Copyright ©1999-2012 - Track Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Sanctioning Body and Sponsor Logos are the properties of their respective owners.
Friday May 24
"Hoosier 100" USAC Silver Crown Series Plus $2000 to Win UMP Modifieds
Indiana State Fairgrounds
Tickets On Sale Now for Most Track Enterprises Events by calling 217-764-3200! Click on the Events Page for Those Events that Offer Advanced Tickets!
Back by popular demand, ARCA returns to Elko Speedway
for second annual Akona 250; adds 50 laps to race distance;
discount tix on sale across 36 Menards stores in Minnesota
(TOLEDO, Ohio) - Back by popular demand, the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards is returning to Elko Speedway for the second annual Akona 250 presented by Federated Car Care coming Saturday, June 1.
Race fans were treated to spectacular and continual two- and three-wide spectacle in last year's race; and despite being the shortest track on the ARCA tour at three-eighths of a mile, there were only four cautions for 26 laps during the 200-lap short track thriller.
That's precisely why series officials have increased the length of the race from 200 to 250 laps, giving race fans that much more of what they'll be coming to see.
"We're looking to make the Elko event an annual stop on the ARCA schedule and feel adding 50 laps to the race will make it just that much more exciting," Track Enterprises President Bob Sargent said. "In addition, we have some other pretty cool things planned for the first Saturday in June."
A near capacity crowd in 2012 witnessed Venturini Motorsports development driver Brennan Poole capture the checkered flag in a lightning-quick 200-lap race, which took just an hour to complete.
To give the show even more kick, officials from TCC Materials, Track Enterprises and ARCA announced jointly that Akona would again sponsor the race in 2013.
"We're fortunate to have a corporate sponsor in Akona help bring the ARCA Racing Series back to Elko Speedway," added Sargent, who also promotes ARCA races at the Illinois State Fairgrounds and the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds.
TCC Materials® Akona® brand of concrete repair products will be the race title sponsor ARCA's second visit to Elko.
"We are looking forward to working in partnership with Menards to sponsor the second Akona race to be held at Elko Speedway," said Brian DiGrado, Marketing & Business Development Manager of TCC Materials/Akona. "This exciting venue gives us an excellent opportunity to highlight our Akona brand of concrete repair products, which are manufactured locally in Minnesota and are available at Menards stores across the region."
A fabulous and intense championship points battle is already taking shape in 2013 between nine-time series champion Frank Kimmel and SCOTT Challenge Rookie of the Year contender Mason Mingus.
Kimmel, driver of the No. 44 Ansell-Menards Toyota for ThorSport Racing, is 51, while Mingus, driver of the No. 32 811 Call Before You Dig Toyota for Win Tron Racing, is not yet 19. Win Tron is based out of nearby Lakeville, Minnesota.
Race tickets are currently available at 36 Menards stores throughout Minnesota, and will be on sale for $20 - a $10 discount off the at-track price - until Friday, May 31, the day before the race.
The ARCA Racing Series will hold two practices on June 1, from 2-2:45 p.m. and 3:15-4. Menards Pole Qualifying presented by Ansell will follow at 5:30, and every driver in the starting field will sign autographs for fans on the track from 6:30-7:30. The 250-lap race will begin at 8. All times are Central.
The Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) is among the leading auto racing sanctioning bodies in the country. Founded in 1953 by John and Mildred Marcum, the organization administers more than 100 events each year in multiple racing series, including the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards, the ARCA/CRA Super Series, the ARCA Truck Series and the ARCA Midwest Tour, plus weekly racing at Toledo and Flat Rock Speedways.
About ARCA
The Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) is among the leading auto racing sanctioning bodies in the country. Founded in 1953 by John and Mildred Marcum, the organization administers more than 100 events each year in multiple racing series, including the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards, the ARCA/CRA Super Series, the ARCA Truck Series and the ARCA Midwest Tour, plus weekly racing at Toledo and Flat Rock Speedways.
Rotondo Weirich Motorstports Team Seeking History in May 24rd Hoosier 100
Indianapolis, IN (May 13, 2013)-Rotondo Weirich Motorsports has been an entrant in the USAC Silver Crown Series since 1999, starting with Rich Tobias, Jr. and the team can write their name in the USAC history book on May 23 if one of their two drivers can win the 60th Hoosier 100 at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. If two-time Hoosier Hundred winner Jerry Coons , Jr. or rookie Kevin Thomas can enter victory lane next Thursday night, RW Motorsports would join the late Al Dean and Vel’s_Parnelli Jones as the only entrants to win four consecutive Hoosier Hundred races.
Dean Van Lines entered the 1953 national championship season somewhat in disarray with equipment that needed to be rebuilt and in search of a driver who could stand on the gas, as well as a top wrench to look after the equipment. After the 1953 Indianapolis 500, Al Dean hired a west coast mechanic named Clint Brawner to look after the team’s Eddie Kuzma built Offenhauser powered dirt car and find a pilot who could wring the most out of the machine. After Brawner assessed the equipment, he told Dean that the Offy engine was in need of a rebuild. Instead of resistance, Brawner found an owner willing to accommodate his request and Dean had the new parts shipped to Indianapolis. After rebuilding the Dean machine Brawner settled on an eager young driver named Bob Sweikert.
Sweikert won the pole at Syracuse in September and led a good chunk of that race before falling out due to an accident. He and Brawner were ready for Jo Quinn and Roger Wolcott’s first Hoosier Hundred on September 19, 1953 but the track wasn’t as rain postponed the rich dirt track event until the 26th. Sweikert qualified the Dean car in third, grabbed the lead on lap 6 and ran to the checkers under a blanket with three other machines in the closest Hoosier Hundred finish in history. The Dean Van Lines car returned in 1954 with Jimmy Bryan at the helm, and would pocket the lion’s share of the purse in 1955 and 1956 as well.
Vel’s-Parnelli Jones Racing was in its second year of existence in 1970 when they entered the 18th running of the fall classic at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. Second year driver Al Unser was in his third season working with chief mechanic George Bignotti, the two having come from John Mecom’s stable after the 1968 season. VPJ debuted on of the first Ford DOHC powered dirt cars in 1969, a Grant King creation that Al won with at DuQuoin in late 1969. Now in navy blue with lightning bolts, the Johnny Lightning Special simply looked fast. Al slowly reeled in early race leader A.J. Foyt in September of 1970 and led most of the second half before an ABC Wide World of Sports audience on the way to his first Hoosier Hundred. He captured three more, one in Johnny Lightning livery, and two in the red and white Viceroy colors. In a twist of irony, historians think that the Dean Van Lines Kuzma and the VPJ King-Ford are the only two cars to win four consecutive Hoosier Hundred events.
RW Motorsports entered Beast chassis in 2010 for Coons and Shane Hmiel with Hmiel gaining an emotional 100-mile win two nights before the 2010 Indianapolis 500. Coons won in 2011, and last year dominated over the last 80 miles to put the RW Toyota powered Beast into victory lane. Both he and rookie Kevin Thomas, Jr. will have similar machines at their disposal on May 23.
The 2013 Hoosier Hundred gets a new look as promoter Bob Sargent of Track Enterprises has moved the race to the former “Carb Day” for the Indianapolis 500, the new date is the Thursday night before the Indianapolis 500. “We felt that this was the right move for the event and gives fans one fantastic stretch of races in about a ten day period, with Indy 500 qualifying the weekend before, a USAC sprint race at Terre Haute on May 22, the Hoosier Hundred on Thursday and Carb Day at the Speedway on Friday”, said Sargent. “A lot of the participants over at the Speedway wanted to come out for the Hoosier Hundred but with the Carb Day festivities and their commitments, couldn’t fit Friday night in at the Fairgrounds.” “I expect that to change with the race now on Thursday and there is no telling who you might see out at the Fairgrounds May 23.”
Tickets for the Hoosier Hundred are now on sale at Ticketmaster or through Track Enterprises at 217-764-3200.
Hoosier 100 Friday May 24th
Indianapolis (May 23, 2013)-Persistent rain showers over central Indiana have caused the 60th anniversary Hoosier Hundred USAC Silver Crown race at the Indiana State Fairgrounds to be postponed until tomorrow night, May 24. Heavy rains in central Indiana yesterday led to the postponement of the USAC Sprint Car Tony Hulman Classic at Terre Haute and light to moderate showers passing through Indianapolis and the surrounding areas only added to the rain received at the fairgrounds. The added rain made the track unsuitable for racing this evening.
However, Indy bound race fans get the luxury of the event returning to the traditional Friday slot as USAC and Track Enterprises, along with the Indiana State Fair, have agreed to use tomorrow night as a rain date for the 60th Hoosier Hundred. “I hate it for the fans and racers, but we just couldn’t avoid the rain”, said promoter Bob Sargent. “I guess if we were going to have a rainout this is the best situation we could be in, we still have tomorrow and the weather forecast for tomorrow is very good with cool weather and sunny skies in central Indiana.” “Race fans ought to see one heck of a show tomorrow.”
Times remain the same with the grandstand open at 3, practice at 5, qualifications at 6 and racing at 7 at the Indiana State Fairgrounds.
