ARCA News and Notes: NASCAR Touring Series Awards Banquet

NASCAR TOURING SERIES BANQUET NOTES 11-23-19

Both NASCAR K&N Pro Series champions, Sam Mayer (East) and Derek Kraus (West) honored at Saturday night’s function, earned invitations to the ARCA Road To Daytona experience. The East and West Series becomes the ARCA Menards Series East and West going forward, and Mayer and Kraus join ARCA CRA Super Series champion Greg Van Alst and ARCA Midwest Tour Rookie of the Year Gabe Sommers, each receiving a half-day on-track on Jan. 10-11 at Daytona Int’l Speedway. The ARCA Road To Daytona annually provides each driver from ARCA’s sanctioned tours track time during the Daytona ARCA Test in a car fielded by former ARCA driving champion and current team owner Andy Hillenburg and is supported with sponsorship from Fast Track High Performance Driving School, Ilmor Engineering, ARCA, General Tire, Sunoco, Eibach Springs and JRi Shocks.

Canadian driver Andrew Ranger was honored for the 3^rd time as NASCAR Pinty’s Series champion. Ranger was nearly unbeatable when he drove for Robert Torriere in ARCA Menards Series road course races, winning four times in 2011-2014 at New Jersey Motorsports Park and finishing 2^nd to Cup Series driver Chris Buescher at Road America in 2013. Of note, two road course races appear on the 2020 ARCA Menards Series schedule, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in May and Watkins Glen International in August.

ARCA Menards Series on FOX pit reporter Kim Coon joined veteran motorsports journalist Mike Joy and Hannah Newhouse among hosts for the evening. Current NASCAR Cup driver Corey LaJoie, a 3-time ARCA Menards Series winner, was among the evening’s on-stage presenters.

Venturini Motorsports 2019 ARCA Menards Series national champion car owner Billy Venturini and wife Emily were in attendance as guests for the festivities.

Among the tracks whose champions were honored as Whelen All American Series honorees were Elko Speedway in Minnesota, Madison Speedway in Wisconsin, New Smyrna Speedway in Florida, and Berlin Raceway in Michigan, each of which appear on the ARCA Menards Series or ARCA Menards Series East schedules already released for 2020. Elko’s champion, Jacob Goede, was recognized as the All American Series national champion for the first time in his career. Goede also won the 50-lap late model feature in conjunction with the ARCA Menards Series visit to Elko Speedway in 2019.

Blaine Perkins, who drove in ARCA Menards Series races for 2014 champion Mason Mitchell Motorsports, was honored as 2019 NASCAR Whelen All American Series champion at both Irwindale Speedway and Kern County Raceway Park in California.

Listed as among past NASCAR Whelen All American Series weekly racing national champions is current ARCA Menards Series crew chief Mark McFarland. McFarland, who won the national title in 2003, oversees on-track efforts for Coy Gibbs’ #18 driven in 2019 by Ty Gibbs and Riley Herbst.