ARCA

By Brian Eberly, Contributing Writer MARNE, Mich. — Heading in to Saturday’s ARCA Racing Series activity at Berlin Raceway, the forecast was less than ideal with a high percentage for rain throughout the day. With overcast skies throughout the afternoon, teams were able to get on track for practice. But after 45 minutes of the scheduled 90-minute session, the skies opened up and rain halted on-track activity. While the rain briefly subsided, it picked up again prior to qualifying and the field was set based upon practice speeds. Fifteen-year-old CarsonRead More

By Brian Eberly, Contributing Writer Winning races usually requires the right combination of skill sprinkled with a little bit of luck, as often times drivers will say they would rather be lucky than good. With 50 laps to go in Saturday night’s ARCA Racing Series Sioux Chief PowerPEX 250 at Elko Speedway, Gus Dean was a lap down in the 10th position. When the dust and speedy dry settled at the checkered flag, Dean was pulling the No. 32 Gree Cooling Products/Baker Distributing Chevrolet into victory lane for his secondRead More

By Aaron Bearden, Open Wheel Editor When Joe Graf Jr. took the checkered flag fifth at Iowa Speedway, it would be natural to assume that he would be happy with the run. Graf had never seen the 7/8-mile oval before, after all, and he had just one top five in his previous six ARCA Racing Series results. But when he climbed out of his No. 77 Ford, the Chad Bryant Racing (CBR) rookie was less than pleased. “No I’m not,” Graf told Motorsports Tribune when asked if he was content withRead More

By Aaron Bearden, Open Wheel Editor Harrison Burton’s in an interesting stage of his budding racing career. At 17 years old, the son of NASCAR veteran Jeff Burton is too young to leap up to the Camping World Truck Series full-time. Burton has already conquered the K&N Pro Series East – he’s the defending champion – and his nine-race Truck schedule for Kyle Busch Motorsports kept him from picking another tour to to contest for the championship in 2018. The North Carolinian is an upcoming prospect with wins ranging from Bristol Motor SpeedwayRead More

By Aaron Bearden, Open Wheel Editor MDM Motorsports driver Chase Purdy brought home his fourth-consecutive top five in Saturday’s Fans With Benefits 150. But unlike his other results, Purdy was far from content to be so close to his first ARCA Racing Series victory at Iowa Speedway. Purdy surged in the final run to the checkered flag to claim a third-place finish in ARCA’s lone 2018 trip to Iowa – a strong run, but one that fell short of what the Mississippian believed he was capable of that night. “It’s aRead More

By Aaron Bearden, Open Wheel Editor Chandler Smith came to Iowa Speedway without experience on larger ovals and unsure of what to expect. He nearly left the track with the checkered flag. Smith rose through the field over the course of the 150-lap event and shadowed ARCA Racing Series points leader Sheldon Creed to the finish en-route to a second-place result in Saturday’s Fans With Benefits 150. The run was Smith’s fourth top five and fifth top 10 in five-career ARCA starts. “This is my first time ever being on aRead More

By Brian Eberly, Contributing Writer NEWTON, Iowa— After getting behind the wheel of one of his team’s Chevrolets at a recent Iowa Speedway test, team-owner Mason Mitchell decided he had to drive when the ARCA Racing Series rolled into his hometown track. Mitchell announced to the team on Monday morning at the competition meeting that he would drive a second entry for the team in Saturday night’s Fans with Benefits 150. Mitchell hails from West Des Moines, Iowa and parked it in victory lane at the 7/8-mile oval in aRead More

By Aaron Bearden, Open Wheel Editor NEWTON, Iowa — Sheldon Creed kept his summer streak of ARCA Racing Series dominance alive at Iowa Speedway. Creed led a race-high 85 laps and fended off a fierce challenge from Venturini Motorsports ace Chandler Smith in the closing laps to win Saturday’s Fans With Benefits 150. The victory was the Californian’s third in the past five races, and marked his seventh-consecutive finish in the top three. “We have some momentum right now,” Creed said afterward. “It’s so hard to get these race cars hookedRead More

By Brian Eberly, Contributing Writer NEWTON, Iowa— Sam Mayer’s year started by being named to JR Motorsports’ championship-winning Late Model program and his motorsports career took the next step on Saturday at Iowa Speedway with his ARCA Racing Series debut. Mayer qualified the No. 40 MDM Motorsports Toyota in the 10th position and brought the car home with a 10th-place finish. Mayer gained a couple of positions in the early going as the first third of the race was run under green flag conditions. After the first trip down pit road,Read More