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  • Tom Hessert wins International Motorsports Hall of Fame 200 at Talladega Superspeedway

    Tom Hessert wins International Motorsports Hall of Fame 200 at Talladega Superspeedway

    For the fourth time in his career, Tom Hessert was able to get to ARCA victory lane after making a pass late in the race for the win.

    Grant Enfinger, driver of the Casite-Motor Honey-Advanced Auto Parts #90 Ford, and winner of the first 3 races of the season in the ARCA racing series started from the pole at Talladega Superspeedway in the International Motorsports Hall of Fame 200 and was looking for win number 4 of the 2014 season. Once the green flag flew, the front of the field ran single file up front for the first half of the race with Mason Mitchell, Justin Boston, Mark Thompson, and John Wes Townley rounding out the top 5 behind Enfinger.

    Green flag pit stops began on lap 36 of the 76 lap event. Multiple drivers were penalized for speeding on pit road including leader Enfinger who had dominated the first half of the race. Clay Campbell, Mark Thompson, and Frank Kimmel were among the 16 pit road speeding violations. Justin Boston in the #25 Zloop Chevrolet took over the lead after pit stops until lap 54 when he was passed on the track by the Zaxby’s #15 of John Wes Townley.

    The first and only caution of the race came out on lap 56 when Justin Allison, grandson of Donnie Allison, in the #88 HAVACOSales.com Ford, blew a right front tire and slammed into the side of Clay Campbell driving the #52 Federated Auto Parts Chevrolet for Ken Schrader Racing, causing Clay to spin out. The caution put many of the the penalized race cars back into contention for the win.

    The race went back to green at lap 64 with John Wes Townley in first followed by Boston, Mitchell, and Tom Hessert. Bobby Gerhart, making his 300th start in the series took the lead with 4 laps to go and was quickly over taken by John Wes Townley.

    With only two laps to go Tom Hessert, driving the #77 Cunningham Motorsports Caregard-AxiomWarranty.com Dodge took the lead for the first time of the day after passing Townley on the high side and lead the final two laps to win his first ever super speedway race and the 4th win of his career. Hessert was followed by John Wes Townley in 2nd, teammate Austin Wayne Self, driving the #22, in 3rd, Mason Mitchell in 4th and Spencer Gallagher in the #23 rounding out the top 5. The rest of the top 10 were Derrick Lancaster in 6th, Bobby Gerhart 7th, Frank Kimmel 8th, Grant Enfinger 9th, and Buster Graham in 10th.

    The ARCA Racing Series next race is at Toledo Speedway on May 18th.

  • Chase Elliott and Erik Jones Make ARCA History With One, Two Finish at Pocono

    Chase Elliott and Erik Jones Make ARCA History With One, Two Finish at Pocono

    Two seventeen year olds, Chase Elliott and Erik Jones battled royally at the Tricky Triangle to score a one, two finish in the Pocono ARCA 200.

    And in so doing, they made history, becoming the youngest winner and runner up finisher in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards.

    “It was a lot of fun,” Chase Elliott said of his race win after starting from the 32nd position. “We had to start in the back and had some work to do.”

    “Lance (McGrew, crew chief) made some good calls getting us off sequence,” Elliott continued. “Being able to take advantage of that and get out in front when the cautions fell, I feel worked out to our advantage.”

    “We got out front and stayed there so it worked out.”

    The driver of the No. 9 Aaron’s-Hendrickcars.com Chevrolet admitted that it did not hurt having his father Bill coaching him prior to the race and from atop the hauler, especially with his history of winning at Pocono.

    “I talked to him a lot by phone and then at the track,” Elliott said. “He gave me some good advice about this place.”

    “But the big thing is that he never raced on this surface so a lot of things are different than how they used to be,” Elliott continued. “A lot of things have changed but it is still the same old Pocono and he helped me a lot.”

    What did it mean to have his father with him in Victory Lane at Pocono?

    “It means a ton to me,” Elliott said. “It wasn’t a little over ten years ago that I was in Victory Lane with Dad and I’ve got some pictures from that.”

    “I just think that’s really cool,” Elliott continued. “To come up here to Pocono where Dad raced and to get that opportunity is really cool.”

    “I knew it would mean a lot to win and we were fortunate that it worked out.”

    Proud father Bill Elliott did have some first words for his young race winner in Victory Lane. And Chase Elliott definitely heeded that advice.

    “First thing he said that he was going to keep the champagne because I wasn’t old enough to drink it,” Elliott said. “But I think it meant a lot for dad to go back to Victory Lane with me.”

    “I’m not a dad but I feel like that would be cool,” Chase Elliott said. “I’m glad I could take him there today and hope to do it a lot more this year.”

    Bill Elliott was indeed proud of his young son, who has become the focus of his racing expertise.

    “Someone showed me a picture when I was in Victory Lane in 2002 and here is Chase in Victory Lane now in 2013,” Bill Elliott said. “He did a good job.”

    “Everything came together and he did real well,” Elliott continued. “It’s a dream come true for me.”

    “He’s done a good job in all he’s raced,” Elliott said. “This is just another era.”

    Bill Elliott acknowledged that he was one who pushed the ARCA Series to consider relaxing their rules to allow 16 and 17 year olds to race in the series.

    “The kids today have so much more experience and there was a real void there at age 16 or 17,” Elliott said. “ARCA is giving these kids a little extra time to get their feet wet.”

    Bill Elliott was not the only proud parent with his son’s historic ARCA win.

    “I’m just really thrilled for him,” mom Cindy Elliott said. “They tell me that he is the youngest winner.”

    “So, I’m just thrilled for him and for the team and for Lance McGrew, winning now in every division,” Cindy Elliott continued. “What they’ve accomplished today is just wonderful.”

    Crew chief Lance McGrew was also very proud of his young racer and felt fortunate that he could showcase his skills on the big track of Pocono.

    “Chase is an extremely talented race car driver,” McGrew said. “He is young but he was born and bred that way.”

    “He’s got years and years of experience,” McGrew continued. “We were fortunate enough that ARCA made a rule change this season to where we could run on a bigger race track.”

    “I felt like with the backing we had and Chase’s experience that we could come here and do well,” McGrew said. “And we did.”

    Seventeen year old Erik Jones, behind the wheel of the No. 15 ToyotaCare Toyota, finished runner up to Chase Elliott. And he had to battle his own demons and mistakes before being able to move forward to contend for the lead.

    “We ran ourselves out of fuel right before the first pit stop on Lap 42,” Jones said. “We had the whole field lapped at that time.”

    “We had to start at the tail end and a violation coming off pit road,” We just didn’t have time to run him back down.”

    “We’ll come back in August and see if we can get the win.”

    Veteran driver Frank Kimmel, in the No. 44 Ansell-Menards Toyota, finished third. And he was feeling very good about that finish after just getting a few laps on the track because of the rain.

    “Pretty good day,” Kimmel said. “We were one of the teams that didn’t test so we just had about three laps before the race.”

    “I smacked the wall and I thought I had a flat,” Kimmel continued. “That kind of ruined our day and I couldn’t run with those two.”

    “So, we rode it out.”

    Kimmel had nothing but praise for the youngsters who beat him on the race track. And yes, he acknowledged that they were really young, with both of them combined having less years of life than he had alone.

    “What a remarkable deal these young kids are,” Kimmel said. “I have underwear that old.”

    “Chase is a chip off the old block,” Kimmel continued. “I asked Bill (Elliott) who Chase’s  father was because he’s an awfully nice kid.”

    “These young kids are a lot of fun to race with.”

    Tom Hessert, behind the wheel of the No. 77 Barbera’s Autoland Dodge, and Mason Mitchell, driving the No. 99 Happy Cheeks-BeavEx-Reliance Tool Ford, rounded out the top five finishers in the Pocono ARCA 200.

     

     

     

  • Ken Schrader Just Having Fun as ARCA’s Newest and Oldest Winner

    Ken Schrader Just Having Fun as ARCA’s Newest and Oldest Winner

    Ken Schrader may just be the oldest winner in the history of the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards, but he is no doubt the happiest after taking the checkered flag first in the Menards 200 presented by Federated Car Care this weekend at Toledo Speedway.

    And in Schrader’s own words, he is simply an almost 58 year old driver that is “just having fun.”

    “Well, being the oldest winner is sure better than being the oldest loser,” Schrader said with a laugh. “I love it.”

    “That’s five (at Toledo) and we’ll take it.”

    Schrader started on the outside pole in his No. 52 Federated Auto Parts Chevrolet and led 163 laps in the event on his way to securing the win. Schrader was especially pleased as he has not been in an ARCA car for quite some time.

    “I haven’t run an ARCA race in two and a half years because Tom Hessert from New Jersey has been driving our car,” Schrader said. “He did a good job and ran for us the last two years but he is doing something different this year.”

    “So, we picked out a handful of races that Federated Auto Parts wanted to run and this was the first one,” Schrader continued. “We qualified second and won the thing.”

    Schrader, as one of the older veterans in the field, battled a bit with the youngest pole winner in the ARCA Series, Kyle Benjamin, who took that honor at the tender age of 15 years. But Schrader admitted that his biggest competition was Grant Enfinger, who he battled side by side at one point in the race but who eventually cut down a tire to finish 15th.

    “Kyle, we didn’t fight with too much,” Schrader said. “I just fell in behind him at the start and we went about 20 laps and we got around him and then he had some trouble.”

    “But Grant Enfinger – he looks young compared to me but he’s not young, young – he was really the strongest car all day,” Schrader continued. “I had a lot of fun racing with him.”

    Schrader admits that, while he enjoys racing at the highest levels of NASCAR, the ARCA Series has a special place in his heart.

    “Well, first off I still love the Cup Series but we’re just too old to play that game week in and week out,” Schrader said. “And that takes too much sponsorship.”

    “The ARCA Series, where you run tracks like three-eighths at Elko to Talladega to mile dirt tracks to road courses, I just love the diversity of the ARCA Series.”

    And of course Schrader receives a hero’s welcome whenever he does race in the ARCA events, just like he did at the Toledo event, although he modestly disagrees with that.

    “I’m no hero,” Schrader said. “I’ve just been there lots of times.”

    “It’s different now because there are so many young kids coming up and they’re doing a phenomenal job,” Schrader said. “Veteran Frank (Kimmel) has been there a long time and I’ve been there off and on for quite awhile.”

    “A lot of folks in the grand stands don’t know the young kids yet so they just remember us or their parents told them about us.”

    Although this was Schrader’s 61st ARCA start, he is not so impressed with that. Instead, he would much rather talk about the number of races he won in the series, which he does admit is pretty impressive.

    “61 starts are not very many though,” Schrader said. “I think we ran our first one in 1981 or so.”

    “So, that’s 60 some over all those years,” Schrader continued. “The most I’ve run in a year is five or so.”

    “But we’ve won 16 of them.”

    Schrader is not just running the ARCA Series this year but also has many other races on his dance card. And admittedly being behind the wheel of a race car is what keeps him going and traveling all over the country.

    “We’re running the Sprint Cup car ten times and then we’re going to run a couple of Truck races, Bristol and the Eldora, Ohio Truck race on the dirt,” Schrader said. “And then we’re running four or five ARCA races and my little dirt modified somewhere between 60 to 70 nights.”

    “Last year, we ran in 18 states and the year before in 22 states, Schrader continued. “So, we go all over with that thing.”

    “I don’t know,” Schrader said. “I must not be very smart because I still get up in the morning and want to go race.”

    At this weekend’s race, however, Schrader also paid tribute to Dick Trickle, a NASCAR legend that was lost due to a self-inflicted gunshot wound this past week.

    “There are so many of us across the country that Dick has taught,” Schrader said. “We learned from talking to him and racing with him.”

    “There’s young kids that he has taught, guys my age that he taught, and racers that are now retired that he taught,” Schrader continued. “He was one of the smartest racers there was.”

    “There’s so many of us that Dick raised, like Rusty Wallace and Mark Martin and Kenny Wallace,” Schrader said. “What we learned from talking to him and listening to him as well as watching him was amazing.”

    “I hate, hate what happened there but I know that he had to really be in some pain to do that.”

    In spite of that pain and loss, Schrader was in full celebration mode after scoring the ARCA win. But he puts it all in perspective as only Ken Schrader can.

    “It was a real fun day that obviously put Federated Auto Parts in Victory Lane,” Schrader said. “But when we wake up tomorrow, it doesn’t make any difference and we just have to get ready to go to Elko.”

    “I feel good about our sport though,” Schrader continued. “We had a good weather day and a packed grandstand out at the ARCA race.”

    “It doesn’t get any better than that.”

  • Tom Hessert Will Return To The ARCA Racing Series in 2012

    Tom Hessert Will Return To The ARCA Racing Series in 2012

    While Tom Hessert won’t release many details about what his plans for 2012 are, he is saying one thing that is definite – he will be racing in the ARCA Racing Series.

    “I’m definitely planning on returning to the ARCA Racing Series in 2012,” Hessert said. “Whether it’s full-time or on a part-time basis is yet to be sorted out.”

    The Cherry Hill, N.J. native also adds that he vows that he will be at Daytona International Speedway on February 18th for the Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200. He also wants to finish better this year after finishing 37th in last year’s running.

    “But I can tell you I’ll be at Daytona in February, so definitely looking forward to that,” Hessert, who finished sixth in points last year, said. “We didn’t have a real good Daytona last year, so definitely looking to come out this year on the better end.”

    Hessert also has made another vow, to marry his fiancée Meghan Reilly in November.

    Getting ready for Daytona and helping his bride-to-be with wedding plans isn’t all that’s on Hessert’s plate. He is also busy working for the Classic Auto Group in hometown.

    “I do most of the wholesale stuff for Classic Auto Group – buy cars for resale while we, at the same time, sell our aged inventory to make way for the newer stuff,” he said. “In terms of what we buy, it could be anything from a Ferrari to a Ford F-150, so a pretty wide range.”

  • ARCA Winchester News and Notes: Venturini Motorsports, Tom Hessert and More

    

    While the race was won by Dakoda Armstrong, a bunch of other drivers came home with solid finishes to be proud of.

    This year, Venturini Motorsports has made it a habit of finishing in the top 10 with a variety of drivers. The latest driver to add his name to the list is Ryan Blaney.

    Blaney drove the team’s No.25 Lauren Briant/Venturini Motorsports Chevrolet to a sixth place finish after suffering a flat right front tire on lap 162 in his ARCA debut.

    “We were trying to take it easy in the race, just trying to save our stuff,” Blaney said, after leading 154 of the first 161 laps. “I think if we could have had 10 more laps after we blew a tire, we could have passed Ty for the lead and then we would have been one lap down and got that caution and been in business. It just wasn’t meant to be.

    “I ran the same line I did 50 laps in a row. I was just taking it so easy, especially to help that right front and to keep it from doing what it did. I don’t know if our camber was off or what. But it was a great night. I’ve got to thank Venturini for letting me run this car and making it as good as it was. We’ll get ‘em next time.”

    The son of NASCAR veteran Dave Blaney is hoping that he can make some more starts this season.

    “It’s great to race in the ARCA (Racing) Series,” Blaney said. “There are really good guys racing, especially here, a place like Winchester.”

    Venturini Motorsports also debuted John Blankenship, who finished 10th in the No. 55 Chevrolet, meaning that so far this year Venturini has 11 top 10s with nine different drivers.

    Meanwhile, finishing fifth in front of Blaney was Tom Hessert, who was proud to impress numerous guests from Federated Auto Parts, who were on hand as the race’s sponsor.

    “The guys in the pits did a really good job of getting us back out,” he said. “We didn’t have the best car; we had a couple issues that were keeping us from being better, but it was a good top-five for the Federated car at a Federated race. It’s good to have a good showing for them. It’s too bad we couldn’t get a win, but in a couple weeks we’ll go to Berlin and we always run really well there.”

    For points leader Ty Dillon, it was also a solid day for him as he still finished fouth to pad his points lead despite bottoming out lap in the race.

    “It’s unfortunate,” Dillon said. “It doesn’t happen to us often, but it’s still a good points day. We qualified well and led a couple of laps. I’m happy. I just like winning, so it’s a little disappointing to lead laps there at the end of the race and fall off so bad. We saved our stuff all day and rode and were hoping for what happened to happen, for guys to wear their stuff out and us be patient as usual to let the race come to us, but something happened there and we just got too loose.”

    The next race for ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards is July 9th at Berlin Raceway.

  • ARCA: Tom Hessert and Kory Rabenold Look To Tackle The Tricky Triangle

    ARCA: Tom Hessert and Kory Rabenold Look To Tackle The Tricky Triangle

    So far this year, its been a mix of drivers with lots of experience and young drivers making it to victory lane in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards.

    Championship contender Tom Hessert is one of the more experience ones as he has one career victory under his belt, though he wants to make it two with his first of the season this weekend at the ‘Tricky Triangle’.

    The second generation driver from Cherry Hill, New Jersey will make his seventh career start at Pocono Raceway this weekend in the Pocono ARCA 200 on Saturday afternoon.

    “I’ve always enjoyed our stops in Pocono,” Hessert said. “The track is really unique which provides a different mindset of racing. You cannot afford to miss a beat as concentration is everything with a track that has three different turns.”

    In the previous six starts, he has had success in the form of one top-five and two top-10s with a best of fourth last August.

    “We were in New Jersey a couple weeks ago and couldn’t seal the deal, but we’re going to give it our all this weekend,” Hessert added. “I’m going to have some friends and family at the track on Saturday, so it would mean that much more to be the first one to take the checkered flag in our No. 52 Federated Auto Parts Chevrolet.”

    After finishing third in points last year with Cunningham Motorsports, Hessert joined Ken Schrader Racing to drive the No. 52 Federated Auto Parts entry. Six races into the season, Hessert has one top-five and four top-10 finishes, including a sixth place finish at Chicagoland Speedway last Saturday, which has him seventh in points, 135 points behind third. Armed with his crew chief from last year, John Monsam, Hessert is looking for more success.

    “We had some bad luck at Daytona and Toledo, but everywhere else, we’ve been pretty competitive,” Hessert commented. “The great thing about working with John (Monsam) is that he knows what I am looking for already. Usually, we have to make just a couple tweaks and we are finding ourselves in contention. We finished fourth together last August at Pocono, so I know we both would like to improve on that Saturday.

    “We’re six races in and it’s already been a really competitive season. As a team we just need to stay focused and concentrate on one race at a time and we should propel ourselves up in the point standings.”

    While Hessert has 70 starts in the ARCA Series, Kory Rabenold is a driver who doesn’t have as much experience as he only has made 23 career starts.

    Rabenold, a native of Slatingon, Pennsylvania, returns to his hometrack for his seventh start there for the first time in two years.

    “We’re just thankful to be heading to the track this weekend,” Rabenold said. “It’s because a lot of dedication, time and effort that we’re able to get on the track this weekend. We don’t have a lot of sponsorship but in order to get sponsors, you have to be visible and try and stand out from the rest. That’s our goal this weekend. We’re going to the track with a story and hoping for a good finish that could allow us to come back in August.”

    The 22-year old will be driving the No. 03 RabenoldRacing.com/Buzzy’s Auto Body Chevrolet Impala for the family backed team with support coming from 2010 Champions Sheltra Motorsports.

    “We’re extremely thankful to Jon (Wolfe) and Sheltra Motorsports for giving us some assistance,” he said. “It’s always nice to have a caliber team like that, take some time for us. We may not have the same type of equipment that they won the championship with, but one thing is for sure, we have their same determination and passion!”

    Their situation reminds him a lot of his first ever race at Pocono in 2007 as he will have his father Buzzy Rabenold calling the shots.

    “When I first came to Pocono in 2007, it was our family owned team,” Rabenold said. “We had some sponsorship because the economy was better. We qualified 22nd, stayed out of trouble and finished 12th. It was a good day. Hopefully we can stay out of trouble and have a similar performance on Saturday.”

    In the previous six races he ran at Pocono, he has had three top-20 finishes. 

    The Pocono ARCA 200 (80 laps / 200 miles) is the seventh of 19 events on the 2011 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards schedule. The 52nd ARCA race at Pocono Raceway is a two-day show. Practice begins Friday, June 10 with a one hour and fifty minute practice session planned from 10:00 a.m. – 11:50 a.m. Menards Pole by Ansell qualifying is slated to begin later in the day at 2:05 p.m.

    The field will take the green flag shortly after 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 11. The event will be televised same-day delayed on SPEED beginning at 8:00 p.m. EST. Live timing and scoring throughout the 1,319th race for the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards since it was formed in 1953 will be available through the ARCA Racing Network (ARN) online at arcaracing.com presented by ARCANation.com.  All times are local.

  • ARCA Driver Tom Hessert to Ken Schrader Racing in 2011

    ARCA Driver Tom Hessert to Ken Schrader Racing in 2011

    ARCA driver Tom Hessert announced that he would be running the full 2011 ARCA Racing Series schedule with Ken Schrader Racing after finishing third in points in 2010.

    Hessert, who drove the No. 77 Cunningham Motorsports Dodge to one win, 10 top-fives, and 15 top-10 finishes in 2010, informed Cunningham Motorsports owner Kerry Scherer last week that he will drive in 2011 for Ken Schrader Racing.

    Hessert had a solid year as he was in the thick of one of the tightest points battles in recent years with Patrick Sheltra and Craig Goess.

    [media-credit name=”tomhessert.com” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]”It was an awesome year,” Hessert told the ARCA Racing Network last month. “Obviously, I’ll say that this was the best season in my career to this point. I’m a little disappointed to not win after we came from such a difference after the first eight races – 220 points down – to lead the championship for a couple of hours (laughing), at least, after Salem. We got our first win and had a bunch of top-10s and top-fives, so I’m pretty pleased.”

    The first win is a moment that many refer to as the highlight of the year, as he held off Ty Dillon to win the Prairie Meadows 200 at Iowa Speedway.

    “It’s incredible,” he told me of that first win. “It’s my first win in a quite awhile and to win it in that fashion and leading all those laps at Iowa Speedway in front of a great crowd and with the Camping World Truck Series teams being on hand and all those people in the garage area and on Speed, it couldn’t have been a better day.”

    Hessert got into racing through his father.

    “My dad raced in sports car for a long time in the late 80s/90s and I grew up going to the races,” he told me. “I went to my first race when I was two weeks old and fell in love with it then.”

    His father, among others, has now given him the advice needed to get to where he is.

    “My dad’s been a mentor of mine all throughout my career, as he’s obviously a race car driver,” he said. “In our series, it’s Frank Kimmel, which everyone has been saying. Kenny Schrader’s also been a great friend, a great mentor the last year-and-a-half, and there’s Andy Hillenburg.”

    Hessert found himself with Cunningham Motorsports this season after a discussion near the end of last year.

    “Last year, I drove the first half of the season for Andy Belmont Racing and then the second half of the year for RAB,” he said. “Then near the end of the year, one of the guys from Cunningham Motorsports called me and I went down to Georgia and met with him and it was a very attractive offer. They ran really well last year and their affiliation with some of the big teams in NASCAR was very appealing and so far, so good. I couldn’t be happier.”

    Hessert had some experience running some Camping World Truck Series races near the end of the year of 2010 and has expressed interest in moving into the NASCAR ranks. Therefore this move to Ken Schrader Racing puts him in position to do with that with Schrader’s program and connections.

    Cunningham Motorsports may be in trouble as Dakoda Armstrong, Hessert’s teammate in 2010, has not yet informed Cunningham Motorsports of his plans for 2011, according to a team press release. 

    Cunningham Motorsports is actively looking for sponsored drivers for 2011, and continues to prepare for the January 11-13 ARCA Racing Series open test at Daytona International Speedway.