Chevrolet Tag

By Brian Eberly, Contributing Writer SALEM, Ind. – When the first caution flew in Sunday afternoon’s ARCA Racing Series event at Salem Speedway, the leaders hit pit road for the first round of pit stops and some fresh General Tire rubber. Bret Holmes exited his pit box as Christian Eckes and Chase Purdy were going past and three-wide usually doesn’t work on the race track, much less on the already tight quarters of pit road at Salem. Holmes’ No. 23 Chevrolet slammed into a crew member pitting the Gus DeanRead More

By Don Radebaugh, ARCA Communications Manager SALEM, Ind. – It was one for the ages, especially for Middletown, N.Y.’s Christian Eckes who held off a hungry pack over the final 50 laps to earn his career-first ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards victory Sunday afternoon at Salem Speedway. Eckes, in the No. 15 JBL Audio Toyota for Venturini Motorsports, first fought off Zane Smith, then held back the non-stop hard charge from Chandler Smith to win the 103rd running of the Kentuckiana Ford Dealers 200. “I can’t believe this…I really can’t,” saidRead More

By Brian Eberly, Contributing Writer The ARCA Racing Series heads to arguably the best track on the schedule and the one most-perfect for the series this weekend for the third race of the 2018 season. With a race day forecast of 63 degrees and a zero percent chance of rain, the stands should be packed at the high-banked half-mile in Indiana. The Track Salem Speedway is a 0.555-mile paved oval with 33 degrees of banking in the turns. The old, bumpy, worn-out surface typically produces fantastic racing and is aRead More

By Brian Eberly, Contributing Writer Last season, the ARCA Racing Series took the white flag in the General Tire 200 at Talladega Superspeedway with Brandon Lynn leading the way in the No. 88 Mason Mitchell Motorsports Chevrolet. Lynn appeared poised to earn his first series victory, or at the very least, a solid top-five finish in his eighth start in the series. As the leaders barreled into turn three for the final time, a wreck happened on the backstretch to bring out the yellow flag. Lynn’s fuel tank ran dryRead More

By Brian Eberly, Contributing Writer This weekend’s ARCA Racing Series event at the historic Salem Speedway will feature another young up-and-coming driver when Colby Howard climbs behind the wheel of the No. 78 Mason Mitchell Motorsports Chevrolet. Howard is a third-generation racer whose grandfather Buddy and father Rodney achieved great success running on the short tracks of South Carolina. The 16-year-old Howard began his career racing dirt bikes before switching to mini stocks and limited late models. In 2016, Howard earned seven wins and finished runner-up in the Southeast LimitedRead More

By Brian Eberly, Contributing Writer Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway resulted in three wrecked race cars for Jimmie Johnson, including one in last Sunday’s Daytona 500 when he was involved in a multi-car accident on Lap 60. Johnson left Daytona Beach “really bummed out” and headed for a few days with his girls at Disney World before arriving at the 1.54-mile Atlanta Motor Speedway. The Hampton, Georgia track has suited Johnson well during his career. Leading all active drivers with five wins and a 105.4 driver rating, it appeared toRead More

By Brian Eberly, Contributing Writer The last time the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series visited Atlanta Motor Speedway, a Kyle Busch Motorsports truck piloted by Christopher Bell dominated the weekend, winning the pole, both stages and the race. The boss of KMB looks to repeat the feat, as Kyle Busch took the top spot for Saturday afternoon’s Active Pest Control 200. Busch put down a lap at 179.743 mph (30.844) in the No. 4 Toyota to earn the 19th pole of his Truck Series career. It’s the second pole of theRead More

By Brian Eberly, Contributing Writer In a final round of qualifying that featured a great mix of veteran and youth, Christopher Bell turned a lap at 181.76 mph (30.60 seconds) to take the top spot for Saturday afternoon’s NASCAR XFINITY Series Rinnai 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Bell, in his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, edged out Joey Logano to earn his second series pole in just his 10th start. “This one’s probably a little bit more enjoyable,” Bell said with a large grin when asked if this poleRead More

By Brian Eberly, Contributing Writer Natalie Decker turned a 49.489 second lap (181.859 mph) around Daytona International Speedway on Friday afternoon to win the pole for Saturday’s ARCA Racing Series Lucas Oil 200. The Wisconsinite edged out Zane Smith by .001 seconds, earning her first General Tire Pole Award in eight series starts. Decker is the first female to claim the top spot at the 2.5-mile superspeedway since Erin Crocker in 2007. Decker is set to run the full 20-race ARCA schedule this season, piloting the No. 25 Toyota withRead More

By Brian Eberly, Contributing Writer Editor’s note: Motorsports Tribune will be previewing the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season for the top-30 drivers in the series leading into this month’s 60th running of the Daytona 500. Age: 40 Years in Cup: 16 Career Wins: 18 Ryan Newman returns behind the wheel of the No. 31 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing in 2018, his fifth with the team and 17th full-time in the Cup Series. Newman comes off a year in which he went to victory lane at Phoenix Raceway, snapping aRead More