Rookies Corey Heim and Carson Hocevar Ready to Tackle ARCA Dirt for the First Time

There has been a youth movement in American motorsports since 1992, and in 2019, it’s most evident in the ARCA Menards Series. ARCA’s rules allow drivers as young as 15 years of age to compete on tracks one mile in length and under and the series even offers those young drivers a chance to race for a championship, the Sioux Chief Short Track Challenge.

 The drivers competing for this year’s Sioux Chief Short Track Challenge include series regulars and some drivers under 18 that aren’t eligible to race on the big tracks. Drivers like Corey Heim (No. 22 Speedway Children’s Charities Ford) and Carson Hocevar (No. 28 GMPartsNow.com/Scott’s Coins/KBR Development Chevrolet). Both drivers have shown tremendous skill and potential in their limited ARCA starts, and they come from very similar racing backgrounds.

 Heim, from Marietta, Georgia, recently turned seventeen years old. Like many others, he got his start in quarter midgets before moving into Legends cars and then late models. He made his ARCA debut at Five Flags Speedway where he qualified fourth and finished fifth. He’s racked up four more top-five finishes in his next eight starts, including a fourth-place finish the last time out in his first start at Pocono Raceway.

 Hocevar, from Portage, Michigan, recently turned sixteen years old. USAC’s all-time winningest quarter midget driver as a youngster, he’s also the youngest-ever late model winner at the famed Berlin Raceway in Michigan. Last season, at 15 years of age, Hocevar earned his first career General Tire Pole Award at Berlin in just his second series start. He’s registered four top-five finishes this season including a season-best third at Salem where he also started from the pole.

 Between the two of them, despite their young age, they have a lot of short track racing experience. But what they don’t have is a lot of dirt track experience.

 The next two races in the Sioux Chief Short Track Challenge, the August 18 Allen Crowe 100 presented by Lucas Oil on the Springfield Mile at the Illinois State Fair and the August 31 Southern Illinois 100 on the Magic Mile at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds, are both on dirt. Both of the young drivers believe they are up to the challenge and hope to join drivers like NASCAR on NBC analyst Parker Kligerman and Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Daytona winner Justin Haley as winners at Springfield in their first start.

 Heim will attempt to accomplish that feat with the same organization that Kligerman pulled it off with back in 2009. Kligerman, driving for team owners Kerry Scherer and Briggs Cunningham, won both of ARCA’s two dirt races that season. Before the 2018 season, long-time crew chief Chad Bryant bought the assets of the team from Scherer and Cunningham.

 “Unfortunately, I don’t know any knowledge on dirt,” Heim said with a chuckle. “With that being said, I’m going into Springfield and even DuQuoin not knowing what to expect, but I feel like it’s going to be a ton of fun. I think I can take what I learn from Springfield and build on it in DuQuoin. My goal is to run up front in these ARCA Menards Series races, even at these dirt tracks where the racing will be completely foreign to me. I only have four more races with Chad Bryant Racing and my goal is to get a win in any or all of them. I have my goals set high, but I think my team will give me competitive race cars as usual, that I can compete for wins with.”

 Like Heim, Hocevar would like to become a debut winner at Springfield. He polished up his dirt racing skills a couple of weeks ago racing in the annual NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Eldora Dirt Derby. Hocevar started fifth in his heat race and finished third to transfer into the 150-lap main event. He was swept into an accident on lap 65 and the resultant damage left him 25th at the finish. That experience, and guidance from former Truck Series champion Johnny Benson, gives Hocevar added confidence headed into Sunday’s 100-miler.

 “There are a lot of things I learned at Eldora Speedway that I can apply to this weekend’s ARCA Menards Series race at Springfield,” Hocevar said. “I think that experience is really going to help us off the trailer and help me adapt quicker so we just focus on our balance. I am excited to get going on Sunday. It should be a fun race.”

 The ARCA Menards Series returns to action with the first of two dirt track races with the Allen Crowe 100 presented by Lucas Oil on Sunday August 18 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds. Practice on the one-mile dirt oval will begin at 10 am ET/9 am CT, General Tire Pole Qualifying is set for 12 n ET/11 am CT, and the 100-mile feature event will go green at 2:30 pm ET/1:30 pm CT. The race will be televised live flag-to-flag on MAVTV. ARCA for Me members can follow live timing & scoring, live chat, and live track updates at ARCARacing.com. New users can register for free with a valid email address at ARCARacing.com/login. For ticket information please visit TrackEnterprises.com.