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Championship Fight at Boiling Point after Short Track Battle at Salem

www.arcaracing.com September 16, 2019

The battle for the ARCA Menards Series season has reached the boiling point With two races remaining in the season.

Michael Self (No. 25 Sinclair Lubricants Toyota) entered the Kentuckiana Ford Dealers Fall Classic 200 at Salem Speedway with a 70-point lead. Suspension issues on the tough Salem high banks put Self behind the wall for 66 laps. The mechanical issues relegated Self to 14th at the finish.

Meanwhile, Christian Eckes (No. 15 JBL Audio Toyota) had exactly the day he needed to close the points gap. He started sixth and moved steadily towards the front and spent the final 98 laps among the top three. When the fourth of five caution flags was displayed with 29 laps to go, Eckes’ Kevin Reed-led pit crew was able to get him off pit road first, giving Eckes a five point bonus for leading a lap.

Had the race ended with Eckes leading, he would have assumed the points lead by five points, however, as soon as the green flag waved Ty Gibbs quickly reassumed the lead and drove to his second win of the season. Eckes held off charges first by Sam Mayer (No. 21 Chevy Accessories Chevrolet) and then by Corey Heim (No. 22 Speedway Children’s Charities Ford) to cross the line in second. It was his fifth consecutive top-two finish, inlcuding wins at Pocono and DuQuoin, dating back to the race at Iowa in July.

After cutting 35 points off Self’s advantage with his win at DuQuoin, Eckes chopped another 65 points off the lead at Salem, leaving Self with a mere five-point lead heading into the Herr’s Potato Chips 200 at Lucas Oil Raceway on Saturday, October 5.

Eckes won at Lucas Oil Raceway last fall while Self finished eleventh. Eckes did not compete at Kansas last fall while Self finished third.

Eckes is the defending winner of the season’s final short track race, while Self won at Kansas, site of the season finale on October 18, in 2017.

The ARCA Menards Series will take two weekends off before returning to action on Saturday October 5 with the Herr’s Potato Chips 200 at Lucas Oil Raceway. Practice starts the day’s activities at 2 pm ET, with General Tire Pole Qualifying at 5 pm ET. The 200-lap main event, scheduled for live broadcast MAVTV, will go green shortly after 8 pm ET. ARCA for Me members can access 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. Discounted adult general admission tickets are available through October 4 at Indianapolis-area Menards locations for just $20. For more information, please visit TrackEnterprises.com.