Ty Gibbs
Ty Gibbs leads the General Tire 100 for the ARCA Menards Series at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course in Daytona Beach, Florida, on Aug. 14, 2020. (James Gilbert/ARCA Racing)

NOTEBOOK: How Road Course Experience Might Factor Into Races At Mid-Ohio, Sonoma

www.arcaracing.com June 3, 2021

After several months of racing on ovals in 2021, the ARCA Menards platform is going all in with right turns this weekend.

That’s great news for some drivers and a concerning development for others depending on their experience at road courses.

The ARCA Menards Series will run its 1,500th race Friday when it takes to the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, for the Dawn 150 (6 p.m. ET on FS1), the seventh race of the 2021 season and the second race of the 2021 Sioux Chief Showdown. On Saturday, the ARCA Menards Series West will visit Sonoma Raceway for its second race of the season, the General Tire 200 (2 p.m. PT / 5 p.m. ET on TrackPass).

MID-OHIO: What to Watch in AMS Race No. 1,500

SONOMA: West Series Turns Right into Heart of Season

Both races will feature drivers who have experience on road courses. But the comfort level as a whole among drivers in the West Series should be greater than that of the competitors in the ARCA Menards Series.

Of the drivers entered in the Dawn 150, fewer than half of the field has raced an ARCA Menards car on a road course. Ty Gibbs, Drew Dollar, Brandon Jones, Thad Moffitt, Con Nicolopoulos, Brad Smith and Russ Lane are those who have experience.

Gibbs, of course, leads the series with four wins in 2021, including the last three races. He finished second the last time the ARCA Menards Series was on a road course, at Daytona International Speedway last summer. His primary rival in the championship chase, points leader Corey Heim, has no road course experience at this level.

The ARCA Menards Series has raced at Mid-Ohio just once before (1965), so nobody in Friday’s race has experience in an ARCA Menards car at this particular track.

Jesse Love
Jesse Love in action during the second ENEOS/Sunrise Ford Twins presented by the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame race for the ARCA Menards Series West at the Utah Motorsports Campus in Tooele, Utah, on June 27, 2020. (Isaac Hale/ARCA Racing)

Saturday’s West Series race at Sonoma is different in that the majority of the drivers entered have experience racing an ARCA Menards car on a road course. This is primarily because the West Series has visited least one road course every year since 2006.

Of the 22 drivers in the field, only Jake Drew, Zane Smith, Eric Nascimento, Paul Pedroncelli Sr., Dean Thompson, Bridget Burgess and Joey Iest have no such experience.

Beyond the ARCA Menards Series West regulars in the field, Saturday’s race will feature some West Coast road course ringers like Dave Smith and Tim Spurgeon.

Burgess is listed among the drivers with no road course racing on her resume, but her home track is the Utah Motorsports Campus outside of Toole, Utah, so she has plenty of experience making right turns in her ARCA Menards car.

Particularly in the ARCA Menards Series race Friday at Mid-Ohio, road course experience figures to be a factor in determining the race winners this weekend.

MORE Mid-Ohio & Sonoma:

Bubba Nascimento’s debut and BMR’s Sonoma quest

Surprisingly, ARCA Menards Series West powerhouse Bill McAnally Racing has never produced a race winner at Sonoma. Four drivers in BMR cars will hope to change that Saturday, including a newcomer to the ARCA Menards platform.

Eric Nascimento Jr., known as Bubba, will race BMR’s No. 19 RJ Paint Shop Toyota on the 12-turn, 2.52-mile road course in northern California. The 20-year-old from nearby Manteca, California, honed his driving talent racing super late models on short tracks in the state’s Central Valley.

Full-time BMR drivers Jesse Love (No. 16 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota) and Cole Moore (No. 99 NAPA Power Premium Plus Toyota) also are entered at Sonoma. As is Dylan Lupton in the No. 4 Lupton Excavation Toyota.

Lupton registered a top-five and two top 10s in two starts at Sonoma during the two full seasons he raced in the West Series (2013 and 2014). From 2015-2020, Lupton made 50 starts across NASCAR’s three national levels.

Despite their experience in the West Series, Love and Moore will make their first Sonoma starts Saturday. Love is the defending series champion.

BMR hopes to add Sonoma to its list of 26 tracks where it has West Series wins. The team has come close on several occasions.

BMR’s best results at Sonoma came with four entries in the 2010 race, with Paulie Harraka, Brandon Davis, Eric Holmes and Moses Smith finishing second, third, fourth and ninth, respectively. In 2006, BMR rookie teammates Brian Ickler and Peyton Sellers finished second and third, respectively.

Arnout Kok’s American racing debut

Making his professional motorsports debut on American soil, Durbin, South African native Arnout Kok will field the No. 10 Brand South Africa Toyota Camry for Fast Track Racing at Mid-Ohio.

Arnout Kok
Arnout Kok’s No. 10 Brand South Africa Toyota Camry

Beginning his driving career in 100c karts in 1994 in his home country of South Africa, Kok has worked his way up through racing ranks to include competing in Formula Ford, Formula Asia, Historic F1, Formula Junior, Formula GTI, Legends and Late Models. Additionally, Kok has tested and competed across the globe, including in Japan, the Philippines, France, the United Kingdom, Belgium and Holland, capturing the European Late Model Series championship in 2017.

“It’s exciting to finally get behind the wheel to compete on American soil,” said Kok. “Our debut was perhaps a little delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but it feels great to finally be in the United States to drive professionally.

“I grew up watching racing events on television at Mid-Ohio and dreamed of the day when I could race there. Now it’s happening, and I couldn’t be more excited for both myself and for Brand South Africa to join us in this endeavor.”

Noted Fast Track Racing owner Andy Hillenburg: “Obviously, this is a very interesting weekend for us having an international driver behind the wheel. We’re really looking forward to seeing Arnout run on American soil this weekend at Mid-Ohio, making his debut with us and the series.”

Russ Lane signs on for road course racing

Lane, a 24-year-old from Overland Park, Kansas, is back in the ARCA Menards Series for the Mid-Ohio race after making his debut last season. And he is one of the few drivers who have experience in an ARCA Menards car on a road course.

Lane finished 16th in last year’s race at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course. He also ran last year’s ARCA Menards Series race at Pocono Raceway and the spring event at Kansas Speedway.

Lane also has experience racing at Mid-Ohio in the National Auto Sport Association (NASA) Central Region, which will sponsor his No. 69 Ford for Kimmel Racing in Friday’s race.

“We are excited to team up with Russ, whose road course experience along with our history of fielding competitive cars will position him for a successful result,” said Bill Kimmel of Kimmel Racing. “Russ running a limited ARCA season last year provided him some experience and set expectations for running in the ARCA Menards Series this year.

“In addition, Will Kimmel, a successful driver himself, is working with Russ in setting up his car and will be on the pit box come race day.”

Sioux Chief Showdown: Round 2

Arca Showdown 2021

Friday’s Dawn 150 marks the second race of the 2021 Sioux Chief Showdown, a 10-race championship designed to allow drivers not eligible to run the entire ARCA Menards Series the chance to race for a championship.

Showdown events are held at oval tracks one mile in length or shorter and road courses. Drivers must be 18 or older to run at most tracks larger than one mile, while drivers as young as 15 can compete on oval tracks one mile in length and under and road courses.

The 2021 Sioux Chief Showdown began on May 22 at Toledo Speedway in a race won by Ty Gibbs. Beyond Friday’s event at Mid-Ohio, other Showdown events are July 10 at Elko Speedway, July 17 at Berlin Raceway, July 24 at Iowa Speedway, July 31 at Winchester Speedway, Aug. 6 at Watkins Glen International, Aug. 29 at The Milwaukee Mile, Sept. 16 at Bristol Motor Speedway and Oct. 2 at Salem Speedway.

CGS Imaging Four Crown: Round 2

Cgs 4 Crown 2021

The Mid-Ohio race is the seventh ARCA Menards Series race of the year and the second Sioux Chief Showdown race of 2021. It’s also the second CGS Imaging Four Crown race of the season.

The Four Crown championship is a four-race series within the overall ARCA Menards Series that celebrates a diverse schedule, with races contested on all four types of tracks on which the ARCA Menards Series competes: superspeedways, short tracks, dirt tracks and road courses.

Ty Gibbs won the Four Crown opener at Kansas Speedway (superspeedway) last month. Beyond Mid-Ohio (road course), the other Four Crown races are at Winchester Speedway (short track) on July 31 and the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds (dirt track) on Sept. 5.

The Four Crown championship dates back to 1984, when Davey Allison earned the inaugural title. Other notable winners include former series champions Lee Raymond, Tracy Leslie, Bob Keselowski, Bobby Bowsher, Bill Venturini, Tim Steele, Bill Baird, Frank Kimmel, Chris Buescher, Grant Enfinger, Chase Briscoe, Austin Theriault and and Bret Holmes.

And more:

  • Rev Racing driver Nick Sanchez’s on-board camera at Mid-Ohio will be sponsored by Special Smiles Pediatric Dentistry and Rev Volleyball Academy. Rev Racing co-owner Jennifer Satterfield-Siegel is among the top pediatric dentists serving at Special Smiles in Indiana. Rev Volleyball Academy, also owned by Satterfield-Siegel, is an elite volleyball club for female athletes in Indiana, focusing on growing the game and providing expanded opportunities for its athletes. The Siegels’ daughter Maddie competes at the academy.
  • The Dawn 150 at Mid-Ohio will be the 24th road course race in ARCA Menards Series history.
  • The General Tire 200 at Sonoma will be the 142nd road course race in West Series history.
  • The only other ARCA Menards series race at Mid-Ohio was run on July 25, 1963. Jack Bowsher won the 250-mile race, one of his 19 victories on the season — still a series record.
  • There have been six different track configurations at Sonoma. The current layout has been raced on 17 times.
  • Hailie Deegan holds the qualifying record on the current Sonoma layout with a 91.205 mph average.