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

August 2022

  • Sammy Smith wins at the Milwaukee Mile: [Sammy] Smith picked up his third ARCA Menards Series victory of the year when he took the checkered flag in the Sprecher 150, which also served as the penultimate race of the ARCA Menards Series East season. In that series, the victory marked Smith’s fourth in six races this year. "I’m not sure what we did there that (first) stop, but it wasn’t very good," Smith said of the first race break Sunday. "I was able to stay with [Gray], but I felt like we needed to get away from him to protect my lead, and the changes we made on the last stop were awesome." Daniel Dye, Rajah Caruth and Nick Sanchez finished third, fourth and fifth, respectively, at Milwaukee. That’s notable considering those three drivers are in a tight race for the 2022 ARCA Menards Series driver’s championship. Sanchez entered the 15th race of the season with a 13-point edge over Dye in second and a 17-point lead over Caruth, his Rev Racing teammate, in third. That lead will shrink with Sanchez having finished behind both Dye and Caruth at Milwaukee. Full Results (In part from ARCARacing.com) (08-28-22)
  • ARCA champion Ron Hutcherson passes away: Ron Hutcherson, the 1972-73-74 ARCA Menards Series champion, who went on to a long and successful career with his brother Dick Hutcherson at their Hutcherson-Pagan Racing Enterprises chassis and racing equipment company, died Thursday, August 25. He was 79. Hutcherson had been ill and recently entered hospice care at his home in Florida. Hutcherson was one of four drivers hailing from tiny Keokuk, Iowa, to experience great success in the ARCA Menards Series and beyond. The legendary Ernie Derr paved the way in the 1950s and 60s, winning 11 races and finishing 9th in points in 1955 despite running a limited schedule. Ron Hutcherson’s brother Dick followed, before moving on to the NASCAR Cup Series, where he won 14 races in 103 starts in the mid-60s, primarily driving for the renowned Holman-Moody Ford team. Services are pending. (In part from ARCARacing.com) (08-27-22)
  • 27 cars entered for the Milwaukee Mile: Twenty-seven cars are entered for Sunday's Sprecher 150 at the Milwaukee Mile. Noteable entries include #02 Leland Honeyman Jr, #06 Tim Richmond, #1 Jake Finch, #7 Eric Caudell, #15 Landon Pembelton, #24 Amber Slagle, #31 Rita Thomason, #40 Matthew Gould, #42 Christian Rose, #44 Mike Goudie, #66 Ron Vandermeir Jr, and #74 Mandy Chick. Full Entry List (08-27-22)
  • Andrés Peréz De Lara joins David Gilliland Racing for Bristol & East races: David Gilliland Racing announced today that NASCAR Drive for Diversity development driver Andrés Peréz de Lara will join the organization for select starts at Bristol Motor Speedway, The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Phoenix Raceway. The 17-year-old will debut in the ARCA Menards Series behind the wheel of the No. 54 Ford Fusion as the series takes on “The Last Great Colosseum” on September 15. The Mexico City, Mexico native has a diverse racing background, becoming one of the youngest winners in the FIA F4 championship in 2019. He would secure his first victory at just 14-years-old, adding Rookie of the Year honors and a third-place points finish to his impressive open wheel resume. (In part from David Gilliland Racing PR) (08-25-22)
  • Jesse Love takes Springfield victory: A muddy Atlas 100 on the Springfield Mile at the Illinois State Fairgrounds, which ended up being shortened by 30 laps due to time constraints, saw Jesse Love lead wire-to-wire from the General Tire Pole for his second career ARCA Menards Series victory. But the celebration for Love and Venturini Motorsports was subdued following a violent, last-lap crash in which Love’s teammate, Buddy Kofoid, collided with the slow car of Bryce Haugeberg on the frontstretch. The first thought on Love’s mind in Victory Lane was Kofoid’s condition, but he was relieved to see Kofoid and Haugeberg climb out of their cars and walk away on their own power. “I’m really grateful that Buddy is alright,” Love said. “That was wicked, and I don’t think any of us saw the lapped car [of Haugeberg], but thankfully he is alright [as well]. Buddy was my favorite dirt driver growing up, and I’ve always looked up to him, so it’s an honor to beat him today.” Full Results (In part from ARCARacing.com) (08-27-22)
  • Brandon Jones scores first road course win at Watkins Glen: Sammy Smith dominated Friday evening’s General Tire Delivers 100 at Watkins Glen International. The Kyle Busch Motorsports driver led almost every lap. Only Taylor Gray was able to challenge Smith for the lead throughout the 41-lap event on the 11-turn, 2.45-mile road course. And neither won the race. A chaotic restart on the last lap of the race allowed Joe Gibbs Racing driver Brandon Jones to steal the victory, giving the 25-year-old NASCAR Xfinity Series regular three wins in his four ARCA Menards Series starts in 2022. “First road-course win ever,” Jones said. “This is really big for us. [Smith and Gray] were really tough to beat all day. At the end, we were all on top of each other, really, so it was about timing that last restart and trying to force the issue a little bit.” Full Results (In part from ARCARacing.com) (08-27-22)
  • Nick Sanchez wins at Michigan: Sometimes the fastest car doesn’t win the race and on Saturday at Michigan, Nick Sanchez emphatically proved that point. The 21-year-old held off challenges from Corey Heim and Daniel Dye in the final laps to earn his third ARCA victory of the season. “My team brought me a really fast car, but we were not the fastest one,” Sanchez said. “We had to capitalize on restarts like we always do and we did that and just played defense and took the air away from everyone.” Heim had started from the pole and dominated the first 30 laps of the event before giving up the lead following an unscheduled second pit stop during the first of two race breaks. Sanchez was able to take the lead during the ensuing restart and held it until Lap 63, when Heim was able to retake the lead after starting from the tail of the field. The second race break came at Lap 70 and Sanchez took advantage of the restart that followed, snatching the lead away from Heim. This time his stay at the front was brief as Heim quickly regained the lead and started to put distance between himself and the rest of the field. However, a caution on Lap 86 for Scott Melton’s damaged Toyota gave Sanchez another shot at the lead. When the race resumed Sanchez took his shot. Using a push from Dye, Sanchez was able to reclaim the lead through Turns 1 and 2. From there it was a chess match for Sanchez, who bobbed and weaved down the straightaways as he did his best to block runs from Dye and Heim. Heim briefly gave up second to Dye on the final lap but was able to inch ahead to reclaim the position at the checkered flag. Dye finished third, with Sammy Smith and Gus Dean completing the top-five. Rajah Caruth, Bret Holmes, Cody Coughlin, Greg Van Alst and Morgan Baird were sixth through 10th, respectively. Full Results (In part from ARCARacing.com) (08-07-22)
  • 21 cars entered for Michigan: Twenty-one cars are entered for Saturday's race at Michigan International Speedway. Noteable entries include #11 Morgen Baird, #15 Gus Dean, #20 Corey Heim, #23 Bret Holmes, #65 Jeffery MacZink, #69 Scott Melton, #72 Cody Coughlin, and #97 Jason Kitzmiller. Full Entry List (08-05-22)
  • Gus Dean returns to Venturini Motorsports at Michigan: Gus Dean invades Michigan International Speedway for Saturday afternoon’s Henry Ford Health 200 looking to earn a victory in the Irish Hills. Dean, a native of Bluffton, S.C. returned to the ARCA Menards Series in 2022 after a two-year hiatus and has delivered three top-five finishes at Daytona, Talladega and his most recent race at Kansas in May. Returning to one of his better tracks throughout his ARCA tenure, the two-time ARCA Menards Series winner would love nothing more than to deliver Venturini Motorsports another win in 2022. "I’m looking forward to being back in our No. 15 Dean Custom Air Toyota Camry this weekend at Michigan," said Dean. "This has been one of the more favorable tracks for myself on the ARCA Menards Series schedule and I feel like I have some unfinished business there too, so I look forward to getting down to business on Saturday and see if I can’t get back to Victory Lane." (In part Gus Dean Racing PR) (08-05-22)
  • Rita Thomason joining Tim Goulet Enterprises for Watkins Glen: Tim Goulet Enterprises announced that Rita Thomason will join the organization for her final race of 2022 at Watkins Glen. Rita made her [ARCA] debut in June with Clubb Racing Inc, at Berlin Raceway. Rita works full time as a police sergeant in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and races the #31 Chevrolet for Tim Goulet Enterprises. While the 2023 ARCA schedule is not yet published, the first race of 2023 is always during “Speedweek” at Daytona International Speedway in February, and Rita is excited to race her first superspeedway event at this historic track. (In part from Tim Goulet Enterprises PR) (08-03-22)
  • Cody Coughlin racing at Michigan for family-owned team: Another notable driver on the entry list for Saturday evening’s race at Michigan is Cody Coughlin, who is scheduled to make his first ARCA Menards Series start since 2015. Coughlin is an accomplished short-track racer who also has 53 truck series starts on his resume. He will race a family-owned car with Kevin Hamlin as his crew chief. (In part from ARCARacing.com) (08-03-22)