Category: Other Series Racing

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (June 15, 2011) — With six top-10 finishes in the first seven races of the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards, Chad McCumbee and the No. 1 ModSpace Ford look to keep their momentum this Friday in the RainEater Wiper Blades 200 at the Michigan International Speedway (MIS).

McCumbee has surged Andy Belmont Racing (ABR) into fifth place in the ARCA Racing Series standings. A strong showing at the two-mile tri-oval in the scenic Irish Hills of Michigan could continue the team’s drive toward the series championship.

In the aftermath of last Saturday’s fog-shortened race at the Pocono Raceway, the No. 1 ModSpace Ford Fusion team will arrive in Michigan with hopes of improving on the sixth-place finish at Pocono. McCumbee and ABR feel confident their focus on the big picture – the ARCA Racing Series Championship – will continue this with another top-10 finish.

“Our team is very excited to go to Michigan with this momentum,” Andy Belmont said. “We are on a roll! I am going there with great expectations, and looking forward to keeping our streak alive.”

McCumbee has finished no worse than sixth in his last three races.

“At Michigan, we are taking a different car than we had at Pocono Raceway,” McCumbee said. “We are still trying to figure out where we are at with our intermediate track program. I feel like after Michigan we will be in good shape. We learned a lot at Chicago, we learned a lot at Pocono, and I feel we will take what we learn at Michigan to be able to apply and know better where we are at when we go to the next intermediate track.”

The Supply, N.C., native has four prior ARCA Racing Series starts at Michigan. His best finish came in the summer of 2005, qualifying 10th and finishing fifth. In last year’s event he finished 17th.

Nestled in the lush Irish Hills of Southeastern Michigan, the Michigan International Speedway is a high-banked, multi-grooved raceway. Drivers love the track because it offers as many as four different grooves. Offering more than a majestic landscape, the speedway is also located in the back yard of Detroit-based automaker Ford Motor Company.

McCumbee is looking to represent the manufacturer this weekend and wanting to invite Ford Fusion factory representatives to victory lane with him.

“The momentum from the last three races is strong,” William Mann director of motorsports for ModSpace said. “Chad has proven that he is a true contender in the 2011 ARCA Racing Series Championship. Every time he gets behind the wheel of the No.1 ModSpace Ford you know he is there to win! We look forward to seeing him up front in Michigan!”

“I am really excited to take this car to Michigan,” McCumbee said. “I think we will be in good shape. Our No.1 ModSpace Ford was very fast last time we had this car on the track. I like racing there. The tires wear out well, making the track hot and greasy, and you get a lot of racing. Hopefully, that will play in our favor with us being real good on the long runs.”

ARCA Racing Series track activity at MIS starts on Thursday with practice from 2:30 p.m. ET until 4 p.m. Menards Pole Qualifying presented by Ansell (All positions / 2 laps) starts at 10 a.m. on Friday. The engines fire up for the RainEater Wiper Blades 200 (100 laps/200miles) at 5:15 p.m. on Friday, with a live SPEED broadcast starting at 5 p.m. Live streaming audio will be featured on the ARCA Racing Network at http://www.arcaracing.com/ www.arcaracing.com.

About ModSpace:

Modular Space Corporation (ModSpace), based in Berwyn, Pa., is a leading provider of modular buildings, portable storage and services for temporary and permanent space needs. With more than 40 years of experience, ModSpace serves a diverse set of customers and markets through a network of 80 branches throughout the United States and Canada. www.modspace.com

About Andy Belmont Racing:

Andy Belmont Racing (ABR) is a competitive and respected motorsports operation who fields race cars in the ARCA Racing Series, NASCAR Truck Series, the NASCAR East Series and the USARacing Pro Cup Series. ABR has been serving the motorsports community and winning for nearly 25 years. www.AndyBelmont.com.

RainEater Wiper Blades 200 at Michigan

Takes ARCA Racing Series to Home Superspeedway for 30th Time

(TOLEDO, Ohio) – The ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards will make its 30th appearance at its home superspeedway, Michigan International Speedway, in Friday’s RainEater Wiper Blades 200.

The 100-lap, 200-mile RainEater Wiper Blades 200 will air live on SPEED at 5 p.m. Friday, and ARCARacing.com will feature live timing and scoring coverage from the race.

The two-mile MIS oval, located in Brooklyn, is situated less than 50 miles away from ARCA’s home office in Temperance, Mich., and holds a key spot on the annual schedule. 

“We have always considered MIS our hometown superspeedway. It’s a special place for us, with our history there since 1980 and it being an ISC-owned track,” said ARCA president Ron Drager, noting his family’s connection to the ISC-operating France family.

“Our drivers really look forward to racing at MIS since it’s such a competitive track and it’s close to home for many of our Midwest-based teams. The administration and staff at MIS have always been solidly supportive in promoting the series, and our teams and drivers appreciate that.”

The race – the eighth of 19 on the 2011 ARCA Racing Series schedule – is the second event in the pursuit of the Bill France Four Crown. The award, depictive of the series’ versatility, is a separate point fund that tests drivers on four very different tracks. This year’s Bill France Four Crown includes events in four different months on the calendar. Competition for the celebrated prize began in May at New Jersey Motorsports Park, where Andrew Ranger scored a road course triumph.

Filling out the Four Crown schedule will be the August 21 dirt mile race at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield and the September 17 short track showdown at Salem Speedway in Indiana.

Additionally, the RainEater Wiper Blades 200 is the last of a string of three consecutive speedway events which will play a significant role in the 2011 Hoosier Tire Superspeedway Challenge. The Challenge consists of seven races (Daytona, Talladega, Chicagoland, Pocono, Michigan, Pocono, Kansas).

Chris Buescher (No. 17 David Ragan Fan Club Ford) currently leads overall series points leader Ty Dillon (No. 41 Richard Childress Racing Development Chevrolet) atop the Hoosier Tire Superspeedway Challenge standings. Each driver will make his Michigan debut.

“Michigan is not really my expertise yet, but we’re going to try it here,” said Buescher, who has finished second three times this season and is currently fourth in overall series points. “Hopefully, it’ll go good. We’ve got a fast car. We weren’t as fast as we wanted to be (in the May 25 test), but we should be okay come race time.”

Dillon has three wins in 2011, including two on larger speedways. He won at the 2.66-mile Talladega Superspeedway in April, the half-mile Toledo Speedway in May, and the 1.5-mile Chicagoland Speedway in June.

“It’s my first time going to Michigan International Speedway,” said Dillon. “It’s really exciting. It’s a really fast track; you go, like, 200 miles per hour off into the corner. It’s a little flatter than other places I’ve been.”

Tim George Jr. (No. 31 Richard Childress Racing Development Chevrolet) is the most recent first-time winner in the ARCA Racing Series, having passed Grant Enfinger (No. 36 Hoosier Tire Midwest/RaceTires.com Dodge) Saturday at Pocono Raceway just before fog settled in and forced ARCA officials to call the 80-lap race after just 59 laps. George finished eighth at Michigan last season.

“Michigan’s a good spot,” George said. “This is the place where I had my first good intermediate finish, and that’s been my hardest part of the learning curve, to figure out the intermediate tracks. I like this place. I had a good finish here last year and obviously, all the GM and Chevy people are here, so you always want to do well in front of the home bases.”

Buescher, Dillon, and George all tested in the ARCA Racing Series’ open test at Michigan on May 25, but none of them were as fast as Max Gresham (No. 25 Venturini Motorsports Toyota), who led the session with a best lap of 38.724 seconds (185.931 mph).

“I don’t think it’s unrealistic to think we can win the race,” Gresham said. “When we did the ARCA test at Michigan, we were at the top of the speed charts. Hopefully, that will carry over and we can walk away with my first superspeedway win.”

In addition to his test speed, Gresham enters the race with another advantage. His Venturini Motorsports team is the defending winner at Michigan, having helped Mikey Kile to Victory Lane last June. Having just turned 18, Gresham’s Michigan start will also be his first. He claims to have gained valuable knowledge about the track and its wide, multiple grooves in the open test.

“Michigan is so much fun,” he said. “You can drive off into the corner as deep as you want to go. The biggest thing is to make sure the car doesn’t get tight over a long run. You have to keep the car loose enough at the start of the race, free enough at the end of the race. The car that can do that is going to be the car that will win the race.”

On an entry list featuring 41 cars, there’s one man who definitely knows what it takes to win at Michigan, and that’s Frank Kimmel (No. 44 Ansell/Menards Ford). Currently second to Dillon in series points, Kimmel won at Michigan in 1998 and 2005. A third victory will seat him next to Jeff Purvis and Tim Steele, ARCA’s all-time leading winners at Michigan with three wins apiece.

Practice begins at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 16, and will last for 90 minutes. Menards Pole Qualifying presented by Ansell begins at 10 a.m. Friday, and the 100-lap, 200-mile race will air live on SPEED at 5 p.m. ARCARacing.com will feature live timing and scoring coverage of all events.

The ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards features 19 events at 16 tracks on its 2011 schedule. The series has crowned an ARCA national champion each year since its inaugural season in 1953, and has toured over 200 race tracks in 28 states since its inception. The series tests the abilities of drivers and race teams over the most diverse schedule of stock car racing events in the world, annually visiting tracks ranging from 0.4 mile to 2.66 miles in length, on both paved and dirt surfaces as well as a left- and right-turn road course.

Founded by John 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 two professional touring series and local weekly events.

LONG POND, Pennsylvania (June 13, 2011) – – Sean Corr and his Empire Racing team continue to build momentum in what has become a very respectable season. That trend continued on Saturday for Corr and his family-owned team in the Pocono ARCA 200 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway.

With Corr’s experience at the 2.5-mile track and the knowledge of his crew chief Howard Bixman, Corr felt that this was an opportunity to propel his Empire Racing team into the spotlight.

The weekend started off solid for the Goshen, New York native after the team produced the ninth quickest lap in practice. Comfortable with their car, the team was optimistic leaning into Menards Pole by Ansell qualifying.

Corr was the fourth of 33 cars to make his qualifications run at the track nicknamed the “Tricky Triangle.” During his one lap run, Corr in his No. 82 TransTech / Roush Yates Engines / Roush Yates Performance Ford Fusion maneuvered a lap of 55.933 seconds at 160.907 miles per hour landing the team 10th on the starting grid, a season best for the Empire Racing team in 2011.

The team was anxious to turn their first top-10 qualifying run into their first career top-10 finish in Corr’s fifth Pocono start.

Mother Nature has played havoc with the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards for much of the season and Saturday proved to be no different. With a light mist in the air, the drop of the green flag for the seventh race of the season would waive shortly before 2:00 p.m.

Corr immediately found himself battling the No. 1 of Chad McCumbee and No. 6 of Bryan Silas for a position in the top-12. Early on, Corr reported to Bixman that his car was aero tight. Despite the handling woes, Corr in the No. 82 TransTech / Roush Yates Engines / Roush Yates Performance Ford Fusion would continue to fight Silas for the 11th position.

When the first caution flag waived on lap 17, Corr was able to catch his breath and communicate with Bixman on what changes were to be made to their automobile. When pit road opened on lap 19, Corr joined the rest of the lead lap competitors down pit lane where four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment were in store for the blue oval.

With light rain falling and fog present, the caution period extended over the next 12 laps, and initially, ARCA officials decided to drop the green flag on Lap 32. After restarts to begin laps 32 and 33 were aborted, officials instructed drivers to drive down pit road to close Lap 35 where the red flag would be issued as everyone waited for the fog to lift.

A short time later, the cars would be re-fired and moved from pit road. The green flag would fly on lap 38. Corr would resume the race from the 10th position.

Over the next 12 laps, Corr would maintain that spot in the 10th position until the caution flag waived again on lap 50 which allowed the leaders to make their final trip to pit road.

Bixman would again call for four tires, fuel and a minor chassis adjustment hoping to give Corr a much needed boost to maneuver his way through the pack. Corr would leave pit road in the 11th position after several competitors ahead of the Empire Racing team elected to utilize different pit strategy.

Restarting the event on lap 57, Corr would give a gallant charge to pass the 10th place competitor of Matt Merrell but would be stalled by a caution flag that waived two laps later for dense fog again around the facility. Red flag conditions would again adorn the field but ultimately the fog would force ARCA officials to consider the race complete on lap 59 with Corr locked in the 11th position.

“I cannot say enough about this team,” said Corr. “They never give up. We were so close to a top-10, we just needed another lap. It was a tricky race for sure. The conditions were something like I had never experienced. We made it through though. We badly wanted a top-10 for TransTech, Roush Yates Engines and Roush Yates Performance but we’ll take the 11th and solider on to Michigan and finish what we started here.”

Corr added, “the car was really good all weekend. We made some adjustments and the car responded. I think on that final restart if we just could have settled into some green flag racing we would been good. I’m grateful to all my guys and our supporters for everything they’ve done. I’m looking forward to Michigan.”

Before the 27 year old’s career best 11th place run on Saturday, his best ARCA finish also occurred at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway last June where he guided his Ford Fusion to a solid 12th place finish. Corr maintains ninth in the championship standings with 12 races remaining.

Next up for the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards is round eight of 19 on the 2011 schedule. The RainEater Wiper Blades 200 from the two-mile oval of Michigan International Speedway is set for Friday, June 17th at 5:00 p.m. Eastern live on SPEED. Corr will make his second career start in the “Irish Hills” and look to improve on his 18th place finish from last June.

For more on Sean Corr, Empire Racing and marketing partnership opportunities for the 2011 racing season, please visit empireracingllc.com.

Are you FORD tough? Connect with Roush Yates Performance Products and Roush Yates Engines through their official web site at roushyatesparts.com.

Connect with Sean Corr and Empire Racing through Facebook by clicking here.

Tweet with Sean Corr through Twitter @EmpireRacingLLC.

About Empire Racing:

Established in 2009, Empire Racing LLC. (empireracingllc.com) is a two-tier professional Motorsports organization consisting of dirt and asphalt competition. Sean Corr, a 26-year old hailing from Goshen, New York pilots the team’s automobiles in the DIRTcar Series and Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA). In 2011, the team will attempt to run for a championship in the ARCA Racing Series with aspirations of moving into the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The team is headquartered in Goshen, New York with an additional operation in Mooresville, North Carolina.

LONG POND, Pennsylvania (June 13, 2011) – – A week after a phenomenal performance that ended with a heartbreaking finish at Chicagoland Speedway, CGH Motorsports’ driver Chad Hackenbracht rebounded nicely this past Saturday at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway in the Pocono ARCA 200.

More determined than ever following Chicagoland Speedway, the Mooresville, North Carolina-team led by crew chief Rob Torrey and director of competition Kevin Reed, the freshman team went to the 2.5-mile with plenty of ammunition and a plan.

In the lone practice session on Friday, Hackenbracht in his No. 58 CGH Motorsports Chevrolet Impala SS would again for the second straight week would fall victim to circumstances outside of their control. However, the resilience of the team would not fold despite mounting the 11th fastest practice time.

With some slight changes to their automobile, Hackenbracht was one of the first to tackle the “Tricky Triangle” for Menards Pole by Ansell qualifying. During his one lap run, Hackenbracht clicked off a lap of 55.500 seconds at 162.162 miles per hour to officially land eighth in the starting grid and accelerate past his previous best qualifying positions of ninth at Kansas Speedway (2010) and earlier this year at Salem (Ind.) Speedway.

Mother Nature has played havoc with the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards for much of the season and Saturday proved to be no different. With a light mist in the air, the drop of the green flag for the seventh race of the season would waive shortly before 2:00 p.m.

The field almost immediately stretched out with the 19-year old finding a comfortable zone around Pocono (Pa.) Raceway to zone in on his competitors ahead of him. Locking the eighth position, early on, Hackenbracht would report to the team that his No. 58 Tastee Chocolate Apples Chevrolet Impala SS was tight in the center of the corner but loose all around.

Still maintaining a spot in the eighth position on lap 12, Hackenbracht would key the radio and report that his car was still loose ultimately leaving him unable to get back in the gas as quickly as he would like. Acknowledgement from the team would reinsure their driver that a chassis change would be made during the first round of pit stops.

That first caution flag waived on lap 18 with a trip to pit road on lap 19 with four tires, fuel and a track bar adjustment. Quick work by the CGH crew returned the rising star to eighth in the lineup.

With light rain falling and fog present, the caution period extended over the next 12 laps, and initially, ARCA officials decided to drop the green flag on lap 32. After restarts to begin laps 32 and 33 were aborted, officials instructed drivers to drive down pit road to close lap 35 where the red flag would be issued as everyone waited for the fog to lift.

A short time later, the cars would be re-fired and moved from pit road. The green flag would fly on lap 38. Hackenbracht would maintain his eighth place position until the caution flag would waive on lap 50. Hackenbracht would instruct his team that during his run that his machine was still loose in the center of the corner.

Lap 53 offered the final trip to pit road for the field with four tires, fuel and another chassis adjustment on deck. A superb pit stop by the team would send the 2008 National Asphalt Legends champion back into the field in the seventh position.

Restarting the event on lap 57, Hackenbracht would defend his position before a caution flag waived two laps later for again dense fog around the facility. Red flag conditions would again adorn the field but ultimately the fog would force ARCA officials to consider the race complete on lap 59 with Hackenbracht scored in the seventh position.

“Overall, it was a good day,” said Hackenbracht, who in addition to recording his career best finish in the ARCA Racing Series also grabbed his second top-10 finish of the season. It’s a shame that we weren’t able to go back to racing, because I feel we could have earned a couple more spots, but we’ll take this finish and look for a top-five at Michigan.”

Reed, the 2010 ARCA Racing Series crew chief of the year offered praise about his team and driver. “Chad did a great job. He raced smart considering all of the circumstances. We feel like with the last change we made on the pit stop would allow us to climb into the top-five. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the green flag laps we needed.”

Next up for the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards is round eight of 19 on the 2011 schedule. The RainEater Wiper Blades 200 from the two-mile oval of Michigan International Speedway is set for Friday, June 17th at 5:00 p.m. Eastern live on SPEED. Hackenbracht will make his second career start in the “Irish Hills” and look to improve on his 20th place finish from last June.

Exiting Pocono, Hackenbracht has 17 career ARCA starts to his credit. In his previous 16 races, he has delivered two top-10 finishes at New Jersey Motorsports Park (May 2011) and Pocono (Pa.) Raceway (June 2010). The CGH Motorsports team has delivered top-20 finishes in six of the first seven races in 2011.

CGH Motorsports is actively seeking additional marketing partners for the full 2011 ARCA Racing Series schedule. Single, multi and full-season placements are available on the team’s No. 58 entries. Interested parties are urged to contact Jordan Dahl at 570.234.5449 or

LONG POND, Pennsylvania (June 13, 2011) – – Matt Merrell and Win-Tron Racing produced their fifth top-10 performance of the season Saturday afternoon at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway. However, Merrell’s return to the Pocono (Pa.) Raceway didn’t come without its challenges.

Excited to return to the track of his career-best finish in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards, Merrell along with his Lakeville, Minnesota based team armed themselves with a strong No. 32 Champion Oil Toyota Camry for the seventh race of the season.

The team’s weekend though took a dramatic turn just two laps into practice on Saturday morning. After maneuvering the 13th fastest lap his lone lap of practice, Merrell’s machine broke loose in the tunnel turn and slapped the inside retaining wall forcing the team to pull out the No. 32 Champion Oil Dodge Charger as a back-up.

The Chrysler nameplate though was a solid piece as it was the same machine that guided Merrell to a third place finish at Toledo Speedway last month.

With no practice in the backup car, Merrell’s first lap in the No. 32 Champion Oil Dodge Charger would occur during Menards Pole by Ansell qualifying where Merrell negotiated a lap of 57.008 seconds or 157.873 miles per hour landing Merrell a very respectable 14th on the starting grid. However, the team would be forced to relinquish their starting position as they opted to use the backup machine for the Pocono ARCA 200.

Mother Nature has played havoc with the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards for much of the season and Saturday proved to be no different. With a light mist in the air, the drop of the green flag for the seventh race of the season would waive shortly before 2:00 p.m.

Merrell in the No. 32 Champion Oil Dodge Charger appeared to be shot out of a canon as he quickly found himself solidly in the top-20 by the completion of lap one.

By lap five, Merrell had muscled his way into the 15th position and quickly closed on the competition ahead of him. By lap 10, the Portland, Texas native had maneuvered into the 14th position. When the first caution flag waived on lap 18, Merrell found himself in the 13th position. Routine pit stops occurred on lap 19 with Merrell on the rear-bumpers of the lead pack.

With light rain falling and fog present, the caution period extended over the next 12 laps, and initially, ARCA officials decided to drop the green flag on lap 32. After restarts to begin laps 32 and 33 were aborted, officials instructed drivers to drive down pit road to close lap 35 where the red flag would be issued as everyone waited for the fog to lift.

A short time later, the cars would be re-fired and moved from pit road. The green flag would fly on lap 38. Merrell would maintain a spot inside the top-12 until the caution flag would waive on lap 50.

Lap 53 offered the final trip to pit road where a superb pit stop by the Mike Chaffee-led team would soar Merrell into the top-10.

Restarting the event on lap 57, Merrell would defend his position from a hard charging Sean Corr before a caution flag waived two laps later for dense fog again around the facility. Red flag conditions would again adorn the field but ultimately the fog would force ARCA officials to consider the race complete on lap 59 with Merrell scored in the 10th position.

“We definitely had our ups and downs this weekend, but we persevered with a top-10 finish,” said Merrell. “I (still) feel really bad about what happened in practice. She just broke loose. The guys did a great job getting the backup together and even though the backup wasn’t as strong as the primary we made the best out of the situation. It really was a champion-like performance this weekend.”

Nate Thiesse, co-owner of Win-Tron Racing offered his thoughts on the weekend at Pocono. “We made the best of the situation. We pulled together and overcame some adversity and finished in the top-10. I feel if we could have completed all 80 laps, we could have had a little better finish. We’ll take this though and march on to Michigan.”

Merrell occupies sixth in the championship standings, just 60 points from fifth place competitor Chad McCumbee and 65 from fourth held by Chris Buescher.

Next up for the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards is round eight of nine on the 2011 schedule. The RainEater Wiper Blades 200 from the two-mile oval of Michigan International Speedway is set for Friday, June 17th at 5:00 p.m. Eastern live on SPEED. Merrell will make his inaugural debut at the track nestled in the “Irish Hills.” Merrell made his 20th career start in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards at Pocono Raceway. In those 20 outings, Merrell has eight top-fives including runner-up finishes of second at Berlin (Mich.) Raceway and Pocono (Pa.) Raceway (August) in 2009 and 11 top-10s. His best start position for Win-Tron Racing occurred at the tricky triangle of Pocono (Pa.) Raceway where he qualified his No. 32 CollinsHope.org Dodge Charger second in June of 2009. Further information including driver opportunities with Win-Tron Racing is available by visiting win-tronracing.com or contacting Nate Thiesse at 952.469.1839.

For more on Champion Oil, Champion Brands LLC and their products, please log on to championbrands.com or championsusechampion.com.