinger said. “We’ve worked so hard, but come so close. but a great run for us. Once we got up there, I felt we had a good car, but couldn’t get anywhere beyond fifth with the dirty air.”

Enfinger added that it was a good decision to take two tires, but he just couldn’t hold off the field.

There’d be a scary incident right off the top in the race as on lap three, Chad Boat would get a little sideways, come across the track and contact from Matt Lofton would send Boat up on his roof and over. Chad Hackenbracht was also collected in the incident.

“I just got loose on the outside of the 17 (Buescher) – I think the air of his car took the air off of my car,” Boat said afterwards.

“Well it looked like the 52 (Boat) got loose coming off of two,” Lofton said. “When he got sideways, he was just blocking up both lanes and didn’t really have anywhere to go.

“I’ve been disappointed in these plate races that the ARCA has ran this year. You have to run wide-open and it doesn’t bring the speed down much, making it hard to drive. When something like this happens, you don’t have any control in these situations. Glad to see he is okay.”

Ricky Ehrgott would also make contact with the wall on lap 60 after his right front tire went flat going into turn three.

John Wes Townley started the day in the top five and was running third when he got loose off turn four and got into the wall on lap 71.

“Just got really free,” Townley said. “I was complaining the run before about it being really loose. For whatever reason, we didn’t tighten the car up. We definitely had us a top three car. We definitely had a shot for the win.”

October 20, 2012
ARCA LAP BY LAP: Alex Bowman wins Kansas Lottery 98.9; Chris Buescher wins the Championship

Alex Bowman would take the lead with 15 laps to go and never look back, taking the win for his fourth victory of the season. Chris Buescher would come home solidly in the top 10 to win the championship.

7:41 CT: Engines have been fired on a very cold night in Kansas City, Kansas. Chris Buescher needs to 15th or higher to win the championship tonight.

7:49 CT- 1 to go till the Green

7:51 CT- We are Green!

Lap 1- Bowman leads lap 1 and has already put a full second on John Wes Townley

Lap 3- CAUTION: Chat Boat spins out and flips on the backstretch. Chad Hackenbracht is also involved as is Matt Lofton. All are okay.

Lap 9: Back to green

Lap 13: Kevin Swindell and Brennan Poole are battling for 3rd side by side

Lap 14: Swindell clears Poole while Brennan Newberry battles Poole for 4th.

Lap 21: Kimmel is not happy with the lap down cars telling his crew “They have to do something.”

Lap 23: Townley is gaining on leader Bowman as he has closed the gap to .360 seconds

Lap 25: Only 18 cars on the lead lap.

Lap 28: .284 is the difference between Bowman and Townley

Lap 29: Heavy Lap Traffic causes Townley to close

Lap 30: Side by Side for the lead!!

Lap 31: CAUTION is out for Debris. Nelson Canache gets the free pass as there will be 15 cars on the lead lap.

Lap 32: Pit Stops occur with Townley winning the race on pit road.

Lap 37: Green Flag with Townley leading

Lap 38: Bowman takes the lead back from Townley while Kimmel gets past Swindell.

Lap 39: Swindell is now getting pressured form Buescher for 5.

Lap 41: Poole gets around Townley for 2nd.

Lap 47: Townley is battling Poole for 2nd.

Lap 56: Townley gets passed Poole due to lap traffic getting in the way.

Lap 59: CAUTION #3- Ricky Ehrgott cuts a tire in turn 3. All of the leaders come in and Grant Enfinger gets the lead off pit road

Lap 65- Back to Green

Lap 68- Enfinger leads Townley by .551 seconds

Lap 70: Poole gets past Townley for 2nd

Lap 71: CAUTION- Townley hits the wall hard off of turn 4. He was running in 3rd

Lap 73: Not that many cars pit but Buescher pits along with some other lap down cars. Canache gets another lap back and there will be 14 cars on the lead lap.

Lap 77: Caution is still out due to fluid on the track

Lap 82: Green Flag. Enfinger and Poole were side by side the whole lap the whole lap before Enfinger taking over the top spot

Lap 84: Bowman takes the lead as they all were 3 wide battling for it at the S/F line.

Lap 86: CAUTION #5- #32 of Chris Wisdom as he gets together with the #99 of Brandon Davis. Davis’s car goes airborne but does not flip. Both were okay and Davis was able to drive away while Wisdom took the mandatory trip to the infield care center

Lap 87: Alex Bowman has led 55 of 87 laps tonight in Kansas

Lap 92: 1 to go till the Green! As Larry Mac would say, pull those belts tight one more time! We going to have a wild one!

Lap 93: Green Flag!

Lap 94: Enfinger side by side with Poole for 2nd and clears him while Swindell follows him!

Lap 97: Swindell is creeping up on Enfinger while Bowman has a 2.2 second lead.

White Flag! Swindell gets 2nd over Enfinger with Poole looking for 3rd

ALEX BOWMAN WINS AT KANSAS! CHRIS BUESCHER WINS THE 2012 CHAMPIONSHIP!

October 19, 2012
Ten Days Of Racing Excitement Cranking Up At Martinsville Speedway

MARTINSVILLE, Va. (October 19, 2012) – Ten days of racing excitement at Martinsville Speedway began Friday when more than 80 cars rolled into the historic track for the Virginia is for Racing Lovers 300 NASCAR Late Model Stock race.

The Virginia is for Racing Lovers 300, NASCAR’S premier Late Model race, is scheduled for Sunday. The TUMS Fast Relief 500, the seventh race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, is set to take the green flag on Sunday, October 28. And in between lots of exciting things are happening at and around Martinsville Speedway.

“It’s a great time of the year to be in Martinsville, especially if you are a race fan,” said Martinsville Speedway President Clay Campbell. “Over the next few days we’re going to have some of the greatest short-track racing you’ll ever see. The Late Model teams are truly weekend warriors. They do it out of their love for the sport, and the Virginia is for Racing Lovers 300 gives them the opportunity to race on a big stage.

“Next weekend with the Kroger 200 and the TUMS Fast Relief 500 we’ll have great short-track racing with two tight championship races in play. For the next few days, Martinsville is going to be the heart of the racing world.”

The Late Model teams will spend half of Saturday getting cars through inspection, and then it will be on-track action several hours of practice. Speeds from the final hour of practice, from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m., will be used to set the field for the four 25-lap heat races on Sunday. The top eight finishers in each heat race will advance to the 150-lap feature.

The final 10 spots in the 42-car feature will be filled through a 50-lap last chance race. This is the first year for the all-heat race format.

“The reaction to the change has been very good,” said Campbell. “Fans I’ve talked to are very excited about it and I think most of the drivers have come around, too.”

The first heat race will begin at noon Sunday and the 150-lap feature should begin around 3:30.

There will be a free on-track autograph session open to all fans at 10:30 a.m. Sunday.

Once the dust clears from the Virginia is for Racing Lovers 300, fans will hardly have time to catch their breath before action picks up for the TUMS Fast Relief 500 and the Kroger 200.

Both series will load into the infield on Thursday afternoon. On-track action begins at 11 a.m. next Friday with Kroger 200 practice, followed by practice for the TUMS Fast Relief 500. Qualifying for the TUMS Fast Relief 500 is set for 3:40 p.m.

Kroger 200 time trials will be at 10:35 Saturday morning, sandwiched between two Sprint Cup practice sessions. The Kroger 200 will take the green flag at 2 p.m. Saturday.

The TUMS Fast Relief 500 will start at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, October 28.

Fan gates open each day at 9 a.m.

Tickets for all events may be purchased by calling 877.RACE.TIX or by visiting martinsvillespeedway.com online.

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October 19, 2012
Fox Sports Media Group, ARCA Agree on Multi-Year Television Rights Extension

(KANSAS CITY, Kan.) – Officials from FOX Sports Media Group (FSMG) and the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) have announced a multi-year extension of the current television rights agreement between the two groups, with a minimum of 10 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards events televised either live and/or same-day delay each season.

In 2013, ARCA television coverage begins with the drop of the green flag on the series’ 50th appearance at the world-renowned Daytona International Speedway in February.

“ARCA has a very supportive group of race fans, and for over 15 years they have turned to us for their television coverage,” said Scott Ackerson, FOX Sports Media Group EVP, executive producer, and SPEED president. “We now look forward to continuing in that role over the coming years.”

ARCA’s relationship with SPEED reaches back to April 20, 1997, when the network (then Speedvision) covered the ARCA Racing Series race at Salem Speedway. Since then, SPEED has aired 197 ARCA Racing Series events, with tonight’s season-ending Kansas Lottery 98.9 scheduled as the 198th.

Year-over-year broadcast ratings have spiked by 24 percent in 2012, highlighted by substantial improvements in key demographics.

“We’re very encouraged by the completion of this deal,” said ARCA president Ron Drager. “Fox Sports Media Group has shown its commitment to motorsports in a significant way this week, and we are especially pleased to make this announcement at the season finale to create some momentum as we move forward into 2013.”

The ARCA Racing Series season will close in tonight’s Kansas Lottery 98.9 at Kansas Speedway, with race action starting at 8:30 p.m. ET (7:30 p.m. local) on SPEED. ARCARacing.com will also feature live timing and scoring coverage for the season finale.

2012 is the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards’ 60th Anniversary Season, featuring 20 races at 18 tracks. The complete 2012 event schedule is available at ARCARacing.com.

The ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards has crowned an ARCA national champion each year since its inaugural season in 1953, and has toured over 200 race tracks in 26 states since its inception. The series has tested the abilities of drivers and race teams over the most diverse schedule of stock car racing events in the world, visiting tracks ranging from 0.375 mile to 2.66 miles in length, on both paved and dirt surfaces as well as a left- and right-turn road course in its most recent season. This year, the series visited Alabama’s Mobile International Speedway and Minnesota’s Elko Speedway for the first time.

Founded by John and Mildred Marcum in 1953 in Toledo, Ohio, the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) is recognized among the leading sanctioning bodies in the country. Closing in on completing its sixth decade after hundreds of thousands of miles of racing, ARCA administers over 100 race events each season in three professional touring series and local weekly events.

October 19, 2012