TOLEDO, Oh. - The month of May is synonymous with homecomings in the world of motorsports. With the Sprint All-Star Race and Coke 600 taking place in NASCAR's hometown of Charlotte and the IZOD IndyCar Series returning to Indianapolis, it's only reasonable that the ARCA Series also returns home for the Menards 200, Sunday afternoon at Toledo Speedway.

Brennan Poole is currently leading the championship standings in the No. 25 Venturini Motorsports Toyota. He's completed four top-10s in four starts this year, with an average finish of 6.2. He currently leads Tom Hessert in the championship standings by 55 points.

In a season that's seen four different winners in the first four weeks, the possibility of a fifth is not that far-fetched. The defending race winner, Ty Dillion, has graduated to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series while the winner of the last race at Toledo, Chris Buescher, remains a contender.

One shouldn't forget that ARCA Series legend, Frank Kimmel is in the #44 Thorsport Toyota. Kimmel currently sits sixth in the series standings with Buescher and Ryan Reed tied for fourth - it's a wide-open field in the current ARCA landscape.

The Menard's 200 will take place on Sunday afternoon with the green flag dropping at 2 p.m. EST. The broadcast of the race begins at 5 p.m. on SPEED. The complete entry list can be found after the jump.

Continue reading this post »

TALLADEGA, Ala. - NASCAR returns to Talladega this weekend with the Aaron's 312 and 499 on Saturday and Sunday respectively. But before they do, the ARCA Series took center stage with the International Hall of Fame 250.

Brandon McReynolds was robbed of his first career ARCA victory in March at Daytona when he ran out of fuel on the final lap, just 200 yards away from the finish line. The victory was returned to him on Friday afternoon as McReynolds won the International Motorsports Hall of Fame at Talladega Superspeedway.

Much like the ARCA races I've attended at Daytona and Mobile this season, today's race reminded me of everything I love about motorsports. There was a star-studded starting lineup, exciting but ultimately harmless accidents and a last-lap pass for the lead - everything a fan dreams of before the race.

I didn't even mention the margin of victory - 0.195 seconds. Exciting!

Much like the season-opening Lucas Oil Slick Mist 250 at Daytona International Speedway, Talladega was an all-star event featuring a combination of ARCA regulars, restrictor plate specialists and purse chasers. As a result, this race has a reputation as one of the most competitive in the ARCA Series - a league dominated by mostly half-mile short tracks.

Nine-of-20 ARCA races are on tracks a half-mile or shorter. If you've ever been to your local short track, you know just how competitive and exciting these tracks can be. Mobile and Salem produced some of the most exciting races of the season with Cale Gale and Alex Bowman picking up the checkered flags, respectively.

Gale's win was especially satisfying as the Mobile-native returned home, defeating a star-studded field that included ARCA regulars and Mobile Speedway's best that also included Chase Elliott, Bubba Pollard and Grant Enfinger.

At its core, that's what the ARCA Series is all about. It's about delivering the missing link between short track late model racing and NASCAR; featuring the most diverse track selection in motorsports history. In 2012, the ARCA Series will visit two 2.5-mile superspeedways, four 1.5-mile speedways, nine .5-mile shorts tracks, a dirt track, and for the first time ever - a road course at New Jersey Motorsports Park.

ARCA breeds champions with recent graduates including Ty Dillon and Joey Logano. Winning in the ARCA Series is a confirmation of one's talent and the gateway to future success in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

The only drawback is the league's lack of promotion and television time. Despite the high quality of its racing, only 10 of its events are televised and not all of them are live or in high-definition. Do yourself a favor and watch the replay of today's race. It will be well worth your time. Follow that up by telling Speed that you want the full schedule televised - because after today's race you'll want more of the most diverse stock car series in the world.

Talladega, Ala. - Talladega Superspeedway is the largest track on the ARCA Racing Series schedule and will play host to round four of their season in the International Motorsports Hall of Fame 250, Friday afternoon at 5 p.m. EST. It’s the second superspeedway race of the year after the season-opening Daytona Slick Mist 200 and two short tracks at Mobile International Speedway (Al) and The Salem Speedway (IN).

The following video, shot by content editor Matt Weaver, features nine-time ARCA Series champion Frank Kimmel, rookie Thomas Praytor and newcomer Buster Graham discuss how they plan on winning, or at least surviving, the Internatonal Motorsports Hall of Fame.

This is Matt's first video interview and he was both interviewer and cameraman on Friday. The video gets easier to watch as it goes along as Matt gets more comfortable in his role. All three drivers were extremely thelpful and we want to extend our thanks to each of them.

Enjoy!

Graham, Kimmel, and Praytor preview the ARCA Series International Hall of Fame 250 (via MattWeaverNASCAR)

UPDATE: 10:28 CST Photos from the ARCA Series practice session have been added.

Talladega, Ala. - Some of the best races in a stock car have taken place in the ARCA Racing Series in 2012. It's important to give that series their due credibility approaching the fourth race of the season, the International Motorsports Hall of Fame 250, today at Talladega Superspeedway (5 p.m. EST SPEED Channel).

This is just the second televised race of the year - after Daytona. But the other two races at Mobile and Salem have provided some of the best short track races in recent memory. Daytona delivered one of the wildest finishes in Speedway history and Talladega will no doubt attempt to top its sister track on Friday.

So here's a quick guide to the 2012 season if you're interested in watching the ARCA Talladega 250 at 5 p.m. EST on Speed Channel.

Daytona Slick Mist 200

Bobby Gerhart saved the most fuel, setting-up a dramatic fifth-to-first final lap pass, as the leaders ran out of fuel to win his record eighth ARCA race at Daytona International Speedway.

The victory capped-off a dramatic weekend for Gerhart, who initially won the pole for the race but failed post-qualifying tech inspection. The failure meant starting from the back of the pack, not that it much mattered to final laps.

Gerhart methodically picked his way through the field, breaking the top-15 by halfway and into the top-5 at the start of the final green-white-checkered attempt.

Brandon McReynolds led 62 laps, of a scheduled 80-lap race, but didn’t conserve enough fuel as the race went to overtime, handing the victory to Gerhart who maneuvered his way through several stalled cars on the frontstretch.

"It was a stupid mistake that cost us the pole," Gerhart said. "ARCA puts us in a box and it’s our obligation to play in it - we screwed up."

He also talked about what he saw coming out of turn 4, when the leaders started running out of fuel.

"We decided that no one was going to remember me finishing fifth and I decided to go for it. I didn’t anticipate everyone running out of fuel. It just played out that way. I got a shot from behind and drifted up.

"It worked out for us today."

Drew Charlson, Will Kimmel, Steve Blackburn and Mark Thompson completed the top-5.

The rest of the season and the current championship points standings will be recapped after the jump!

Continue reading this post »

Mobile, Ala. - A wonderful homecoming scenario took place for Cale Gale as he returned to his childhood home track on Saturday and won the inaugural ARCA/Mobile 200 at Mobile International Speedway.

Gale led 76 of 203 laps, including the final 28, on a race extended by a green-white-checkered finish. Gale held off an aggressive final restart by Chad Hackenbracht, which included an attempted bump-and-run in Turn 2. Hackenbracht drove it in too deep and couldn't close in on Turns 3 and 4.

"I really didn't want to wreck him to win the race," Hackenbracht said. "He's the hometown hero and I wouldn't be allowed out of Mobile if I won that way."

Gale passed fellow Mobile-native Grant Enfinger on lap 176 and never looked back. Currently driving a full-time Camping World Truck Series schedule for Eddie Sharp Racing, Gale now has two wins in 11 ARCA starts, his first coming at Gateway in 2006.

"This worked out better than we ever could have expected it to," Gale said. "It's especially special, because my grandfather passed away last year and we spent many Saturday nights up here. This is my first race win since he passed away."

Gale qualified ninth and quickly charged to the front, putting pressure on a race-leading Chase Elliott and second place Enfinger.

Enfinger took the lead on lap 128 and dominated the middle portion of the race, including a 59-lap green flag stretch, the longest without a caution. Enfinger's car was best on long green flag runs and he lost the handling when the closing laps turned into a crash fest.

Gale took the lead from Enfinger, just one circuit after a lap 174 restart and Enfinger's Ford was never the same. Enfinger faded on the final restart and finished in 13^th.

"We're disappointed with the outcome," Enfinger said. "However, we were going for the win and weren't trying to race for points. It was win or lose and our strategy just backfired. We had a fast car and I could drive it anywhere during the long green flag run."

Elliott started his first ARCA race on the outside pole and took the lead from pole-sitter Alex Bowman on lap 28. He told crew chief Lance McGrew that he could have made the pass at any moment but wanted to save his equipment. He led 22 laps before his tires fell off and ultimately finished 10^th.

"We ended up tenth which wasn't bad," Elliott said. "We had a fast car, led some laps, but the cautions and tire strategy just didn't fall our way."

Next up for the ARCA Racing Series is a trip to Salem, Kentucky for the Kentuckiana Ford Dealers 200 at Salem Speedway. Frank Kimmel leads the Series with nine wins at the .555-mile paved oval. The race is set for Sunday, Apr. 29 at 3:15 p.m. EST. Chris Buescher is the defending race winner.

A complete finishing order, championship standings, and a photo album can be found beneath the jump. Check it out!

Continue reading this post »

Mobile, Ala. - Grant Enfinger is living proof that you can always go back home.

"I'm really excited about coming back to Mobile," Enfinger said. "I may have been this most excited when rumors first surfaced that ARCA was coming to Mobile. I'm glad I have the opportunity to make this happen. I can't wait to show the ARCA world this wonderful facility and hopefully we can go out there and win this thing."

Having started his career at Mobile International Speedway, site of Saturday's inaugural ARCA/Mobile 200, Enfinger still calls Mobile home. He's spent the last two seasons competing in ARCA and NASCAR's Camping World Truck Series, but Mobile still holds a special place in Enfinger's heart.

Enfinger returns to Mobile as the driver of the Bragg Racing Group #82 Ford Fusion and may have the best shot at capturing Mobile's first ARCA trophy. This is the same team that powered Enfinger to a 12^th place finish in last month's Truck Series NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona International Speedway.

"This is the best group of guys I've ever been with," Enfinger said. "I feel like we have a really good shot at winning this race. Josh Bragg is a really good crew chief and I feel like I have enough experience at the Speedway to really make a difference."

Most of that experience at Mobile International Speedway came in a super late model, a completely different car than those featured in the ARCA Racing Series. ARCA cars feature an extra 1,000 horsepower and roughly 1,000 pounds compared to super late models.

Enfinger successfully made the transition from late models to the ARCA Series, winning the pole and finishing fourth at Berlin Speedway in July. Enfinger ran the full-season in 2011, ranking fourth in the final standings, finishing behind heavy-hitters Ty Dillon, Chris Buescher and Frank Kimmel.

It's that level of experience that Enfinger hopes will propel him to victory on Saturday. The track is the same and the cars are familiar - but the same could be said for other Mobile Speedway veterans including Cale Gale, Chase Elliott and Bubba Pollard. While Enfinger would like to hoist the trophy, he feels that it's important for the familiar faces to have a strong showing.

"I think Bubba has the best shot out of all the local guys," Enfinger said. "But I think you have to consider Cale Gale too. He's with a team in Eddie Sharp Racing that has support from Richard Childress Racing and has won championships at the highest level. Gale knows his way around Mobile and he's bringing a strong team to the Speedway - it's a perfect match for Saturday's race."

But don't let the humility fool you - Grant Enfinger is in a great position to win the ARCA/Mobile 200 - and he knows it.

"I feel like we're bringing a good car to Mobile," Enfinger said. "We have big expectations and I'm hoping we win. It would be a big deal for a local guy to show the ARCA Series what it's all about in Mobile."

Practice will begin at 1:30 p.m. Central on Friday, March 9, and will last for three and a half hours. Qualifying will follow, starting at 7 p.m. The 200-lap, 100-mile Mobile ARCA 200 will start at 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 10.

NASCAR Ranting and Raving content editor Matt Weaver will be live on-site at Mobile International Speedway and will post live updates to Twitter @MattWeaverSBN.

ARCA Racing Series
Daytona International Speedway
49th Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 at Daytona
Provided by ARCA Statistics - Sat, February 18, 2012 @ 11:00 AM Eastern

The Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 is scheduled to start at 4:30 p.m. at Daytona International Speedway. SPEED will begin television coverage at 4 p.m. EST. A race day open chat can be found HERE!

When talking about the ARCA Racing Series, one name always rises to the forefront of conversation.

Frank Kimmel.

Kimmel's identity is synonymous with winning at short track racing's highest level. With 74 race wins and nine championships, Kimmel is the most decorated champion in ARCA Series history.

After four mediocre seasons driving for his brother, Bill, at Kimmel Racing, Frank Kimmel is looking to christen ThorSport's inaugural ARCA season with a championship.

Kimmel sat down with NASCAR Ranting and Raving and discussed his legacy, sponsors, and the season's first two races at Daytona and Mobile. Kimmel is a virtual lock to be one of the championship contenders come the season finale at Kansas and could cement his legacy with a tenth Series championship.

Matt Weaver: The 2012 season is a new beginning of sorts. Long-time Truck Series owners ThorSport Racing recently expanded into ARCA and signed you to be their driver. How did this deal come together?

Frank Kimmel: At the end of the year, I just decided it was time to do something different because we kind of got stale at Kimmel Racing. Bill's ready for Will to race - my nephew, his son - so they're going to go and do their thing and I'm going to go try my hand with ThorSport.

My sponsors approached me about a potential ARCA ride with ThorSport, so I reached out to those guys and we put a deal together pretty fast. It's really exciting to move to a team that's had such great success in the Truck Series. Hopefully, we can turn that over to some really good success in ARCA Racing.

The rest of the Q&A can be found beneath the jump!

Continue reading this post »