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


March 2021

  • Herr Foods to sponsor Toledo event: Race fans who like to “Break out the Herr’s” will have another reason to add May 22 to their calendar. Herr Foods and the Automobile Racing Club of America have announced the renewal of Herr’s entitlement sponsorship of the ARCA Menards Series race at Toledo Speedway. The Herr’s Potato Chips 200 will be the fifth race of the 2021 season and the opening round of the 10-race Sioux Chief Showdown, the series within the series that invites the best teams and drivers from the ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series East and ARCA Menards Series West to battle for almost $1 million in race purses, point fund awards and bonus money. “We are pleased to continue our relationship with ARCA, and Menards,” said Bob Clark, VP Marketing at Herr Foods. “The partnership with ARCA and Menards has been a win-win for over a decade now, and we look forward to many more opportunities to introduce our products to race fans throughout the country.” The renewal marks the 10th year that Herr’s has been the entitlement sponsor of an ARCA Menards Series race. The relationship started with current NASCAR Cup Series star Chris Buescher winning at Madison International Speedway on his way to the series championship in 2012, kicking off a three-year run at the Wisconsin half-mile that also saw 15-year-old sensation Kyle Benjamin and Justin Boston score wins. (In part from ARCARacing.com) (03-25-21)
  • Christian Rose returning to Cook Racing Technologies: Cook Racing Technologies announced today the return of Christian Rose to the team. 2021 will mark the 25-year-old’s first full-time campaign with CRT. He ran a partial season last year. Rose will primarily compete in late model events across the Southeast but will look to make his ARCA Menards Series debut in the second half of the season. “Christian is an asset to our team,” said CRT owner, Bruce Cook. “He has shown speed in his limited time behind the wheel of a race car. Each time we race, he improves. This season is going to be a fun one and I think we will surprise some people.” Rose’s schedule and sponsorship partnerships will be announced at a later date. (In part from Cook Racing Technologies PR) (03-23-21)
  • Ty Gibbs wins at Phoenix: Only two challengers had chances to stop Ty Gibbs from winning Friday’s General Tire 150 at Phoenix Raceway in the closing laps. One was Corey Heim. The other was rain, as sprinkles began to fall on the one-mile paved tri-oval in Avondale, Arizona, as the field prepared for the final restart. Driving the No. 18 Pristine Auction Toyota for his grandfather’s Joe Gibbs Racing team, Ty Gibbs beat both his rival driver and the weather in a one-lap dash to the finish for his first win of 2021 on the ARCA Menards Series platform. The 18-year-old from Charlotte, North Carolina, now has nine wins on his ARCA Menards Series resume. Friday night’s General Tire 150 at Phoenix was the one and only combination race featuring the ARCA Menards Series and the ARCA Menards Series West this season. So Gibbs now has two career West Series wins, including his victory at Phoenix in 2019 in what was then the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West. “Not a lot of kids get to do what I do,” said Gibbs, the grandson of Pro Football and NASCAR Hall of Famer Joe Gibbs, in Victory Lane. “I’m very thankful for that, and I really love driving race cars.” A caution with seven laps to go set up a last-lap race to the line between Gibbs and Heim, the latter of whom won the ARCA Menards Series season-opener at Daytona International Speedway on Feb. 13. Heim challenged Gibbs on the restart, but the No. 18 pulled away to the point where the No. 20 had no way to challenge for the win in the final corner. Full Results (In part from ARCARacing.com) (03-13-21)
  • 30 cars entered for Phoenix National/West race: Thirty cars are entered for Friday night's ARCA national/West series combination race. Noteable entries include #02 Toni Breidinger, #16 Jesse Love, #17 Taylor Gray, #17W Zane Smith, #19 Derek Kraus, #25 Gracie Trotter, #28 Kyle Sieg, and #99 Cole Moore. Full Entry List (03-11-21)
  • Andy Jankowiak picks up sponsorship for Talladega: Thermal Foams, Inc., an industry leader in the manufacturing of specialty foam products across the eastern United States, has joined forces as a marketing partner to Andy Jankowiak and the AJ Racing Team for the April 24 running of the General Tire 200 at Talladega Superspeedway, the third race of the 2020 ARCA Menards Series season. Thermal Foams, Inc. is based in Buffalo with branches across New York State and Pennsylvania. Jankowiak, the 32-year-old owner/driver, hails from Tonawanda, New York, a suburb of Buffalo, where his family’s racing roots run deep over two generations. Jankowiak follows in his father’s footsteps; Tony Jankowiak was a regular in the NASCAR Modified racing circuit and a World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing champion at the New Smyrna Speedway. "We need partners to be able to make this all work, and our new partnership with Thermal Foams, Inc. means we will be able to go to Talladega and go compete for a win. Everyone on the team is excited to have a local company on board, and the ownership team at Thermal Foams is behind this effort 100 percent" [said Jankowiak.] (In part from ARCARacing.com) (03-08-21)