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

April 2019

  • Todd Gilliland wins the General Tire 200 at Talladega: Todd Gilliland  (No. 4 Frontline Enterprises Toyota) earned his second career ARCA Menards Series victory in Friday’s General Tire 200 at Talladega Superspeedway. Gilliland, who is a full-time driver in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series for Kyle Busch Motorsports, took the lead after the first caution period of the race on lap 43 and led to the checkered. "It’s been a long time coming," Gilliland said. "We won in our first start at Toledo in 2015 and it seems like we’ve been so close every time we’ve raced in ARCA since then but something would jump up and keep us out of victory lane. We were finally able to get the weight off our shoulders here today. It’s a huge relief and I think it’s exactly what I needed to get my confidence up over on the Truck side too." Gilliland held off a last lap charge from second-place finisher Riley Herbst (No. 18 Monster Energy/ORCA Coolers/Terrible Herbst/Advance Auto Parts Toyota) and third-place finisher Brandon Lynn (No. 20 Carolina Excavation & Grading Toyota). Full Results (In part from ARCARacing.com) (04-27-19)
  • Cole Glasson competing at Charlotte for Win-Tron Racing: After sitting out the first portion of the season to focus on his education, Cole Glasson is ready to get back in a race car. The 18-year-old, who has maintained a 4.0 GPA at Liberty University, will make his second ARCA Menards Series start on May 23 at Charlotte Motor Speedway driving for Win-Tron Racing. His race car will carry support from Sparrow Ranch on the Island and AM Technical Solutions. "I’ve been busy focusing on my education, but I’m excited to get back in a race car to compete at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May," said Glasson. "With summer coming up I knew I wanted to get back to racing, so I can’t thank Kevin Cywinski and Win-Tron Racing enough for having me back for another race." Between now and his second ARCA start Glasson is going to remain busy. He still has a few weeks left of school before summer vacation starts. Once he’s out of school for the summer he’ll rejoin Lee Faulk Racing and Development, the same team that he has raced Late Models for in years past, for a test before he competes at Hickory Motor Speedway on May 11. (In part from McCallister Precision Marketing) (04-24-19)
  • Ed Pompa back at Talladega; carrying Clemson colors: Ed Pompa will be returning to competition at Talladega Superspeedway on April 26. He will (again) be piloting a Clemson Tigers tribute car, in honor of the 2018 National Football Champions. Flashback to 2017, when Ed raced a Clemson Tigers tribute car at both Daytona and Talladega, after Clemson won the 2016 National Football Championship. “My son is a 2012 Clemson graduate, so I decided to do a tribute car. In 2017, the Clemson car received amazing response from the fans. Alabama fans at Talladega weren’t quite as supportive, as would be expected, but we definitely got their attention! This January, when Clemson defeated Alabama to win the National Football Championship, I knew I had to do this again. No doubt about it. I texted Andy (Hillenburg) the day after the game and let him know my plan. Andy already had 3 drivers lined up for Daytona this year, so I decided to wait until Talladega to debut the ‘Clemson car’, and have tried to keep it under wraps until now, working out all the details. Frontline Designs has done a phenomenal job with the design. When I contacted Rick from Frontline about doing a Clemson tribute car, he jumped at the opportunity. He’s a Clemson fan also. Rick’s first design was absolutely incredible. IMGCL, which handles collegiate licensing rights for Clemson, said due to licensing and copyright rules we couldn’t use it, so Rick went back to work and came up with the current design. IMGCL has granted me a licensing agreement to use the design, and Lionel has already contacted me about the possibility of doing die-casts.” (In part from Fast Track Racing PR) (04-24-19)
  • Thomas Praytor making ARCA season debut at Talladega: After making 105 consecutive ARCA starts over 6 seasons Thomas “Moose” Praytor is just days away from returning to competition at Talladega Superspeedway after a year-long sabbatical. “The word got out a few weeks ago we were coming back at Talladega and the response has been incredible,” said Praytor. “Supporters have been calling, texting and messaging me about Talladega, it’s a great feeling.” Sponsors already signed on for Talladega- Golden Flake, Wade Distributors, Rettigs Auto Body, APS-Automotive Painters Supply, Dueitt’s Battery Supply, Airgas, Judy’s Place, Ainsworth Racing, Greer’s Food Market and American Legion Post 88. As has become a tradition for Praytor at Talladega, the Alabama Institute of the Deaf and Blind (AIDB) will be on the hood for the General Tire 200 with the Mobile, Alabama Team hosting students on race day. “We really look forward to having the kids from AIDB at the track, their enthusiasm and energy is incredible. AIDB is an incredible place and we are really proud to be a part of their team.” (In part from Max Force Racing PR) (04-24-19)
  • DGR-Crosley fielding two cars at Talladega: DGR-Crosley will field two entries in the upcoming General Tire 200 at Talladega Superspeedway on April 26th. The team will welcome back Natalie Decker, who will be behind the wheel of the No. 54 Toyota. Additionally, Todd Gilliland will return driving the No. 4 Toyota. Decker and Gilliland both competed in the season opening Daytona race for the team, where they finished 6th and 2nd respectively. (04-17-19)
  • Christian Eckes not competing at Salem due to illness; Burton in STATEMENT: After falling ill driver Christian Eckes will be sidelined for today’s ARCA Racing event at Salem Speedway. Harrison Burton will race in relief driving the No. 15 JBLaudio Camry. Further details regarding Eckes’ condition will be provided at a later time. (In part from Venturini Motorsports Twitter) (04-14-19)
    TEAM STATEMENT: Christian Eckes, eighteen-year old driver for Venturini Motorsports, remains hospitalized after being forced to withdrawal from yesterday's ARCA Menards Series event at Salem Speedway because of a small esophageal tear in his trachea as a result of complications due to food poisoning. Eckes became ill following Saturday's on-track activities and was admitted to the hospital where he continues to receive treatment for a bacterial infection. Expected to make a full recovery, Eckes in in good spirits and will resume full time racing duties as soon as being released from doctors' care later in the week. (Venturini Motorsports Twitter) (04-15-19)
  • Michael Self wins rain-shortened Kentuckiana Ford Dealers 200: Michael Self (No. 25 Sinclair Lubricants Toyota) scored his second consecutive ARCA Menards Series victory in Sunday’s rain-shortened Kentuckiana Ford Dealers 200 at Salem Speedway. Self started fourth, took the lead at lap 27 and from there he dominated until Mother Nature intervened at lap 98. "I owe all of this to my Venturini Motorsports guys," Self said in a makeshift victory celebration. "We knew yesterday we were going to have a good racecar. We didn’t have a lot of qualifying speed but we knew once the race started, especially if it was cool and cloudy, that we’d be good." Self led handily over the rest of the field and with a long green flag run to open the race, he had lapped up to the third position. The first caution of the day waved at lap 89 when Ty Gibbs (No. 18 Monster Energy/Terrible Herbst/ORCA Coolers/Advance Auto Parts Toyota) spun in turn two. With potential weather off in the distance, there was a decision to be made whether or not to hit pit road. "There was no way we weren’t coming at that point," Self said. "We had lapped up to third so we knew even if no one else came we would be third at worst. Tires make such a big deal here that even if we had just a few laps under green we knew we’d get back to the front pretty quickly." Full Results (In part from ARCARacing.com) (04-14-19)
  • Carson Hocevar wins Salem Speedway pole: Carson Hocevar (No. 28 Chevrolet) sped to the General Tire Pole for Sunday’s ARCA Menards Series Kentuckiana Ford Dealers ARCA 200 at Salem Speedway. Hocevar turned a fast lap of 17.073 seconds around the high-banked 0.555 mile oval located in the hills of southern Indiana, about half an hour north of Louisville. Hocevar, from Portage, Michigan, was recently signed to the Driver’s Edge Development program, spearheaded by Lorin Ranier for GMS Racing and JR Motorsports. He also earned the General Tire Pole Award last season at his home track, Berlin Raceway, in Marne, Michigan. "It’s great to finally get to qualify and get a pole," he said. "Last year we got the pole at Berlin but that race was rained out and we set the fast lap in practice so we got the pole. It’s awesome to get the pole in qualifying. My KBR Development guys gave me a great car. There’s a big difference in two laps and 200." Full Lineup (In part from ARCARacing.com) (04-13-19)
  • Our Motorsports expanding; to compete at Talladega: If you’ve kept up with the journey of Our Motorsports, Chris Our, and Andy Seuss you’ve seen the growth. You’ve seen the success. You’ve seen the sacrifice, but most importantly, you’ve seen the hard work. Though the 2019 race season has begun, it is far from over. Our Motorsports has big plans for the rest of the year, as well as leading up to 2020. "It’s exciting that Chris is expanding and investing in the team. To have his trust and faith to grow, adding cars and equipment is something that gives me confidence we are going on the right direction" says Seuss. This February we saw the expansion in the ARCA [Menards] Series, with the team fielding two cars at Daytona International Speedway, where both the 02 and 09 teams topped speed charts throughout Speedweeks. Seuss added “every time we race we get better, so to have two teams out there to help grow and share information shows Chris’s commitment to get better. I know it already helped Our Motorsports and me as a driver to have someone to share experiences and information with. We hope to add more races to the Our Motorsports schedule, which would be a great opportunity for any racer looking to prove their skill to the world and climb the racing ladder.” With the addition of more equipment, comes available seats, and available races. The team is looking to add drivers to compete in the 2019 season. Next up for Our Motorsports will be two car effort to take on Talladega Superspeedway. (In part from Our Motorsports PR) (04-09-19)
  • Madison International Speedway secures race sponsorship: Southeastern Mills, Madison International Speedway and the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) announced that Shore Lunch will sponsor the ARCA Menards Series annual stop at Wisconsin’s Fastest Half-Mile Oval – Madison International Speedway early this summer. The ARCA Menards Series Shore Lunch 200 is scheduled for Friday night, June 14 at 9 pm ET/8 pm CT. "When we first learned that ARCA and Menards were going to bring Shore Lunch to Madison International Speedway to be the ARCA race event sponsor, we were quite excited,” commented Gregg McKarns, who along with his wife Angie own and promote the high-banked paper-clip shaped oval in Oregon, Wisconsin, just south of the state’s capitol city of Madison. “A lot of our fans are outdoors people and sportsman. People who go fishing. And trust me, they know what Shore Lunch is!” (In part from ARCARacing.com) (04-09-19)
  • Kaden Honeycutt to run four more ARCA races; NASCAR truck race: Kaden Honeycutt, the 15 year-old protege of NASCAR Cup series driver Chris Buescher, will compete in four more ARCA races this season for his family owned team. Honeycutt will enter events at Nashville, Toledo, Gateway, and Iowa. The Willow Park, Texas driver last raced at Pensacola in March, finishing 9th after leading several laps late in the race. Pending NASCAR approval, Honeycutt also plans to make his debut in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series with the intention of running more truck events in 2020. (04-04-19)