archives

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

September 2019

  • Scott Melton running Lucas Oil and Kansas; back at Daytona test: Scott Melton, who is competing in his second partial ARCA Menards Series season, will race at Lucas Oil and Kansas in October to close out the year. The Michigan driver is currently 18th in driver points despite not competing in 10 races. While Melton's 2020 plans have not been announced, he will be back at the Daytona open test in January with the Kimmel Racing team. (09-28-19)
  • Cole Glasson stepping away from racing effective immediately: Late model and ARCA Menards Series competitor Cole Glasson has made the decision to step away from racing, effective immediately. Glasson, a 19-year-old sophomore at Liberty University pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering, made the decision to step away from racing to focus on his education. The Texas native said that despite having the skills necessary to compete at a high level in a race car, he lacked the passion he felt was necessary to race at that level. It is for that reason he has chosen to step away from racing. "On the surface and at the race track, it may have seemed that this passion to race was there, but I just did a good job at making it seem that way," Glasson said. "Honestly, I felt like every single time I stepped on the race track, I would put on a mask that would tell everyone I had the passion to do this. But I didn’t. I felt that I was racing because everyone thought I wanted to race. Of course, I still wanted to live out my faith at the race track and have everyone see Christ in me by the way I carried myself, but I just couldn’t find the passion for racing that every professional race car driver possesses." Glasson expressed a great deal of gratitude to everyone that supported him though the years as he pursued a career in racing, including his family and supporters, the race teams and sponsors. "[I am thankful] for the opportunity I had to drive an ARCA car for Win-Tron Racing. The experience I got driving these cars at almost 200 mph is something that I will never forget." (In part from McCallister Precision Marketing PR) (09-27-19)
  • Josh White joins Vizion Motorsports for 2020 season: West Virginia's Josh White has joined Vizion Motorsports for the 2020 ARCA Menards Series and NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series seasons. White, who last raced in ARCA for Hixson Motorsports nearly four years ago, has a signed partnership with Teddy and Jennifer Brown's team that could include the ARCA season opener at Daytona and potentially the full NASCAR Truck series season. The 28 year-old driver states that his schedule is dependent on sponsorship and that more sponsors are needed to race. (09-21-19)
  • Ed Pompa and Fast Track Racing win Salem throwback award: Ed Pompa and Andy Hillenburg’s Fast Track Racing Team won the inaugural Jack Harrison trophy at Salem Speedway Saturday night. The newly created award, named for ARCA’s first Salem Speedway winner Jack Harrison, is for the winner of the fan vote for "best throwback scheme". Pompa’s throwback was based on the 1997 Darrell Waltrip 'chrome car'. “I started working with Frontline Wraps in January on this project. Apparently there is only one manufacturer that still makes the chrome vinyl, so it took a while to get. We knew it was going to be a wild throwback, but when Rick finished... wow. Better than expected. I figured it would grab attention, and get more exposure for all the sponsors on the car, plus The Double H Ranch. During the on-track autograph session, everyone who walked by commented what a great looking throwback it was. Thanks to all the fans at Salem Speedway for voting this the 'best throwback scheme'. We all had a lot of fun with it. Darrell Waltrip also loved that the chrome car was back!" (In part from Fast Track Racing PR) (09-17-19)
  • Bret Holmes crowned the CGS Four Crown champion after Salem: As tires began to wear, [Bret] Holmes slipped back to fourth but was able to maintain his position until the end of the event. With Holmes’ fourth-place finish, he was crowned the ARCA Menards Series CGS Four Crown champion. "I’m so thankful that we had a good run tonight at one of my favorite tracks" [said Holmes]. "We had a rough little stint there over the month of July and a race in August, but we persevered and kept our heads up. To come back in September and have a good finish at Salem (Speedway), felt great. We also won the CGS Four Crown championship. That is really cool for me, and an honor to join the names of people like Davey Allison who have won the award. We were able to win the series by being consistent all season long. That starts with this team building fast cars every week. I’m proud of them for this accomplishment. We only have two more races left in the season, but we’re chipping away at the point lead. Our goal is to finish the season strong with a win." (In part from Bret Holmes Racing PR) (09-16-19)
  • Ty Gibbs dominates Salem; scores second career win: Ty Gibbs (No. 18 Monster Energy Toyota) scored a dominant victory in Saturday night's ARCA Menards Series Kentuckiana Ford Dealers Fall Classic 200 at Salem Speedway. Gibbs thoroughly dominated the entire day as he led the day's practice session, set the fast time in General Tire Pole Qualifying, and led every green flag lap to score his second career series victory. "That's all due to my right foot, the guys who build these great racecars and the man upstairs," Gibbs said in victory lane. "It's great to come out here and get our second win of the season. We aren't racing for the championship so it's all about wins for us." Gibbs finished two seconds ahead of Christian Eckes (No. 15 JBL Audio Toyota), who moved to within five points of championship leader Michael Self (No. 25 Sinclair Lubricants Toyota), who suffered a mechanical problem and finished 14th. "It's great to have Salem behind us," Eckes said. "This isn't my favorite track and to come out of here with that big of a gain on Michael is huge for us. It sucks we couldn't get up there and race Ty for the win but we'll take second and head to Indianapolis and go race for the win there." (In part from ARCARacing.com) (09-15-19)
  • Carson Hocevar running special Bruce VanderLaan throwback car: Carson Hocevar will be racing a Bruce VanderLaan throwback car in Saturday’s ARCA Menards Series race at Salem Speedway. The Zeeland-based KBR Development Super Late Model team, featuring the 16-year old driver from Portage, is racing part-time in ARCA. This weekend’s Kentuckiana Ford Dealers Fall Classic 200 at Salem, Ind., is a throwback race, where teams are encouraged to rock a paint scheme from yesterday. The throwback choice became easy for KBR officials after learning of Mr. VanderLaan’s passing Monday. KBR owner Mike Bursley texted Tim Horvath of HDFive Monday night about putting together a wrap in honor of Mr. VanderLaan. Horvath, who prepares all wraps for KBR, got busy fast. "Bruce was a great guy and very well known, not only around the Berlin area but in the Midwest," Bursley said. “I was just a little kid, but I have a lot of fond memories of Bruce. "When I bought this race team, Brian Campbell was my driver and Bill McGowan was our crew chief for Brian back in the day, from 2009 to 2011. Bill McGowan was Bruce’s crew chief when Bruce was successful. In a way, we are honoring both of them with this scheme." (In part from mlive.com) (09-14-19)
  • Alex Clubb ends season early; preparing for 2020: 27 year-old Alex Clubb has ended his ARCA season early after having tentative plans of racing in six events this year. Clubb, who originally was supposed to compete this weekend at Salem, suffered motor issues at Toledo Speedway in May which prevented him from entering Madison, Springfield, and DuQuoin. Instead of continuing to work on his steel body car, Clubb has decided to forgo Salem and focus on a new composite body car that he recently purchased in Tennessee. Clubb is currently working on acquiring an Ilmor engine, which will make him more competitive next season with new tires and more knowledge of coil bind setups. (09-14-19)
  • Gavin Harlien paying tribute to Tony Venturini at Salem: Twenty-one-year-old rookie Gavin Harlien (No. 55 Autism Awareness Toyota) will make his third ARCA Menards Series start of the season with Venturini Motorsports in Saturday’s ARCA throwback race - the Kentuckiana Ford Dealers Fall Classic 200 at Salem Speedway. Making the transition from the world of off-road truck racing to stock cars and circle tracks, Harlien will feature the flamboyant colors of Chartreuse and Fuchsia on the reverse side of his Toyota Camry which was once sported by the late Tony Venturini during the 1950’s while racing at Chicago’s Soldier Field and other local tracks. "It’s really cool ARCA does this throwback race at Salem," says Harlien. "I feel lucky to be a part of it especially running with the Venturini's and all the success they’ve had over the years. With decades of family history in this sport It’s truly an honor to run those colors." (In part from Venturini Motorsports PR) (09-12-19)
  • Ed Pompa to run special Darrell Waltrip throwback at Salem: Ed Pompa will be using a 1997 Darrell Waltrip throwback scheme this weekend on his 'Milwaukee Crusher / Double H Ranch' Fast Track Racing Toyota #11 at Salem Speedway. Ed stated, "With Darrell retiring from the broadcast booth this year, I thought it would be cool to do a DW throwback, as a 'thank you'. We are running the #11, which Darrell ran at various times, but this particular scheme was from his #17. I have been working with Frontline Designs on this idea since January. Frontline had planned to do the car Sep 4th, which involved stripping last years’ wrap and installing the new one. Hurricane Dorian delayed the wrapping of the car by almost a week. Rick finished it up Monday night. Now the guys at the shop: Mike, Dick, Jay, Steve and Keith will be hustling to finish up the car. It will be interesting to see the reaction when we roll this car out of the hauler at Salem. There shouldn’t be any problems spotting THIS car on the track!" (In part from Fast Track Racing PR) (09-10-19)
  • Colby Howard racing at Salem Speedway for Win-Tron: Colby Howard will make his return to the ARCA Menards Series at Salem Speedway [this Saturday]. In just three career ARCA starts, Howard has earned three top 10 finishes, with an average finish of 9.0 heading into the weekend. The high banked Indiana short track was the site of Howard’s ARCA Menards Series debut in 2018, where he started and finished in eighth. This time around, the 18-year-old plans on bettering his results with Win-Tron Racing in the No. 32 Project Hope/Yurpal, Inc. Chevrolet. Howard was quoted saying, “I am really looking forward to returning to Salem. We had a good run in the test on Tuesday, and should have had a Top 5 finish in last year’s race until I made a mistake on pit road. This time around, it should be better, because our car is really solid on old tires, which is critical on Salem’s worn out surface.” Earlier this season, Colby Howard debuted for team owner Kevin Cywinski and crew chief Jamie Jones at Iowa Speedway. The No. 32 team finished tenth at Iowa, and plan on bringing the same racecar to Salem. (In part from WinTronRacing.com) (09-10-19)
  • Venturini Motorsports unveils throwback Salem paint schemes: Following NASCAR’s fan favorite throwback weekend at Darlington Raceway, the nostalgia will continue on the high banks of historic Salem Speedway when the ARCA Menards Series returns to action for the 106th all-time series event at Salem on Saturday, September 14. After earning back-to-back team victories on the dirt, VMS looks to continue their winning way with a special throwback tribute of their own. Celebrating the team’s patriarch and two-time ARCA Series Champion (‘87 & ‘91), the team unveiled a pair of Bill Venturini’s retro paint schemes for the upcoming race at Salem Speedway. Honoring Venturini’s first of two ARCA Series championship, Christian Eckes’ No.15 JBL Audio Toyota will carry the iconic 1987 white with blue striped paint scheme. “It’s a great honor to run Bill’s championship colors - especially at Salem,” says current championship contender Christian Eckes. “I’ve known Bill and his family since I broke into the series back in 2016. He’s done so much for me personally and so many others over the years. It’s just a really cool deal. Hopefully we’re able to put this JBL Audio Camry in victory lane for him!” Going further back in time, six time ARCA series winner Chandler Smith, driver of the No.20 Craftsman Toyota, will pay homage by featuring Venturini’s 1978 United States Auto Club (USAC) colors and wheel a black car featuring eye popping orange and blue stripes with gold numbers. (In part from Venturini Motorsports PR) (09-04-19)
  • Christian Eckes wins at DuQuoin; closes point deficit: Christian Eckes (No. 15 JBL Audio Toyota) scored his third ARCA victory of the season with a dominant performance in the Southern Illinois 100 at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds. Eckes started outside General Tire Pole Award winner Ken Schrader (No. 52 Federated Auto Parts Toyota), and slipped past third-place starter Kelly Kovski (No. 16 Schluckebier Farms/RaceTires.com Chevrolet) on lap 10 to take the lead and led the rest of the way to take his second career ARCA win on dirt. "I don't know if you can call me a dirt track expert just yet," Eckes laughed in victory lane. "I tried to drive Springfield and DuQuoin like dirt tracks last year and burned everything off the car I could. We tried some new things here tonight and I drove the track more like a pavement track and it really paid off." Eckes finished in 0.443 seconds in front of his Venturini Motorsports teammate, and defending race winner, Logan Seavey (No. 20 Craftsman Toyota). Seavey started tenth and methodically worked his way towards the front of the field. He utilized lap traffic to work past his other Venturini Motorsports teammate Michael Self (No. 25 Sinclair Lubricants Toyota) to take over second with 28 laps to go. From there Seavey was able to stay within sight of Eckes but he couldn't close in enough to seriously challenge. Full Results (In part from ARCARacing.com) (09-01-19)