Corey Heim and Taylor Gray
Corey Heim, driver of the No. 20 JBL Toyota, and Taylor Gray, driver of the No. 17 Ripper Coffee Company Ford, in action during the General Tire 150 for the ARCA Menards Series and ARCA Menards Series West at Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Arizona, on March 12, 2021. (Adam Glanzman/ARCA Racing)

NOTEBOOK: Debuts, returns highlight ARCA Menards Series’ visit to Elko

www.arcaracing.com July 9, 2021

Elko Speedway is a unique short track in that its length (3/8 mile) makes it the smallest circuit the ARCA Menards Series visits in 2021.

And the majority of drivers competing in Saturday night’s Menards 250 (9 p.m. CT / 10 p.m. ET on MAVTV and TrackPass) will be experiencing this bullring located just 30 minutes south of Minneapolis in Elko New Market, Minnesota, for the first time.

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Just eight drivers on the entry list — Ty Gibbs, Corey Heim, Willie Mullins, Eric Caudell, Wayne Peterson, Dick Doheny, Alex Clubb and Brad Smith — have ARCA Menards Series experience at Elko. The rest will be making their series debuts at the venue Saturday night.

That includes three drivers who will race in the ARCA Menards Series for the first time when the green flag drops.

Daniel Dye
Daniel Dye, driver of the No. 21 GMS Racing Chevrolet, pictured prior to the Southern National 200 for the ARCA Menards Series East at Southern National Motorsports Park in Lucama, North Carolina, on June 12, 2021. (Veasey Conway/ARCA Racing)

Daniel Dye, who recently joined GMS Racing for a partial schedule to close 2021, will make his ARCA Menards Series debut Saturday night after running seven East Series races over the last two years. The Menards 250 is the second of eight races in which the 17-year-old will compete with GMS Racing this season.

“I’m really looking forward to racing at Elko this weekend,” said Dye. “It’s a track I’ve never been to, but Chad Bryant and the GMS 21 team and I are up for the challenge.

“It looks like the races are usually pretty exciting, so it’ll be fun to do 250 laps there in the Race to Stop Suicide Chevy.”

Another driver making his ARCA Menards Series debut Saturday night at Elko is Adam Lemke, an 18-year-old from Hollister, California. He will compete for Rette Jones Racing.

Lemke has been winning races and championships since he started in Quarter Midgets at age 8 and advanced through the Mini Cup ranks, the USAC Western Midget Series, the RPM Pro Late Model Series at California’s Madera Speedway and the CARS Tour.

“I’ve been so fortunate and blessed to experience and win a lot in such a short amount of time,” said Lemke. “No doubt moving to the ARCA Menards Series and these heavier cars will be challenging, but that’s where I will lean on my team for guidance and direction.

“Our goal is a top-five finish at Elko. And based on the speed the team has shown this year, I think we can not only accomplish that, but contend for the win, too.”

Ron Vandermeir Jr., a short track racer from Sheridan, Illinois, also will make his AMS debut Saturday night. Bryce Haugeberg, who competed in the ARCA Menards Series / ARCA Menards Series West combo event at Phoenix Raceway in March, will make his first start in a standalone AMS race.

Elko Speedway
Elko Speedway (Richard Corbett/ARCA Racing)

Taylor Gray’s return

A long 13 weeks have passed since Taylor Gray was sidelined from racing due to his involvement in a street car accident. His return comes Saturday night at Elko.

Running for David Gilliland Racing, the 16-year-old will make his second ARCA Menards Series start of the season. He finished ninth at Phoenix in March.

The Ford Performance driver also has a pair of third-place finishes this season in the ARCA Menards Series East at New Smyrna Speedway and Pensacola’s 5 Flags Speedway in Florida.

Gray has 13 ARCA Menards Series starts with 12 coming last season, but neither he nor his crew chief Chad Johnston has competed at Elko.

Saturday will begin a stretch of five straight weeks of racing for Gray. He will follow the ARCA Menards Series schedule through Watkins Glen International, where he intends to pull double duty with the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

Willie Mullins teams with Andy Hillenburg

A couple staples in the ARCA Menards Series have banded together for Saturday night’s Menards 250 at Elko.

For the first time since February, Willie Mullins will be back in action thanks to his teaming up with Fast Track Racing owner Andy Hillenburg. As a result of the partnership, Mullins’ typical No. 3 will be replaced with the No. 10 that Hillenburg typically fields as part of his program.

Willie Mullins
Willie Mullins (Dinah Marie Photography)

“It came together as the two of us were talking,” Mullins said. “He was planning on only running two cars up to Elko. I had mentioned that with my wife Dinah’s family being tied to the area that we would like to go back, but the cost to haul just one car up there was too expensive.

“He had an open spot in his hauler and he offered to take the car out there and crew it.”

This will not be Mullins’ first visit to Elko. He has competed at the track twice with the ARCA Menards Series, finishing 14th in 2017 and 13th in 2018. The event is a home race for Mullins’ wife, Dinah, making the trip extra special for both of them.

“It’s great to go see her family and even the extended family comes to watch us race,” Mullins said. “This is the closest that some of these Minnesota fans get to a NASCAR touring series, so this their time to get out of the house to go see the up-and-coming NASCAR superstars.”

Mullins has three top-10 finishes in his ARCA Menards Series career, plus a 10th-place finish earlier this season in the East Series.

And more:

  • Heim enters the Elko race, the ninth of 20 on the ARCA Menards Series schedule, with a three-point lead over Gibbs in the championship standings. This despite the fact that Gibbs has won a series-high five races in 2021 to Heim’s three.
  • Jesse Love and Gracie Trotter will make their second and fifth starts, respectively, for Venturini Motorsports on Saturday night. Both are running part-time schedules for the team in 2021. Neither has ARCA Menards Series experience at Elko.
Gracie Trotter
Gracie Trotter, driver of the No. 25 Calico Coatings Toyota, looks on before racing in the Herr’s Potato Chips 200 for the ARCA Menards Series at Toledo Speedway in Toledo, Ohio, on May 22, 2021. (Nic Antaya/ARCA Racing)
  • Thad Moffitt and Nick Sanchez, the drivers who rank third and fourth in points, respectively, also will race at Elko for the first time in the series Saturday night.
  • As he has done many times in the past racing for Hillenburg, Dick Doheny will serve as his own crew chief at Elko. Owen Smith will do the same as he races on the 3/8-mile oval for the first time.