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  • Todd Bodine Scores Truck Win at Rainy Monster Mile

    [media-credit id=62 align=”alignright” width=”223″][/media-credit]In spite of Kevin Harvick having by far the dominant race truck, Todd Bodine, in his No. 11 Red Horse Racing Toyota, stole the win away thanks to rain calling an early end to the Lucas Oil 200.

    This was Bodine’s 22nd victory in 196 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races, but his first victory this year. It was also his first win at the Monster mile.

    “Man, finally,” Bodine said. “It’s pretty special. Dover has always been high on my list as one of my favorite tracks. To be able to come back and get a win in Trucks, it kind of puts in perspective what I’ve needed to do here.”

    “To be able to do it with a brand new team and get the team the Monster trophy, it means a lot.”

    “We didn’t have the best Tundra today but Rick (Gay Jr. crew chief) made a great call,” Bodine said. “You don’t like to win them this way but I’ve lost them this way so I’m going to take it.”

    “I took a gamble today and it paid off,” Gay said simply.

    Parker Kligerman, behind the wheel of the No. 29 Cooper Standard Ram, finished 2nd in the rain-shortened event. This was his first top-10 finish in two races at the Monster Mile and his third top-10 finish in 2012.

    “We had a really fast race truck and were biding our time until halfway,” Kligerman said. “We got a little front end damage and the guys did a great job repairing it.”

    “I was angry and I drove like my hair was on fire,” Kligerman continued. “We drove up to sixth and knew the rain was coming so we just were at the right place at the right time.”

    Kevin Harvick, pole sitter and driver of the No. 2 Tide Chevrolet, did all he could to preserve a good finish, coming out third when the race was called. It was his second top-10 finish in two races at Dover.

    “We had a great truck all weekend and just got beat by the weather there,” Harvick said. “All in all the guys did a great job of controlling all the things that can and that’s all you can do.”

    “I still thought we had a chance,” Harvick continued. “They threw the caution before it even started raining so we wasted 25 laps between two cautions waiting around to see if it was going to rain.”

    “It was just one of those deals.”

    Harvick was unbeatable when he was out front in clean air. But the driver of the No. 2 Tide Chevrolet had more difficulty in the midst of traffic.

    “We just got tight,” Harvick said. “So when we got in traffic, it didn’t handle near  as well.”

    “It would take a little longer in traffic because it would get so tight off the corner.”

    Nelson Piquet, Jr. had a great run in his No. 30 Qualcomm Chevrolet, finishing in the fourth position.

    “At the end with the rain coming and going, we stayed out and it worked out,” Piquet Jr. said. “We ended up with a top five and that was very important for us.”

    Cale Gale, who finished fifth in the No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet, was the highest finishing rookie in the race.

    “Obviously we qualified good today,” Gale said. “We got involved in a little incident at the start of the race that got us behind.”

    “We made adjustments to the truck and the last portion of the race, it was a lot better,” Gale continued. “We were praying for a little bit of rain there at the end.”

    “We are happy,” Gale said. “We finally got a result that we are proud of.”

    Ty Dillon, who finished sixth in his No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/Allstate Chevrolet, had a very special evening in addition to the top-ten finish.

    Dillon broke Ricky Hendrick’s record of five straight top-10 finishes by a rookie in the opening five races and now is the sole owner of that record, with six straight top-10 rookie finishes in the first five races.

    “That’s very special,” Dillon said. “I’m very happy for my team.”

    “Now we need to consistently make those top-fives,” Dillon continued. “We had a fast track today but a little bit to the free side.”

    “Track position meant a lot and we played our hand right there at the end.”

    Unofficial Race Results
    Lucas Oil 200, Dover International Speedway
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/truckseries/race.php?race=6
    =========================================
    Pos. St. No. Driver Make Points
    =========================================
    1 13 11 Todd Bodine Toyota 47
    2 11 29 Parker Kligerman Ram 43
    3 1 2 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 0
    4 18 30 Nelson Piquet Jr. Chevrolet 40
    5 5 33 Cale Gale * Chevrolet 39
    6 6 3 Ty Dillon * Chevrolet 38
    7 15 31 James Buescher Chevrolet 37
    8 10 88 Matt Crafton Toyota 36
    9 8 17 Timothy Peters Toyota 35
    10 16 6 Justin Lofton Chevrolet 35
    11 2 22 Joey Coulter Chevrolet 33
    12 9 32 Miguel Paludo Chevrolet 33
    13 17 18 Brian Scott Toyota 0
    14 24 81 David Starr Toyota 31
    15 12 8 Ross Chastain * Toyota 29
    16 21 9 John Wes Townley * Toyota 28
    17 25 5 Paulie Harraka * Ford 27
    18 30 275 Caleb Holman * Chevrolet 26
    19 7 27 Jeb Burton * Chevrolet 25
    20 19 98 Dakoda Armstrong * Toyota 24
    21 27 170 Jeff Agnew Chevrolet 23
    22 23 99 Bryan Silas * Ford 22
    23 29 84 Chris Fontaine Chevrolet 21
    24 4 13 Johnny Sauter Toyota 20
    25 35 57 Norm Benning Chevrolet 19
    26 33 10 Jennifer Jo Cobb Ram 18
    27 3 9 Ron Hornaday Chevrolet 17
    28 31 261 Wes Burton Ford 16
    29 22 39 Ryan Sieg Chevrolet 15
    30 14 24 Max Gresham * Chevrolet 14
    31 28 7 Chris Jones Toyota 13
    32 32 93 Johnny Chapman Chevrolet 12
    33 20 23 Jason White Ford 11
    34 34 174 Mike Harmon Chevrolet 0
    35 26 38 Dennis Setzer Chevrolet 0
  • Kahne Wins Inaugural Good Sam Roadside Assistance 200 at Rockingham Speedway

    Kahne Wins Inaugural Good Sam Roadside Assistance 200 at Rockingham Speedway

    Kasey Kahne was in the lead heading into the final 20 laps at Rockingham Speedway. He never relinquished that lead, scoring the victory in the inaugural Camping World Truck Series race at Rockingham Speedway. This was Kahne’s first victory in of 2012.

    Kahne described this as “the best weekend I have had in a long time.” He drove in three races this weekend with three impressive finishes; third place in the Nationwide Series in Texas, seventh place in the Cup race, and the win at Rockingham.

    [media-credit name=”Credit: Rainer Ehrhardt/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”253″][/media-credit]He went on to explain how happy he was to be a part of the event.

    “When I heard they were putting a race on here at Rockingham, as soon as I heard about it, I was trying to figure out whom I would race for and how I would make it here,” he said.

    He only got about 4 ½ hours sleep the previous night but that did not dampen his enthusiasm.

    “Coming to ‘The Rock’ I was so excited that I woke up early. My alarm was supposed to go off at nine this morning and I woke up at 7:30 and couldn’t go back to sleep.”

    Sunday marked NASCAR’s first return to Rockingham Speedway since February 2004.

    ‘The Rock,’ under the guidance of Andy Hillenburg, opened its arms to the fans allowing them access to the infield and pit road, areas that are normally out of bounds for most ticket holders. Golf cart shuttles were available to take fans to their seats. They were limited but if you didn’t mind waiting, you could catch a ride. The atmosphere was more like a family reunion than a sporting event.

    Everyone from the staff to the fans to the drivers was excited to be a part of the track’s return to NASCAR.

    Nelson Piquet Jr. led the field to green on a sunny Sunday afternoon in the Good Sam Roadside Assistance 200. He led a total of 107 laps during the race and was dominant most of the race.

    Points leader John King spun out on lap four, hit the inside wall and brought out the first caution.

    Piquet continued to lead the field and had just lapped the tenth place car when a debris caution was called.

    Matt Crafton took the lead shortly after the restart, leaving Piquet Jr. in second place.

    Kasey Kahne started in the rear of the field but quickly worked his way into the top three battling with Matt Crafton and Nelson Piquet Jr. for the lead. Kahne took over the lead on lap 155.

    On the final pit stop Piquet Jr. was caught too fast exiting and had to go to the back of the field, ending his bid for a win. He fought his way back to finish the race in seventh position.

    James Buescher finished the race in second place position earning him his second top ten finish of 2012. Matt Crafton finished third followed by Johnny Sauter. Timothy Peters rounded out the top five.

    Peter’s fifth place pushed him to a six point lead in the point standings over Justin Lofton. Ty Dillon is third, followed by James Buescher and Parker Kligerman.

    Ty Dillon finished in eighth place and was the highest finishing rookie.

    The next Camping World Truck Series race will be April 21, 2012 at Kansas Speedway.

    Unofficial Race Results
    Good Sam Roadside Assistance 200, Rockingham Speedway
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/truckseries/race.php?race=3
    =========================================
    Pos. St. No. Driver Make Points
    =========================================
    1 5 4 Kasey Kahne Chevrolet 0
    2 16 31 James Buescher Chevrolet 42
    3 8 88 Matt Crafton Toyota 42
    4 10 13 Johnny Sauter Toyota 40
    5 3 17 Timothy Peters Toyota 40
    6 17 22 Joey Coulter Chevrolet 38
    7 1 30 Nelson Piquet Jr. Chevrolet 39
    8 12 3 Ty Dillon * Chevrolet 36
    9 6 29 Parker Kligerman Ram 35
    10 19 6 Justin Lofton Chevrolet 34
    11 27 27 Jeb Burton * Chevrolet 33
    12 22 9 Ron Hornaday Chevrolet 32
    13 21 81 David Starr Toyota 31
    14 11 98 Dakoda Armstrong * Toyota 30
    15 23 32 Miguel Paludo Chevrolet 29
    16 29 2 Tim George Jr. Chevrolet 28
    17 13 33 Cale Gale * Chevrolet 27
    18 15 24 Max Gresham * Chevrolet 26
    19 18 92 David Reutimann Chevrolet 0
    20 20 9 John Wes Townley * Toyota 24
    21 24 275 Caleb Holman* Chevrolet 23
    22 32 39 Ryan Sieg Chevrolet 22
    23 30 214 Brennan Newberry Chevrolet 21
    24 28 23 Jason White Ford 20
    25 14 8 Ross Chastain * Toyota 19
    26 2 5 Paulie Harraka * Ford 18
    27 36 170 Jeff Agnew Chevrolet 17
    28 26 202 Tyler Young Chevrolet 16
    29 33 93 Chris Cockrum Chevrolet 15
    30 35 57 Norm Benning Chevrolet 14
    31 7 11 Todd Bodine Toyota 13
    32 31 99 Bryan Silas * Ford 12
    33 25 7 John King * Toyota 11
    34 4 18 Jason Leffler Toyota 10
    35 34 7 Johnny Chapman Toyota 9
    36 9 60 Grant Enfinger Chevrolet 8
  • Ty Dillon Puts Pressure Aside, Looking To Do Well This Year

    Ty Dillon Puts Pressure Aside, Looking To Do Well This Year

    [media-credit name=”Credit: Matthew Stockman/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]For any driver entering into the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driving for one of the biggest teams in NASCAR, Richard Childress Racing, the pressure is certainly there to perform. However, for Ty Dillon, the pressure goes beyond that. But as you take a closer look at this 19-year-old, the pressure isn’t bugging him one bit.

    For starters, he is driving the exact same truck that his brother Austin Dillon drove to the 2011 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Championship. Everybody is expecting younger brother Ty to live up to Austin’s level after Ty finished in the top 10 in two of three starts last year.

    Rather than being concerned with the expectations, Ty Dillon focuses on the advantages of having a big brother racing in NASCAR.

    “I can use his career as a learning curve for me, the things that he does,” Dillon says. “I get to pay attention to everything that he does on and off the race track that help him or hurt him. There are a lot of advantages to having an older brother who is successful in a series above you.”

    Dillon also has the pressure on his shoulders as he is the grandson of his team owner, Childress. For Dillon, he once again uses it as an advantage from his standpoint in his career.

    “He is always there to help us, no matter what it is on or off the race track,” the defending ARCA Racing Series Champion says. “Whether it’s doing stuff like this and what he’s learned over the years that’s helped him, or things on the race track. He’s a legend of our sport and I’m very blessed to be in the situation that I am to be able to rely on him.”

    Dillon adds that Childress stresses that he should bring the truck back in one piece, while also taking some risks to win races.

    At no point does Dillon take for granted the situation he is in, either, saying that he was blessed to be born into this situation.

    “I’ve been around racing all my life and kind of knew it would be an option there for me,” he says. “My grandfather never really wanted to pressure us into racing. We played football, baseball and other sports. We kind of started racing late. I started when I was 13. (Brother) Austin was 15. Nowadays kids are starting when they’re four or five years old racing.”

    Since then, the feeling behind the wheel hasn’t changed for Dillon as he says he still loves it just as much.

    “Driving, it just gives us that feeling that you can’t get away from,” he explains. “We still get it every day when we strap into these Nationwide (cars) and trucks and we race probably 50 or 60 races a year, just because we love the sport and we love what we do.”

    With taking over the truck that his big brother drove, that means that Dillon is behind the wheel of the legendary No. 3 truck. This brings its own set of expectations from fans that expect the No. 3 to be running up front and winning every weekend. Dillon says he doesn’t feel that pressure as he is actually having fun with running the number.

    “It means more to us on a personal side that it’s my grandfather’s number and it’s really great to see the fan’s reactions when you run well in it and you win races,” he says. “To see how excited people get to see that black number 3 back there on the track, the way it used to be. So we’re just having fun with it right now. As long as everybody stays happy with it that’s what we’re going do. As far as what series it’s going to go, I’ll leave that up to my grandfather. Right now we’re doing it for our family and doing it for the fans.”

    In expanding on that, Dillon says that the number means a lot to him due to it being the number that his grandfather Childress ran during his career.

    Dillon joins the youth movement that has taken over the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series as late with young drivers coming in to get their start in racing, including James Buescher and Parker Kligermann, among others.

    “They kind of got away from having individual names that led that series,” Dillon says. “Now we’ve got young guys in each series that are developing their way from the trucks to the Nationwide and now to Sprint Cup. It’s really cool to see that and gives you hope as a driver making your way up the rankings. I’m glad to see more individuality in each series, so it’s really nice.”

    While most rookies may be set on coming in and learning, that’s not the same with Dillon. He says that coming off the ARCA championship last year and driving Austin’s trucks, he feels that he can do well.

    “I feel like we need to run for a championship this year,” he says. “We’ve got the experience and the equipment, why can’t we do it? We ran well last year and we got a lot of confidence going into this year. We’ll see what it gives us. We want to win some races but our main trophy in our little trophy case we have set off to the side is the championship trophy. Then if we do that, we will have won races and won rookie of the year.”

    So far, Dillon is off to a pretty good start as he survived the carnage in Daytona to finish ninth and now sits eighth in points heading into Martinsville in two weeks.

  • Dakoda Armstrong Has Sights Fixed on Truck Rookie of the Year Honors

    Dakoda Armstrong Has Sights Fixed on Truck Rookie of the Year Honors

    [media-credit name=”Photo Credit: dakodaarmstrong.com” align=”alignright” width=”100″][/media-credit]The youngest and newest member of ThorSport Racing, Dakoda Armstrong, has his eye on just one prize. The up and comer plans to take his No. 98 EverFi/Drive for Savings Toyota Tundra ride straight to the Camping World Truck Series Rookie of the Year honors.

    While some may argue that being ROTY does not really mean all that much, Armstrong definitely takes exception to that notion. For him, it is not only a special honor, but one that lasts a lifetime and cannot be taken away.

    “You only get one shot at it in any series you go in,” Armstrong said. “I try to go for it in any series that I run in.”

    “The names of people that have received that award and the competition that you go against, it’s a really big honor.”

    “This year, the Rookie of the Year title will be one of our goals,” Armstrong said. “Hopefully we can go out there and run well for it.”

    Armstrong is no stranger to Rookie of the Year honors. In fact, he secured that honor in the ARCA Racing Series and definitely felt that has helped move him along in his career.

    “Getting the Rookie of the Year honor has definitely helped propel me forward,” Armstrong said. “It’s the title you have and it is always brought up.”

    “So, it’s definitely a good thing,” Armstrong continued. “And it’s another banner we’d get to put up in the ThorSport shop.”

    While Armstrong acknowledges that there are plenty of drivers that he will be competing with for the ROTY honors, he feels that his biggest competition will be one of the Dillon boys.

    “For Rookie of the Year, my biggest competition is definitely Ty Dillon,” Armstrong said. “I competed against him in the ARCA Series.”

    “He’s got really good equipment and he’s a really good driver,” Armstrong continued. “We will definitely have some good racing and some good competition with him.”

    In addition to the ROTY honors, Armstrong has a few other goals in mind for this 2012 season at ThorSport Racing.

    “The main thing is just consistency,” Armstrong said. “I want to go out and reel off top-tens left and right and start getting top-fives.”

    “If we can get wins, I’m definitely going to try for it,” Armstrong continued. “We just want to get more consistent from where we were qualifying last year and even finishing.”

    “That’s what we want to work on, just getting better each and every week.”

    Armstrong is also most grateful to be on a team like ThorSport Racing, particularly with teammates like Johnny Sauter and Matt Crafton.

    “Having those teammates, Crafton and Sauter, is one of the reasons that I went with ThorSport Racing,” Armstrong said. “Starting up this No. 98 team, it’s not like we’re starting up all three teams from scratch. I just keep trying to build off of them.”

    Armstrong advised that, although his mantra will be consistency, he like the rest of his team will be experiencing some change when it comes to their Truck manufacturer, this year switching to Toyota.

    “It’s a change for me as far as in the stock car world,” Armstrong said. “I’ve been with Toyota in the open wheel world where my dad owns a team.”

    “But this will be new for me and for ThorSport,” Armstrong continued. “We’re glad to have them and they’ve been a big help so far.”

    “Hopefully, we can go out and keep getting better with their equipment.”

    While looking forward to an exciting racing season, particularly with the ROTY honors in sight, Armstrong admits that he leads a ‘pretty boring’ life off the track. But he does have one fairly interesting hobby.

    “I’m actually a pretty boring person,” Armstrong said. “But bowling is one of my biggest hobbies right now.”

    “I got out of high school where I used to play basketball and a lot of other sports,” Armstrong continued. “But bowling is something you can go do so that’s been pretty fun.”

    “I think I bowl good enough to be in a league but I haven’t got there yet,” Armstrong said. “I just have fun with it.”

    On reflection, however, Armstrong advised that his new hobby did have some critical factors in common with his racing passion.

    “It’s a really hard sport as far as making sure that you do the same thing over and over again,” Armstrong said. “I guess it’s like hitting the same line over and over each lap.”

    “So, that way it is connected to racing so I feel a whole lot better about going to play it now.”

    While enjoying his off-track hobby, Armstrong remains committed to pursuing his racing passion. The young driver also has progression on his mind when it comes to his career.

    “I definitely do want to be racing on Sundays in the Cup Series eventually,” Armstrong said. “Whether that happens or not, I don’t know.”

    “The main thing is that I have a great opportunity right now in the Truck Series with ThorSport,” Armstrong continued. “So, I just have to make the best of it and go out and try the best I can each and every week.”

    Most of all, Armstrong just cannot wait to get his 2012 season started so that he can begin his quest for the Truck Series Rookie of the Year prize. He will start work early this week as he heads off to Daytona International Speedway.

    “I actually take off Monday and we have a rookie meeting on Tuesday,” Armstrong said. “We have a call on Wednesday and practice on Thursday.”

    “It’s pretty nerve-wracking,” Armstrong continued. “I’ve been there in the ARCA Series so I know pretty much where everything is.”

    “I know the facility but we will actually be racing the same weekend as the Daytona 500 so the atmosphere will be crazy.”

    “But if I could sum up in one word my feelings going into Daytona, it would be excited, especially because this is something new,” Armstrong said. “I am going to be a rookie and the trucks are still really new to me.”

    “So, I’m just looking forward to getting the opportunity to go out and show what the 98 team can do.”

     

  • ARCA: Ty Dillon Crowned Champion, Chris Buescher Wins The Race

    ARCA: Ty Dillon Crowned Champion, Chris Buescher Wins The Race

    Following a wreck on the final lap, Chris Buescher was able to find his way to victory lane for his third victory of the season in the Federated Car Care 200. The victory gave Buescher the ARCA Racing Series Rookie of the Year title, two points over Ty Dillon.

    Dillon finished second in the race and despite not winning the rookie of the year title, he was able to become the youngest champion in ARCA history. The 19-year-old became the first rookie champion since Andy Hillenburg in 1995.

    The race looked to belong to Brennan Poole, who had won atSalemearlier this year in his ARCA debut.Poolehad made the pass on Dillon in the fourth turn on lap 197, after making slight contact side-by-side.

    Poole was able to lead till lap 199, before Dillon bumpedPooleout of the way on lap 200. In an unseen twist, Dillon’s car stalled and Buescher, who was running third at the time, was able to past both Dillon andPoolebefore the lap 200 caution. Dillon was able to get the car back going to keep second behind Buescher.

    Buescher held on to the lead through the green-white-checkered to get his third victory in a row at Toledo Speedway.

    Dillon got second, followed by Chad McCumbee, pole sitter Tom Hessert and Grant Enfinger.

    Ryan Wilson was sixth, followed byClintKing,ChadHackenbracht, Charles Evans Jr., and Jared Marks.

    Poolewould finish the race in 15th.

    The ARCA Racing Series will wrap up the 2011 season with the Championship Awards Banquet at theNorthernKentuckyConvention CenterinCovington,Ky., nearCincinnati, on Saturday, December 10.

  • Dave Blaney’s Son Ryan Plans on Being NASCAR’s Next Generation Ambassador

    Dave Blaney’s Son Ryan Plans on Being NASCAR’s Next Generation Ambassador

    Ryan Blaney is not just NASCAR Cup driver Dave Blaney’s son. The seventeen year old up and coming driver hopes to be NASCAR’s ambassador to the next generation of stock car racing fans.

    [media-credit name=”Photo Credit: Ryan Blaney Racing” align=”alignright” width=”216″][/media-credit]The young Blaney has gotten his career off to a pretty good start, scoring a second place finish in just his second ARCA start at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis this past weekend.

    Blaney, behind the wheel of the No. 15 Seal Wrap Chevrolet for Venturini Motorsports, was good as soon as he arrived at the track. He was also able to hold his own with some of the ARCA Series regulars, including Richard Childress talent and grandson Ty Dillon, who he battled for the win.

    “We were decent off the trailer,” Blaney said. “We qualified second into the race and in the early part of the race, I thought we had the best car.”

    “We would have had some rubbing going on for me to get by Ty,” Blaney said of his battle with eventual race winner, Ty Dillon. “So, I was happy to finish second and see that I can really run with those guys in the series.”

    “Overall it was a pretty good weekend for us.”

    Although still quite young, in fact so young that he cannot yet run many of the tracks on the ARCA Series schedule, Blaney has progressed steadily up the racing ranks. He started racing quarter midgets at the age of eight and then moved up to Bandeleros, Legends and Late Models.

    But this year, with his father’s advice and counsel, young Ryan decided to do something different and move to a heavier car in preparation for the next step in his career.

    “Me and my dad were talking and saying that we think it’s time to move up and try to get into heavier cars,” Blaney said. “He really wanted to prepare me.”

    “The worst thing that can happen is to jump in a car when you’re not ready and look bad,” Blaney continued. “We made sure that I had enough experience to really go out there and look good. I think we timed it just right.”

    “Next year I’m hoping to run a Truck and being full-time in a Truck would be awesome,” Blaney said. “If not, we will try some Truck and ARCA races to get as much experience as I can.

    “This is really what I want to do and what I have a passion for,” Blaney continued. “My dad has put so much time and money into me that I’d be disappointed in myself if I didn’t make it worth it.”

    “And I’m trying my very hardest to make it and pay him off some day.”

    Does the young driver feel pressure, especially in light of his father’s Cup career? Not on your life according to Ryan Blaney.

    “I don’t really feel pressure at all,” Blaney said. “If anything, it motivates me even more to be like him and actually try to be better than him.”

    “He’s never pushed me and he’s always making sure that I’m sure about it,” Blaney said. “I accept the challenge of trying to be like him and get where’s he’s at and what he’s accomplished.”

    Not only does Ryan Blaney strive to follow in his father’s footsteps, but he readily admits that his dad is indeed his racing hero.

    “He is my main racing hero,” Blaney said of his dad. “He grew up on dirt and that’s what he lived for over 30 years and made a career out of that.”

    “Then he jumped into NASCAR and had a career in that,” Blaney continued. “That’s what’s really special to me and impressive to me.”

    As proud as Ryan is of his dad, the feeling is more than reciprocated by his proud papa. But dad Dave said, with a chuckle, that his son probably said those things “because he’s scared of me.”

    “He’s been doing really well,” Dave Blaney said of son. “This year we’ve gotten him in a couple of K&N Series races and he ran well. And he’s run real well in his two ARCA starts.”

    “Ryan’s coming along real well,” Blaney continued. “He’s only seventeen years old so he’s got lots of time.”

    “He might actually be better than me now.”

    As much as he wants to follow in his dad’s tire tracks, Ryan Blaney has another real ambition of his own. He wants to also attract the next generation to the sport of NASCAR that he loves so much.

    “A lot of kids at school follow me and it’s cool how they’ve turned into race fans,” Blaney, who is going into his senior year in high school, said. “Last year, they didn’t know anything about racing and now they’re asking me how I did at the track.”

    “They even know more about my stats than I do,” Blaney continued. “It’s cool how I have friends that can relate to me and not talk just about football.”

    “I’m a seventeen year old that is trying to come up through the ranks,” Blaney said. “And I hope I am an ambassador for the next generation of NASCAR fans.”

  • Max Gresham and Ty Dillon Make Up Front Row For Pennsylvania ARCA 125

    Max Gresham and Ty Dillon Make Up Front Row For Pennsylvania ARCA 125

    Max Gresham captured the pole on Friday for the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards Pennsylvania ARCA 125 at Pocono  Raceway with a lap of 53.535 seconds.

    This marks the second Meanards Pole Award presented by Ansell for the 18-year old Georgia driver of the No. 25 World Crown 300 at Gresham Motorsports Park Toyota in 10 career starts. It also marks the third pole for Venturini Motorsports at Pocono in the past two years as Mikey Kile won the pole last June while Brennan Poole won the pole this June. Venturini Motorsports has won the Menards Pole Award now four times this year with four different drivers: Josh Richards, Poole, Ryan Blaney and now Gresham.

    “It was a dandy of a lap,” Gresham said. “Everything just lined up perfectly, and (Venturini Motorsports general manager) Billy (Venturini) had the car just right and we had the clouds perfect. The Toyota Camry was on a rail and I drove it for everything it had. Billy’s really happy with it right now. Hopefully, the car’s as good tomorrow as it is right now. I’m looking forward to having a good run tomorrow.”

    The car that Gresham is driving is the same car that he drove to a second-place finish earlier this year at Michigan International Speedway in June, when he got passed on the last lap by rookie Ty Dillon.

    “Michigan was 100 laps, and that’s 75 more miles – a two-pit stop race,” he said. “This one’s only one, so you only have one chance to get the car right if you need adjustments so it makes it a little more difficult. I’ve got to make sure I relay all of the info I need to Billy, and make sure I tell him everything I need for the race and throughout the race, so when we make our one pit stop, we’ll be ready.”

    Dillon would qualify second after holding the provisional pole most of the session, 0.011 seconds off of his third consecutive pole in the series.

    “I guess when it’s that close, it’s not too bad of a heartbreaker,” the driver of the No. 41 RCR/CIPT Chevrolet said. “Our car’s really fast, so this doesn’t discourage me much. (Venturini) has really fast equipment too, and they were one of the fastest cars here last time. We brought a brand new car, which I believe is twice as fast as the car we had here last time.

    “We were able to lead laps and run up front the whole time last time, so we ought to be able to lead all the laps. I’m so confident in this race car. I can’t thank (crew chief Scott) “Flash” (Naset) and all the guys enough and I’m just so happy for the team.”

    With the qualifying points in the books, Dillon extends his points lead over nine-time series champion Frank Kimmel to 370 points. Kimmel qualified the No. 44 Ansell/Menards Ford in 11th.

    Casey Roderick, making his first start with Randy Hill Racing, qualified third (53.967 seconds), followed by Chris Buescher and Ryan Wilson. Gresham’s teammate Kyle Fowler would qualify sixth, followed by  Tim George Jr., Grant Enfinger, Chad McCumbee, and Tom Hessert comprise the remainder of the top 10.

    The Pennsylvania ARCA 125 begins at 3 p.m. tomorrow, with live television coverage airing on SPEED. ARCARacing.com will feature live timing and scoring coverage of the 50-lap, 125-mile race, which will be the 53rd for the ARCA Racing Series on Pocono’s 2.5-mile triangle.

    2011 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards Event #13
    Pocono Raceway, Long Pond Pennsylvania, 8-6-11
    Pennsylvania ARCA 125
    August 5, 2011 / 6:48 PM
    POS NO DRIVER/HOMETOWN TIME SPEED
    1 25 Max Gresham/Griffin GA 53.535 168.114
    2 41 Ty Dillon/Lewisville NC 53.546 168.080
    3 08 Casey Roderick/Lawrenceville GA 53.967 166.769
    4 17 Chris Buescher/Prosper TX 54.242 165.923
    5 32 Ryan Wilson/Randleman NC 54.290 165.776
    6 55 Kyle Fowler/Smyrna GA 54.331 165.651
    7 31 Tim George Jr./New York NY 54.411 165.408
    8 36 Grant Enfinger/Fairhope AL 54.509 165.110
    9 1 Chad McCumbee/Holden Beach NC 54.629 164.748
    10 52 Tom Hessert/Cherry Hill NJ 54.692 164.558
    11 44 Frank Kimmel/Clarksville IN 54.749 164.387
    12 58 Chad Hackenbracht/New Philadelphia OH 54.761 164.351
    13 82 Sean Corr/Goshen NY 55.184 163.091
    14 6 Robb Brent/Shelby Township MI 55.517 162.113
    15 15 John Blankenship/Knoxville TN 55.613 161.833
    16 35 Tom Berte/New Berlin WI 55.754 161.423
    17 68 Will Kimmel/Sellersburg IN 55.803 161.282
    18 59 Buster Graham/Lafayette LA 56.027 160.637
    19 57 George Cushman/Waterville NY 56.249 160.003
    20 43 Kyle Martel/Lebanon PA 56.431 159.487
    21 5 Bobby Gerhart/Lebanon PA 56.502 159.286
    22 7 Brandon Kidd/Manlius NY 57.015 157.853
    23 03 Kory Rabenold/Slatington PA 57.058 157.734
    24 3 Brent Brevak/Ashland WI 57.113 157.582
    25 63 Milka Duno/Caracas Venezuela 57.451 156.655
    26 23 Nick Igdalsky/Long Pond PA 57.539 156.416
    27 12 Maryeve Dufault/Sorel Quebec 57.780 155.763
    28 50 Steve Fox/Hazleton PA 58.192 154.660
    29 07 Brian Kaltreider/Reading PA 58.413 154.075
    30 28 Ron Cox/Soddy Daisy TN 58.799 153.064
    31 34 Darrell Basham/Henryville IN 59.091 152.307
    32 75 Benny Chastain/Tallahassee FL 59.326 151.704
    33 11 Ed Pompa/Ballston Spa NY Provisional
    34 48 James Hylton/Inman SC Provisional
    35 10 Rick Clifton/Circleville OH Provisional
    36 06 Don Thompson/Carlisle PA Provisional
    37 26 Brad Smith/Shelby Township MI Provisional
    38 94 Con Nicolopoulos/Columbus MI Provisional
    39 69 Brent Cross/Cortland NY Provisional
    40 29 Rob Jones/Bowie MD Provisional
    41 95 Michael Leavine/Bullard TX Provisional

  • 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 Messina Wildlife Animal Stopper 150: Ty Dillon Wins and More

    A day after graduating from high school, Ty Dillon won the Messina Wildlife Animal Stopper 150 at Chicagoland Speedway for the fifth win of his ARCA career that is only eight starts old.

    “That was our game plan, to stay patient all day,” Dillon said, as according to the ARCA Racing Network. “We came in that second or third stop, and we were really loose. Something was wrong with our left rear tire; it never gained any pressure or anything. I told (the crew) we were going to have to come in and pit, because we can’t win the race like this. Once we got fresh tires and got everything back to where it was supposed to, we came back through the field. By then, (Hackenbracht) was so far out front and it was his race. 

    “Unfortunately, that happened to him, but the caution helped us and put us where we needed to be. We had a really fast car.”

    For crew chief Scott Naset, it was an early birthday present as he turns 40 on Tuesday, though no surprise as he won at Chicagoland with Kevin Harvick in 2001 and 2002.

    “It’s Flash’s [Naset’s] birthday this week, so I’m just really happy for these guys,” Dillon said.

    The race looked to be Chad Hackenbracht’s as he had a nine-second lead on Dillon, though he blew a tire with 15 laps to go ending his shot at the end.

    “I told the guys probably 10 laps into us leading the race, ‘Thanks for this car. It’s a rocket ship,’” Hackenbracht, who would be scored 20th, said. “It really was. We had a nine-second lead when the tire blew, and I had no warning. I may have run over something. It sounded like it was in the center of the car so I didn’t think about it at all. I felt like we had it in the bag, almost.”

    For the family owned team of CGH Motorsports, it could have been the story of the year as they were the quickest car in practice and looked to be a strong contender for the day.

    Chris Buescher finished second, followed by two-time World of Outlaws Late Model Series champion Josh Richards, who was making his seventh start in the series with Venturini Motorsports.

    “We struggled for raw speed all weekend, but Wayne Carroll – the crew chief – and all our guys worked so hard on this thing,” McCumbee said. “They weren’t the least bit concerned that we weren’t going to be good on a long run; we were. Our ModSpace Ford was good. I felt we were a race-winning contender, especially on the first green flag run. We adjusted on it a bit…but we just needed laps. Those short runs were not what our car wanted, but I’ll tell you what: two top-fives in a row. That’s big for our Andy Belmont Racing team.”

    Chad McCumbee, meanwhile, kept up his consistency, as he has so far this season, with a fourth-place finish.

    “We knew the track was going to change when the lights came on,” Richards said. “We were really free early. I had to run the top to just keep up as much as possible. We made some changes there and got definitely a lot better, but that’s the first time I’ve ever run the top at an asphalt track, so I got a lot of experience and got to feel the air a little bit. The Venturini (Motorsports) guys did an awesome job.”

    Last week’s winner Andrew Ranger rounded out the top five, followed by Tom Hessert, Frank Kimmel, Grant Enfinger, Brent Brevak and Maryeve Dufault. Stefan Rzesnoiecky was 11th in his ARCA debut.

    Next up for the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards is the first of two trips to Pocono Raceway for the running of the Pocono ARCA 200, round seven of 19 on the 2011 schedule.

  • ARCA: Ty Dillon Spins Frank Kimmel For Win in Menards 200

    Frank Kimmel looked to have the win in hand in the Menards 200 at Toledo Speedway, though it all got thrown away as Ty Dillon spun Kimmel on the last lap to take the win.

    “It was an awesome day,” Dillon said. “As soon as we unloaded, I felt like we had the fastest car for sure. We even cut short our practice, and I don’t like to do that, but we knew we had the fastest car. Our pit crew did awesome. I went in fifth and came out second. We came in, tightened up, and she took off.”

    Dillon was met in victory lane by Kimmel, who expressed his displeasure in taking the checkered flag from Dillon’s hand and throwing it to the ground.

    “I was approaching behind him for a long time there, probably 40 or 50 laps,” Dillon said. “I was being as patient as I can. We came up on some lapped cars, and he was starting to get loose; I was getting in deeper and deeper. My car was getting better and better.

    “I hate that it happened that way. I wrecked him. It was my fault, but it’s racing. Stuff like that happens. I really look up to Frank and he’s helped me out a lot this year. Hopefully, we can get over this and everything will be alright.”

    Dillon got the fourth win of his career while the spin resulted in Kimmel finishing ninth.

    “I wasn’t blocking or doing anything; I was just running my lap,” Kimmel said. “He just hit me wherever he could and then he got me in the left rear corner and ran me around. It’s just frustrating as heck. You race so hard, and you race clean, and we didn’t have a scratch on the car all day.

    “I just asked him, ‘How can you celebrate a win like that?’ It’ll come back. It’s a long season, and we have to race all year.”

    In the aftermath, Enfinger finished second.

    “We had a great car all weekend,” Enfinger said. “(Car chief) Kelly Kovski and (team owner) Mike Allgaier, I can’t thank those guys enough for letting me drive their car. It’s definitely one of the best cars I’ve driven. It was a great run. The pit crew’s been great all year; that’s definitely not been our weak point, but they just happened to leave a lug nut loose and we had to come back down pit road and that hurt us a little bit.

    Matt Merrell finished third, followed by Tim George Jr., Chris Buescher, John Stancil, CHad McCumbee, Armstrong, Kimmel and Kenzi Ruston.

    With qualifying rained out, Milka Duno was able to start on the pole as she holds the points in the owner’s standings from Patrick Sheltra’s championship run last year.

    The race started with 20 laps under caution due to rain before the race and impending rain coming. Duno dropped back at the start, giving the lead to Kimmel.

    Once the green flag was shown on lap 21, Kimmel held for a lap before Kenzi Ruston, who was making her first ARCA start with Venturini Motorsports, took the lead.

    The first caution came at lap 26 for Todd Bowsher’s spin, who was subbing for Bryan Silas.

    The second caution came out on lap 37 for a multi-car crash which started when Ruston spun out of the lead in turn two. Behind her while trying to slow down and avoid, Tom Hessert, Tim George Jr. and Chris Buescher made contact. With Ruston spinning, Kimmel took the lead back.

    The third caution came out at lap 58, when Buescher and Maryeve Dufault made contact with Tim Cowen hitting Dufault. At this time, Ruston and Matt Crafton pitted to try to get a jump on strategy.

    The restart came on lap 67, and then 11 laps later, Enfinger took the lead while Dillon cracked the top five for the first time.

    On lap 110, the caution came out as Cowen spun, which promoted another round of pit stops. The leaders pitted, while Crafton and Ruston stayed out to take positions first and second. Kimmel and Dillon came off pit road first so they restarted third and fourth.

    On lap 120, the fifth caution came out when Levi Youster spun, in which on the restart, Kimmel was able to take the lead from Crafton. Crafton had to make an unscheduled pit stop at lap 135 due to a left front tre, while Enfinger also made an unscheduled stop for a loose lugnut. The unscheduled pit stop for Crafton relegated him to an 18th place finish.

    Milka Duno spun on lap 180, setting up a 20-lap race to the finish. On the restart, Kimmel got the advantage on the field, though Dillon slowly chipped back into the lead, making the final lap bump-and-run.

    The ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards returns to action Sunday, May 22, in the ModSpace 150 at New Jersey Motorsports Park. The race is the only road course event of the season for the ARCA Racing Series.