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ARCA Menards Series Championship Battle Heats Up As Series Heads to Pocono

www.arcaracing.com May 28, 2019

The championship battle for the ARCA Menards Series was scrambled after Thursday’s General Tire 150 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Michael Self (No. 25 Sinclair Lubricants Toyota) continues to lead and he has a 55-point advantage over a tie for second between Bret Holmes (No. 23 Holmes II Excavation/Southern States Bank Chevrolet) and Travis Braden (No. 27 MatrixCare/Consonus Health Care/Liberty Village Ford).

Self has two wins, at Five Flags and Salem, five top-five and five top-ten finishes in the seven races contested so far in 2019. He’s also scored a pair of General Tire Pole Awards, first at Toledo Speedway and again at Charlotte.

Holmes has had a steady season. He’s scored one top-five finish, a fifth-place run at Nashville, and a total of five top-ten finishes. He’s completed 99.8% of the laps so far and led four laps late in the race at Charlotte. He is tied for second with Braden, and although he’s still looking for his first top-five finish of the season he’s scored five top-ten finishes and based on his consistency this season has led the championship point standings twice already this season.

Christian Eckes (No. 15 JBL Audio Toyota) fought back from a flat tire that caused him to graze the outside wall and lose two laps to finish seventh. Eckes remains fourth in the standings, 115 points out of the lead. The crush panels were damaged in Eckes’ scrape with the wall which allowed exhaust gas into the cockpit and eventually sent Eckes to the hospital for evaluation.

Joe Graf, Jr. (No. 77 EAT SLEEP RACE Ford) sits fifth in the standings, 145 points out of the lead. Graf hasn’t found the performance he’s wanted so far in 2019, but has still collected three top-ten finishes in seven starts with a best finish of sixth at Nashville.

The battle for the ARCA Menards Series championship continues in the General Tire #AnywhereIsPossible 200 at Pocono Raceway on Friday, May 31. Practice starts at 9 am ET, followed by General Tire Pole Qualifying at 12 noon. The race is scheduled to start at 5:45 pm ET and will be televised live on FS2 with a same day replay on FS1 at 8 pm ET. ARCA for Me members can access live timing & scoring, live track updates, and live chat for free at ARCARacing.com. New users may join for free with a valid email address at ARCARacing.com/login. For tickets, log on to PoconoRaceway.com or call 800-RACEWAY.