3 Kimmels, Elliott, Championship Title Fight and More

The ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards, celebrating its 60th Anniversary Season in 2012, is steering for Salem Speedway for the 92nd ARCA race on the historic, half-mile southern Indiana oval since the series debuted there in 1955. No track over ARCA’s 60-year tenure has appeared more on the ARCA schedule than Salem.

Medal of Honor Recipient Dakota Myer Named Grand Marshal
Salem Speedway officials have announced that Medal of Honor recipient Dakota Meyer has been named Grand Marshal of the Kentuckiana Ford Dealers ARCA Fall Classic presented by Federated Car Care. Meyer, a United States Marine Corps veteran, was awarded the highest military decoration for his actions during the Battle of Ganjgal on September 8, 2009, as part of Operation Enduring Freedom in Kunar Province, Afghanistan. He is just the third living recipient of the Medal of Honor since the Vietnam War, and the first living United States Marine in 38 years to be so honored.Meyer, who was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Barack Obama in the East Room of the White House, is credited with saving 36 lives during the six-hour firefight.

Chase Elliott Aims at Salem
Chase Elliott, the 16-year-old son of NASCAR champion Bill Elliott, is entered for the Kentuckiana Ford Dealers 200 at Salem. The event will mark Elliott’s first return trip to an ARCA track in his inaugural season. The driver of the No. 9 Aaron’s Dream Machine/HendrickCars.com Chevrolet finished fourth at Salem back in April. He also finished 10th in his ARCA debut at Mobile Int’l Speedway after qualifying second. The second generation driver also finished a career-best second at the New Jersey Motorsports Park in his road course debut, seventh at Berlin, and eighth most recently at Madison.

Nationwide Debut Sat. for Bowman; Add ARCA, Double Duty Raceday Trick Big Challenge
Cunningham Motorsports driver Alex Bowman, who currently sits fourth in ARCA championship points, has announced that he will make his NASCAR Nationwide Series debut with Turner Motorsports at Chicagoland Speedway this Saturday. Interestingly, the race at Chicagoland will happen just prior to the ARCA race at Salem. The conflicting schedules for Chicagoland and Salem sent Cunningham scrambling to find a driver to practice and qualify the No. 22 Dodge, a driver who may also have the opportunity to run the 200-lap race if Bowman can’t get to Salem in time for the green flag. Cunningham subsequently turned to NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver and former Cunningham driver Dakoda Armstrong to take over the driving duties of the No. 22 until Bowman can make it to Salem. Armstrong’s homecoming is three-fold; not only is he returning to his “home” track of Salem Speedway, less than an hour from home, he is returning to his former ARCA team at a track where, in his most recent start there, he led 88 of 200 laps and finished in Victory Lane in 2010. Bowman, who has 19 ARCA starts, has five wins, 11 top-three finishes, and 13 top-10 finishes. With five Menards Pole Awards in the 2012 season and the lead in the Aaron’s Lap Leader Award, Bowman is also vying for top honors in the Team Messina Rookie Challenge. In his only Salem visit this April, Bowman dominated the race on the way to his third series win by leading 146 of the 200 laps

Title Fight Tight at the Top to Salem; Kimmel Chasing Buescher in Homestretch

Nineteen-year-old Chris Buescher and 50-year-old veteran Frank Kimmel are preparing to take the ARCA Racing Series title fight to Salem Speedway. With just three races remaining on the 2012 tour – Salem, DuQuoin mile dirt (Oct. 14) and Kansas (Oct. 19) – the stakes could not be higher for both. Buescher, who won at Madison Int’l Speedway in the last event, increased his point lead to 60 points over Kimmel headed to Salem. However, Kimmel, back on his game with recent wins at Lucas Oil Raceway and the Springfield mile dirt, also heads to Salem as a nine-time winner there.

The Kimmel Triple at Salem

The Kimmel family will be well represented at Salem Speedway starting with Bill Kimmel, Sr., who turns 84 two days prior on Sept. 13. The first generation Kimmel family racer won three ARCA races during his career and will be honored in the ARCA 60th Anniversary Pre-Race Ceremonies. Bill Sr.’s son Frank Kimmel will be making his 38th career ARCA start at Salem while his son Frank Kimmel II will be making his third ARCA start at Salem. Frank’s nephew Will Kimmel, who finished second in this same event last year, is also entered in the Kentuckiana Ford Dealers Ford. Will’s father and eight-time Cometic Crew Chief of the Year Bill Kimmel, Jr. will serve as Will’s crew chief for the race.

Team Messina Rookie Challenge, Aaron’s Lap Leader Battle Big to Salem 

Brennan Poole (The Woodlands, Texas) is the current Team Messina Rookie Challenge leader headed to Salem. However, Poole’s lead is closely contested by Tucson, Arizona’s Alex Bowman. Bowman, who drives for Cunningham Motorsports, trails Poole by just 12 points for the 2012 Team Messina Rookie Challenge Title. Bowman, however, currently leads Poole in the Aaron’s Lap Leader special award category, having led 487 laps in 11 races. Poole trails in second with 472 laps led in seven races.

Veteran Bob Strait, Bowsher Motorsports Reunite for Salem 

Bob Strait will return to the driver’s seat of the No. 21 Bowsher Motorsports Ford for this weekend’s Kentuckiana Ford Dealers Fall Classic at Salem. Strait, 63, has had some of his greatest success in the ARCA Racing Series at Salem, where he earned two victories and four Menards Pole Awards presented by Ansell, along with a pole and a win in ASA competition. In 212 career starts since 1986, Strait has 16 wins and 16 poles, including wins at Atlanta, Talladega, and Winchester.Bowsher Motorsports, no stranger to success, has to its credit numerous victories and championships. Jack Bowsher won three ARCA driver/owner championships from 1963-65. The team has three additional car owner titles, in 1992, 1994, and 1995. Son Bobby Bowsher’s driving titles in ’92 and ’94 mark the only father/son champions in ARCA history. The team’s 80 victories also make for a total higher than any other in ARCA history.

Salem Race With International Flavor
Two drivers, Nelson Canache and Milka Duno, are from below the Equator (Caracas, Venezuela), and are entered in the Kentuckiana Ford Dealers 200. Canache, who drives for Venturini Motorsports, is currently eighth in ARCA points. Duno, on a partial season, is 21st in ARCA points. Duno is also a veteran of the Indianapolis 500. Duno tested at Salem back on September 6, as did newcomer Jack Clarke, who also brings international flavor to the event. Clarke, making his ARCA debut at Salem, is from London, England. Clarke is also getting an assist from Daytona 500 champion Derrike Cope, who joined Clarke for the test. Sorel, Quebec’s Maryeve Dufault is also entered in one of four Carter 2 Motorsports Dodge entries.

Venturini Motorsports Times Five at Salem; Caleb Armstrong To Make ARCA Debut

Venturini Motorsports has entered five teams at Salem, including Indianan Caleb Armstrong (New Castle, Ind.), who will make his ARCA debut at Salem. Armstrong is the cousin of ARCA veteran and former Salem winner Dakota Armstrong. Other Venturini Motorsports entrants include Brennan Poole in the No. 25 Venturini Motorsports Chevrolet. Poole, from The Woodlands, Texas, is still very much in the championship hunt in third position, 135 points from the leader Chris Buescher. The remaining Venturini Motorsports entrants are Thomas Praytor (Mobile, Ala.) in the No. 35 Venturini Motorsports Chevrolet, 16-year-old Erik Jones (Byron, Mich.) in the No. 55 Paragon Corvette Reproductions Chevrolet, and Nelson Canache (Caracas, Venezuela) in the No. 66 Venezuela Tourism Chevrolet.

Oldest to Youngest
Sixty-two years separate the oldest driver from the youngest driver entered in the field for Saturday’s Kentuckiana Ford Dealers 200. James Hylton, who just turned 78 in late August, is the oldest while Erik Jones is the youngest at just 16. Jones has already made ARCA history as the youngest driver to ever start an ARCA race at 15 back in March at Mobile Int’l Speedway. In nine career starts, Jones has already earned four top-five finishes, including career-best third place finishes at Winchester and Berlin. Hylton was the 1966 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Rookie of the Year.

Pre- and Post-Race Entertainment, On-Track Autographs, Post-Race Party with Live Music 

Saturday’s pre-race festivities kick-off with the annual First Harrison Bank On-Track Autograph Session. Race fans are invited to visit with the ARCA Racing Series drivers and take advantage of photo and autograph opportunities. The Lucas Oil Great American Stock drivers, including Medal of Honor recipient Dakota Meyer, will also be available for autographs. The 30-minute autograph session gets underway at 4:45 p.m. The annual ARCA Fall Classic Party is scheduled to take place following the racing action on Saturday night with King’s Cave set to provide musical entertainment from 9 p.m. until midnight in the Lowe’s Zone behind the main grandstand. King’s Cave plays a mix of classic rock and newer tunes.

Grueling/Versatile Late Summer Stretch for ARCA Warriors

The event on the New Jersey Motorsports Park road course kicked off a grueling and very versatile stretch for the ARCA teams, depictive of the tour’s diversity. This particular stretch started July 1 on the New Jersey road course and will end on the Salem short track on September 15. In addition to the New Jersey road course and Salem short track, the tour will travel in between to superspeedways at Chicagoland, Pocono and Kansas, short tracks at Iowa, Lucas Oil Raceway, Berlin, Madison and Salem, and two late-season mile dirt tracks at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield and the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds in DuQuoin, Ill. Had the DuQuoin event, which rained out, had not been rescheduled for October 14, the ARCA tour, during the span, would have raced at 10 different tracks over an 11 week period. Kansas will wrap the 2012 season on October 19.

Notable Salem Winners  Notable ARCA winners at Salem includeNASCAR Cup champion Bobby Allison, six-time ARCA Racing Series champion Iggy Katona & former ARCA national champions Jack Bowsher, Justin Allgaier, Bill Baird, Tracy Leslie, Nelson Stacy, Ron Hutcherson, Ramo Stott, Dave Dayton, Moose Myers, Marvin Smith, Bob Keselowski, Bob Brevak, Tim Steele and Frank Kimmel. Other notable ARCA/Salem winners include ’52 Indy 500 winner Troy Ruttman, USAC/ARCA stock car veteran Don White and Cup series veteran Ken Schrader.