ARCA | Karnac Racing News

Speedway Events Scheduled for 2013 ARCA Racing Series Season

(TOLEDO, Ohio) – The pursuit of the Hoosier Tire Superspeedway Challenge Award will feature eight races in 2013, up from seven in 2012, following yesterday’s announcement of a September 20 ARCA Racing Series event at Kentucky Speedway.

In addition to the Kentucky race – the 20th for ARCA at the 1.5-mile track but the first since 2009 – seven other speedway events are confirmed for the 2013 season.

ARCA’s 61st season will open at the 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway on Saturday, February 16; the race will be ARCA’s 50th at Daytona, continuing a tradition that dates back to 1964.

The 2.66-mile Talladega Superspeedway will host an ARCA race for the 51st time on Friday, May 3. 2.5-mile Pocono Raceway will host ARCA twice for the 27th consecutive year and its 55th and 56th ARCA events, on its traditional race weekends in early June and early August. (more…)

By Scott|2012-11-17T01:41:53-05:00November 17th, 2012|ARCA, Featured, Front Page News, Racing News|Comments Off

ARCA, Cars and Stars Promotions Announce Formal Partnership to Launch ARCA Midwest Tour for 2013 Season

(TOLEDO, Ohio) – Officials from the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) and Cars and Stars Promotions (CSP) announced today a formal partnership to bring the Midwest Tour – a Midwestern-based, pavement super late model series – under ARCA sanction.

The ARCA Midwest Tour presented by SCAG Power Equipment and Lester Buildings will make stops at 11 different tracks in 2013, spanning Wisconsin, Illinois, and Minnesota. The sanctioning agreement between ARCA and CSP reflects ARCA’s interests in supporting and strengthening the sport of stock car racing.

“We respect what Tim Olson and Steve Einhaus have established and developed with the Midwest Late Model Tour, and their long-term dedication to the sport,” said Ron Drager, president and CEO of ARCA. “Their decision to join efforts with ARCA and our sanctioned properties is gratifying.

“We’ve worked hard to establish and build the ARCA brand over 60 years in the sport, and while we’re proud of our history, we strive to be relevant and vital today and into the future. From several perspectives, the Midwest Tour joining our family of ARCA properties fits both companies’ future strategic plans, and we look forward to working with Tim and Steve in 2013 and beyond.” (more…)

By Scott|2012-11-14T17:59:55-05:00November 14th, 2012|ARCA, Featured, Front Page News, Racing News|Comments Off

Alex Bowman Defends Last Season’s Win at Kansas

Chris Buescher Becomes 30th ARCA Racing Series Champion

(KANSAS CITY, Kan.) – The scene for the 2012 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards season finale at Kansas Speedway resembled the setting one year ago at the track, when Alex Bowman won his second career start and Chris Buescher wrapped up the Hoosier Tire Superspeedway Challenge on his way to winning top rookie honors one week later.

Friday, though, the two impressed even further at a year older apiece, with Bowman defending his victory from the pole and Buescher clinching the ARCA Racing Series championship with a eighth-place finish that looked conservative and demanding all at once.

For Bowman (No. 22 St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Dodge), the win tied him with Buescher at a series-high four each in 2012, and was the sixth of his career. By beating Brennan Poole (No. 25 Colt Ford/Average Joes Entertainment Toyota) by three positions in the race, he held off Poole to win the Team Messina Rookie Challenge by four points, supplanting the now-experienced Buescher for top newcomer honors.

Buescher (No. 17 BeavEx/Reliance Tool Ford) is the 30th different champion in ARCA Racing Series history, and the second youngest at 19 years, 356 days. Before Buescher, only one driver had won ARCA Rookie of the Year honors in one year and the championship in the next – Bill Baird in 1998-99. (more…)

By Scott|2012-10-21T05:45:40-04:00October 21st, 2012|ARCA, Featured, Front Page News|Comments Off

Fox Sports Media Group, ARCA Agree on Multi-Year Television Rights Extension

(KANSAS CITY, Kan.) – Officials from FOX Sports Media Group (FSMG) and the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) have announced a multi-year extension of the current television rights agreement between the two groups, with a minimum of 10 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards events televised either live and/or same-day delay each season.

In 2013, ARCA television coverage begins with the drop of the green flag on the series’ 50th appearance at the world-renowned Daytona International Speedway in February.

“ARCA has a very supportive group of race fans, and for over 15 years they have turned to us for their television coverage,” said Scott Ackerson, FOX Sports Media Group EVP, executive producer, and SPEED president. “We now look forward to continuing in that role over the coming years.”

ARCA’s relationship with SPEED reaches back to April 20, 1997, when the network (then Speedvision) covered the ARCA Racing Series race at Salem Speedway. Since then, SPEED has aired 197 ARCA Racing Series events, with tonight’s season-ending Kansas Lottery 98.9 scheduled as the 198th.

Year-over-year broadcast ratings have spiked by 24 percent in 2012, highlighted by substantial improvements in key demographics. (more…)

By Scott|2012-10-21T05:24:28-04:00October 21st, 2012|ARCA, Featured, Front Page News, Racing News|Comments Off

Kenseth Wins Winchester 400

Winchester, IN (October 14, 2012) – The story of the Winchester 400 Weekend at Winchester Speedway was battling through the weather to get every race finished. Some not ending until the middle of the night, moving qualifying for the Winchester 400 and then waiting out a rain delay to see one of the most exciting finishes in Winchester 400 history.

Ross Kenseth and crew worked for 399 laps to put themselves in the right place to win the Winchester 400, one of short track racing’s toughest and most coveted victories. But coming out of the fourth turn racing toward the checkered flag, 14 year old Kyle Benjamin moved under Kenseth to beat him to the line by less than 10 feet. Despite winning on the track, Benjamin was later disqualified in post-race tech due to an RPM Limiter Infraction making Kenseth the winner. (more…)

By Scott|2012-10-16T13:54:23-04:00October 16th, 2012|ARCA, CRA Racing Series, Featured, Front Page News|Comments Off

Championship Picture Clear Going to Kansas

Final Week Notes from the ARCA Racing Series

(TOLEDO, Ohio) – One race remains in ARCA’s 60th Anniversary Season, and Chris Buescher’s vision of becoming the series’ 30th different champion is as clear as it’s ever been.

Buescher’s 85-point lead atop the standings after last month’s race at Salem Speedway is greater than any other lead by a first-place driver in the 17 races prior to that event. Friday, he will race in the Kansas Lottery 98.9 at Kansas Speedway with a chance to win the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards title just 10 days before turning 20 years old.

Buescher (No. 17 Roulo Brothers Racing Ford) will clinch the championship by finishing 12th or higher, regardless of any other driver’s result in the 99-lap, 148.5-mile race. In 52 career ARCA starts, Buescher has finished in the top 12 on 44 occasions, a success rate of 84.6 percent. He has finished in the top 12 in each of his last seven starts and in 15 of 18 races this season, a similar success rate of 83.3 percent.

The top four drivers in the standings remain eligible for the championship; however, fourth-place driver Alex Bowman will drop from contention if fewer than 40 cars enter and start Friday’s race. (more…)

By Scott|2012-10-15T20:09:41-04:00October 15th, 2012|ARCA, Featured, Front Page News|Comments Off

16-Year-Old Chase Elliott Wins The Winchester 100 Presented by JEGS.com

Daniel Hemric; 2012 JEGS/CRA Champion – 15-Year-old Anderson Bowen; 2012 Rookie of the Year

Winchester, Indiana (Friday, October 12^th, 2012): When 16-year-old Chase Elliott comes to race in the JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour Presented by Chevrolet Performance, he comes in with one goal in mind; that is simply winning the race. In three of his four career JEGS/CRA appearances, the Dawsonville, Georgia stand out has done exactly that with the third JEGS/CRA triumph in four starts as the latest win came during the 41^st running of the Winchester 400 Weekend.

The legendary ½ (0.500) mile high-banked paved oval of Winchester Speedway in Winchester, Indiana served as hosts for the final points race of the 2012 racing season for the second year series. Prior to the event, Daniel Hemric had already wrapped up the 2012 JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour Presented by Chevrolet Performance Championship in the tours’ last race while 15-year-old Anderson Bowen clinched the 2012 Howie Lettow Memorial Rookie of the Year Presented by Howe Racing Enterprises title two races ago.

So all that was left to do was conduct the final points paying event of the season and Elliott, who was in town for the 41^st running of the Winchester 400 for the ARCA/CRA Super Series, which he won as a 14-year-old back in 2010, brought his JEGS/CRA legal ride to Eastern Indiana in an effort to get more valuable seat time around the historic high banks. (more…)

By Scott|2012-10-15T19:05:15-04:00October 15th, 2012|ARCA, CRA Racing Series, Featured, Front Page News|Comments Off

ARCA and CRA Announce Sanction Extension for 2013 Season

(WINCHESTER, Ind.) – Officials from the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) and Champion Racing Association (CRA) announced today an extension of the formal working relationship between the two motorsports sanctioning bodies.

ARCA, currently concluding its 60th Anniversary Season, will sanction the racing activities for the ARCA CRA Super Series once again in 2013. The super late model stock car racing series, founded in 1997, is based in Salem, Ind. Today, Johnny VanDoorn will complete his first championship season under the ARCA and CRA partnership and his third in overall Super Series competition.

ARCA president and CEO Ron Drager noted the opportunity for continued growth and development as part of the extended partnership with CRA.

“This affiliation has been, right from the beginning, about two strong, stable racing companies joining forces to become even stronger and more stable,” Drager said. “As a sport, we need to continue to provide opportunities for drivers, owners, and crew members within auto racing, and support the developmental channels from grassroots to the top tier of the sport.” (more…)

By Scott|2012-10-14T17:30:06-04:00October 14th, 2012|ARCA, CRA Racing Series, Featured, Front Page News|Comments Off

In ARCA Racing Series Title Chase, Bonus Points Have Impact

(TOLEDO, Ohio) – A review of 2012 results in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards shows that points leader Chris Buescher has edged Frank Kimmel by just 10 race positions over the entire year, but that doesn’t tell the entire story of their championship pursuits.

Indeed, Buescher’s sum of finishing positions is a series-low (for full-timers) 105, 10 below Kimmel’s 115. In the standings, that would equate to a difference of 50 points, but Buescher (No. 17 Roulo Brothers Racing Ford) has used additional bonuses to build a more formidable lead over Kimmel (No. 44 ThorSport Racing Toyota) with only two races left this year.

ARCA Racing Series points are awarded not only for finishing places, but also for laps led and top-three qualifying positions. Every lap leader in a race earns five points, and the driver leading the most laps earns five more. In qualifying, the pole winner takes 15 points, followed by 10 for second and five for third. For the points leader, making statements in qualifying has been key in the title chase. (more…)

By Scott|2012-10-10T21:07:32-04:00October 10th, 2012|ARCA, Featured, Front Page News|Comments Off

Southern Illinois 100 presented by Federated Car Care Sunday, October 14, 2012

Versatile ARCA Racing Series, Southern Illinois 100 Turn 60 Together at DuQuoin The ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards, celebrating its 60th Anniversary Season in 2012, is again steering for the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds “Magic Mile” dirt, where the 60th running of the Southern Illinois 100 presented by Federated Car Care comes alive Sunday, October 14. The event was originally scheduled for September 3; however, torrential rains caused the race to be postponed.

Championship Title Fight Tight at the Top to DuQuoin The National Championship battle is coming down to a five-wide fight with 19-year-old Chris Buescher (No. 17 Roulo Brothers Racing Ford) leading over 50-year-old Frank Kimmel (No. 44 Ansell-Menards Toyota). Rookie Brennan Poole (No. 25 Venturini Motorsports Chevrolet) and rookie Alex Bowman (No. 22 Cunningham Motorsports Dodge) are the other players in the mix. Chad Hackenbracht (No. 58 Tastee Apple Chevrolet), currently fifth in points, is mathematically still in too.

Stakes High for Buescher and Kimmel at DuQuoin

Buescher, the defending DuQuoin race winner, currently leads Kimmel by 85 points. However, Kimmel dominated with a convincing victory on the Springfield mile dirt in late August, and heads to DuQuoin as a five-time winner of the Southern Illinois 100. The event at the DuQuoin mile dirt will prove absolutely critical in the quest for championship, which will culminate just days later at Kansas Speedway. (more…)

By Scott|2012-10-10T02:15:49-04:00October 10th, 2012|ARCA, Featured, Front Page News|Comments Off