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Scroll down to view past ARCA Racing Series news and rumors.

August 2015

  • Lira Motorsports annouces Salem drivers; four cars: Lira Motorsports announced that they would field four cars for the upcoming Federated Car Care Fall Classic 200 at Salem Speedway. The team officially announced their driver line-up today, and it includes two drivers new to the team. Twenty-one year old racer Brandon Lynn will be making his debut at the high-banked Indiana oval track. Todd Gilliland, the son of NASCAR driver David Gilliland, will be making his third series start, and his first with Lira Motorsports. Returning to the team for his sixth career start will be Blake Jones. Filling out the four car effort is the team’s full-time driver, David Levine. Car numbers for the drivers will be as follows: Brandon Lynn #36, Todd Gilliland #38, Blake Jones #58 and David Levine #59. Sponsor announcements, as well as additional news and notes for each driver, will be released during the week before the race. (In part from Lira Motorsports PR) (08-28-15)
  • Musselman’s increases sponsorship of Josh Williams: Knouse Foods Inc. and its Musselman’s Applesauce brand have increased their partnership with Josh Williams. Musselman’s BIG CUP brand first joined Josh Williams Motorsports in June of this year and the partnership has grown since day one. “Musselman’s is excited to extend our partnership with Josh Williams,” said Kevin Blacker, Assistant Director of Marketing for Musselman’s. “Josh and his family-owned team have fit right in with our Musselman’s family and we’ve had the pleasure of getting to know each other on a personal level. With their visits to our plants and other outreach events, including his nationwide Children’s Hospital Tours, Josh Williams is a perfect fit to represent our brand both on and off the track.” The increased partnership will showcase Musselman’s BIG CUP brand as the primary sponsor at the upcoming events at Kentucky Speedway and Kansas Speedway. The partnership will also increase its current associate package for the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds and Salem Speedway events. (In part from Josh Williams Motorsports PR) (08-28-15)
  • >Frankie Kimmel to drive for Venturini Motorsports at Salem: Frank Kimmel II is entered in a second Venturini Motorsports machine [for the Federated Car Care Fall Classic at Salem Speedway]. “I’m not sure who came up with the plan or how it all came up, but one night my dad called me and mentioned that Billy (Venturini) wanted to run me at Salem,” Kimmel II said. “I did a start and park for them in the spring, but we’re coming to race this time. My dad started talking to me about it back in May…then in mid-June Billy said, ‘let’s put something together,’ and we’ve been working toward it ever since.” Kimmel II is slated to drive the No. 55 Venturini Motorsports Toyota, the same car that Dominic Ursetta finished third in at Salem back in late April. (In part from ARCARacing.com) (08-26-15)
  • Mason Mitchell Motorsports expanding in 2016: Mason Mitchell Motorsports announced recently that it will expand their race program for the 2016 season to field two full-time teams in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards as well as add up to two teams in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series. “Our team has come a long way since opening our shop in November, 2013,” said team owner Mason Mitchell. “I am really looking forward to beginning this next step with everyone at MMM.” (In part from ARCARacing.com) (08-26-15)
  • Outstanding warrants for owners of Carter 2 Motorsports UPDATE Arrests made: Roger and Dana Carter, owners of Carter 2 Motorsports, both have outstanding arrest warrants in North Carolina. Anyone with information on their location are encouraged to call the Randolph County Sherriff's Department at (336) 318-6699 for Roger and the Rowan County Sherriff's Department at (704) 216-8700 for Dana. (08-22-15)
    UPDATE: Roger Carter and Dana Royal "Carter" were arrested on Sunday, August 23rd. Roger Carter's charges included identity theft and forgery, while Dana was charged with felony parole violation. (Charlotte-Mugshot.com) (08-26-15) 
  • 32 cars entered for Springfield: Thirty-two cars are entered for Sunday's race at Illinois State Fairgrounds. Entries include #5 Mark Littleton, #10 Ed Pompa, #16 Kelly Kovski, #22 Kyle Weatherman, #24 Ryan Unzicker, #25 Frank Kimmel, #27 AJ Fike, #34 Mike Basham, #52 Hunter Baize, #55 Matt Tifft, #56 BJ Deal, #58 Tyler Dippel, #81 Kevin Campbell, and #89 Brad Dubil. The race begins at 1:30 PM EST. Full Entry List (08-22-15)
  • Tyler Dippel joins Lira Motorsports for dirt races: Fifteen-year old dirt modified driver Tyler Dippel will be making his ARCA Racing Series debut behind the wheel for Lira Motorsports in the Allen Crowe 100 this weekend. The young driver from Wallkill, New York brings years of dirt racing success to the one-mile clay oval at the Illinois State Fairgrounds. “Although I’m used to racing on dirt, this will be a totally new experience for me and I’m really excited to get behind the wheel of the Lira Motorsports ARCA car,” Dippel stated. “It seems surreal, but I know as soon as I get in the car all of that will change. I’m so grateful to Mr. Lira for giving me this awesome opportunity to join his team for these races and to work with him and his team for my ARCA debut,” Dippel concluded. (In part from Lira Motorsports PR) (08-22-15)
  • Richard Hauck placed on probation after Berlin: ARCA Racing Series driver Richard Hauck has been placed on driving probation for the remainder of the 2015 season based on an incident in the race August 8 at Berlin Raceway. The penalty was issued as a result of inconsistency in maintaining minimum speed, inconsistency in following the procedure of holding the lower line when being overtaken by faster cars and not reporting to pit road to restore effective two-way radio communication between the driver and spotter. (In part from ARCARacing.com) (08-22-15)
  • Matt Tifft to drive for Venturini Motorsports at Springfield: Matt Tifft will make his debut on the ARCA dirt tracks next week when the ARCA Racing Series hits the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield, Ill. Tifft will drive the No. 55 entry for Venturini Motorsports. Tifft has split up his 2015 season between racing in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and ARCA. He’s made seven truck starts this season and seven ARCA starts, all for Ken Schrader Racing. His season best is a second-place finish at Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville. It will be his first ARCA race for Venturini Motorsports. Tifft’s Springfield teammate will be Frank Kimmel in the No. 25 Ansell-Menards Toyota. Ken Schrader will be racing in the No. 52 Federated Auto Parts car at Springfield. (In part from ARCARacing.com) (08-15-15)
  • Fox Motorsports fined after Pocono: Based on post-race actions following the August 1 ModSpace 125 at Pocono Raceway, the Fox Motorsports 3 #86 team has been penalized for violating the ARCA Procedure and Timelines procedure, which states in part, “Anyone removing issued tapered spacer and gaskets other than an ARCA Official will be fined.” Team crew chief Derrike Cope has been fined $250 as a result of the violation. (ARCARacing.com) (08-15-15)
  • 28 cars on Berlin entry list UPDATE: Twenty-three cars are currently entered for Saturday night's race at Berlin Raceway. Entries include #5 Clair Zimmerman, #10 Ed Pompa, #25 Frank Kimmel, #27 AJ Fike, #29 Brian Keselowski, #52 Hunter Baize, and #58 Blake Jones. Additional entries are expected to be added later in the week. Preliminary Entry List (08-04-15)
    UPDATE: Twenty-eight cars are now entered for this weekend's race. (08-06-15)
  • Mason Mitchell joins Venturini Motorsports for Berlin: Mason Mitchell will join Venturini Motorsports for a one-race effort on Saturday, August 8th in the Federated Auto Parts 200 at Berlin Raceway. Mitchell, the 2014 ARCA Champion and 2-time series winner, will [be] behind the wheel of [the] No. 55 J&S AG Services machine. “My plan at the beginning of the season was to mainly concentrate on the development of the 98 team – but also drive in as many races as sponsorship would allow,” said Mitchell. “We’ve had a lot of success across the board as a team this year. When the sponsorship for Berlin presented itself I wanted to keep the focus on the 98. I felt the best way to do this was seek out an opportunity – and VMS had an opening for Berlin. The Venturini group has been stiff competition for years, but also a team I respect and know would represent my sponsor well in this type of situation.” (In part from Venturini Motorsports PR) (08-06-15)
  • Blake Jones returns to Lira Motorsports for Berlin: Blake Jones is returning to Lira Motorsports this weekend for his next start in the ARCA Racing Series. This will be the second time this year that the Talladega race winner has teamed up with Lira Motorsports. The 18-year-old will pilot the number 58 Ford at Berlin Raceway on Saturday, August 8th. Asphalt Services of TN and the Blake Jones Racing Center will return as primary sponsors. (In part from Lira Motorsports PR) (08-04-15)
  • ESP Motorsports forms; to attempt select 2016 races: Gene Paul, a current SCCA stock car road racer, recently organized ESP Motorsports based in Tarpon Springs, Florida to participate in selected ARCA events beginning with the Daytona test days this winter. Gene says, "I participated in last year's test and I was hooked. I waited too long to do this. We got a late start to secure race sponsorship, but now we are full steam ahead with two speedway cars in the shop and we will be ready to go!" Gene is a longtime racing veteran, racing stock cars on road courses and having raced sprint cars on pavement, as well as dirt ovals. He is also experienced in motorsports marketing and corporate/brand promotion. (In part from ESP Motorsports PR) (08-04-15)
  • Thomas Praytor, Max Force use Race 101's backup at Pocono: The DK-LOK Team rolled into Pocono looking to capitalize on a complete set of notes from a solid Spring race and a fresh motor. In the first lap of practice the new motor lost oil pressure and it looked like Thomas Praytor and his DK-LOK Ford were headed back to Mobile, Alabama. Without any options Sarah Cornett-Ching and her Race 101 crew came to the rescue letting the Moose use their back up car to stay alive in the points race. "Our fresh motor lost oil pressure on the first lap, I shut it off and my heart just sank. Without our big hauler we aren't able to carry many spares and certainly not a motor. We looked around for a motor and almost everyone there was running the new motor. We were running out of options when Sarah (Cornett-Ching) found out we were having problems and she offered us her back up car" [said Praytor]. The Race 101 Team unloaded their back up and the DK-LOK team finished up the final preparations and Praytor even made qualifying. Because of ARCA rules regarding changing cars the Moose changed numbers on the 2 to No. 12. (In part from Max Force Racing PR) (08-04-15)