Pit Box: More Short Track Action On Tap For ARCA At Elko Speedway
Pit Box: More Short Track Action On Tap For ARCA At Elko Speedway
News and notes heading into the Menards 250 for the ARCA Menards Series at Elko Speedway
The short track summer for the ARCA Menards Series continues Saturday when the series heads to the backyard of title partner Menards. Minnesota’s Elko Speedway will host the Menards 250 this weekend.
The race, which also serves as the fourth round of the 2022 Sioux Chief Showdown, is scheduled to begin at 8:30 p.m. CT / 9:30 p.m. ET and will be available live on MAVTV and FloRacing. Radio coverage of the event will be available on ARCARacing.com.
Saturday’s race at the 3/8-mile paved oval is the eighth race of the ARCA Menards Series season and the eighth time the series has competed at Elko. Corey Heim scored his fourth of six ARCA Menards Series victories last year in the most recent series event at the track.
Tickets to Saturday’s Menards 250 are available. Below is everything to know about the event.
Menards 250 at Elko Speedway
WHAT TO WATCH FOR:
A new Elko winner is a guarantee Saturday night, as no previous winners at the track are among the expected entries this weekend.
A number of the expected entries are still in search of their first wins of the year, including ARCA Menards Series championship leader Rajah Caruth, who remains winless in ARCA competition despite being the most consistent competitor in the series this season.
Jesse Love, who claimed his maiden ARCA Menards Series victory last season at Indiana’s Salem Speedway, will hope to add his name to the list of victors at Elko.
Love is part of a four-car field for Venturini Motorsports this weekend. Joining the Venturini stable at Elko is rookie Landon Pembelton, who will be making his first ARCA start. Pembelton made headlines last year by becoming the youngest winner in the history of the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 Late Model Stock Car race at Martinsville Speedway.
Also apart of the Venturini stable this weekend is Tom Hessert, who is fresh off a runner-up result last weekend at Berlin Raceway in Marne, Michigan, as well as series regular Toni Breidinger.
Sammy Smith, who captured his first ARCA Menards Series victory one weekend ago, will look to make it two straight ARCA triumphs aboard Kyle Busch Motorsports’ No. 18 Toyota. Nick Sanchez, already a two-time winner this year for Rev Racing, will chase victory No. 3 Saturday at Elko.
Willie Mullins returns to ARCA competition in a partnership with Fast Track Racing aboard the No. 12 Toyota. Daniel Dye will look for redemption following a dominant run at Berlin last Saturday that ended in heartbreak, and Taylor Gray is back in David Gilliland Racing’s No. 17 Ford Mustang.
Other competitors expected to race at Elko include Greg Van Alst, Amber Balcaen, Ron Vandermeir Jr., Alex Clubb and Zachary Tinkle.
The complete entry list for Saturday’s Menards 250 will be released later this week.
RACE FACTS
RACE | Menards 250 |
PLACE | Elko Speedway |
DATE | Saturday, June 25, 2022 |
TIME | 8:30 p.m. CT / 9:30 p.m. ET |
TV CHANNEL/LIVE STREAM | MAVTV / FloRacing |
RADIO | ARCARacing.com |
TRACK LAYOUT | 3/8-mile oval |
LAPS | 250 |
EVENT SCHEDULE | Saturday, June 25: Practice at 3:30 – 4:15 p.m. CT … General Tire Pole Qualifying at 5 p.m. CT … Start of the Menards 250 at 8:49 p.m. CT |
CREW CHIEF HANDOUT: The starting field for the Menards 250 is limited to 25 plus provisional positions. This event will be run under the 2022 ARCA Menards Series rules, procedures, regulations and specifications.
QUALIFYING: Starting lineup set by each car’s fastest lap recorded during two-lap qualifying session.
RACE PIT STOP: Break pit stop procedure. Breaks at or near the conclusion of Laps 75 and 175. All cars will be required to make at least one pit stop prior to last 10 laps of race. No adding or moving tires to or from pit box once race has started.
The maximum tire allotment available for this event is as follows: Per ARCA Rulebook, maximum number of tires allowed in pit box for use in race is six (6).