Tom Hessert driver of #55 car during the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards during the Daytona International Speedway test on Friday, ‎January ‎12, ‎2018.
(Photo: ARCA Racing)

NOTEBOOK: Tom Hessert returns to ARCA Menards Series, Berlin Raceway with Venturini Motorsports

www.arcaracing.com June 16, 2022

A lot has changed since Tom Hessert last raced in the ARCA Menards Series.

The 36-year-old who will drive the No. 15 Toyota for Venturini Motorsports this Saturday night in the Zinsser SmartCoat 200 last competed in an ARCA event in 2018. At that point, he drove for Chad Bryant Racing at Indianapolis Raceway Park and finished ninth.

That was four years ago, and while some of the teams are the same, most of the drivers are different.

In fact, when Hessert takes the green flag Saturday at Berlin Raceway in Marne, Michigan, there will be only one other driver in the field who also raced at Indianapolis Raceway Park that day in 2018: Brad Smith.

ARCA at Berlin: Entry list | Complete event schedule

Zane Smith, Carson Hocevar, Chandler Smith, Christian Eckes, Sheldon Creed and Chase Purdy were all among the drivers Hessert battled that Saturday in October of 2018. They have all since moved on and now compete in either the NASCAR Xfinity Series or NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

In their places are a new set of rising stars, including Nick Sanchez, Daniel Dye, Rajah Caruth, Taylor Gray, Sammy Smith and Jesse Love. Saturday’s race (FloRacing/MAVTV at 8 p.m. ET) will be the first time Hessert has raced against any of them in ARCA competition.

While most of the competitors will be new for Hessert, Berlin Raceway should be a familiar site.

Hessert has made 186 ARCA Menards Series starts during his career dating back to his debut in 2007. During that time, he has raced at Berlin Raceway nine times, with his most recent visit to the 0.438-mile paved oval coming in 2016.

He started on the pole that day, one of his five career ARCA Menards Series poles, and led 108 laps before eventually finishing seventh after being involved in a multi-car accident on Lap 112.

In all, he has earned three top-five and eight top-10 finishes at Berlin in his nine starts. Overall, Hessert has six ARCA Menards Series victories, with his last coming in 2016 on the dirt mile at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds.

Does that make him a serious contender to win Saturday night? Either way, it means you shouldn’t count him out.

Sioux Chief Showdown kicks into overdrive

The series within the ARCA Menards Series, the Sioux Chief Showdown, truly kicks into overdrive with the second of four straight races this weekend at Berlin Raceway.

For the unfamiliar, the Sioux Chief Showdown is ARCA’s series within the series that brings together the best of the ARCA Menards Series, the ARCA Menards Series East and the ARCA Menards Series West.

The 10-race Sioux Chief Showdown, held at various short tracks and road courses, offers drivers who might not be old enough to race at bigger ovals a chance to compete for a championship against drivers who are.

The first race of the Sioux Chief Showdown this year took place at Phoenix Raceway on March 11, with Taylor Gray picking up the victory. Race 2 was last weekend at Iowa Speedway, with NASCAR Xfinity Series star Brandon Jones taking home the checkered flag.

Through two races, defending ARCA Menards Series East champion Sammy Smith leads the standings with 83 points scored. Connor Mosack, who is not entered at Berlin, is second with 75 points, followed by Sanchez, Caruth, Gray, Dye and Love.

Following Saturday’s Zinsser SmartCoat 200, the Sioux Chief Showdown will continue June 25 at Minnesota’s Elko Speedway with the Menards 250, followed by the Dawn 150 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on July 8.

Amber Balcaen, driver of the #30 Icon Ford, stand by her car prior to the Dutch Boy 150 for the ARCA Menards Series at Kansas Speedway on May 14, 2022 in Kansas City, Kansas. (Ed Zurga/ARCA Racing)
Amber Balcaen, driver of the No. 30 Icon Ford, stands by her car prior to the Dutch Boy 150 for the ARCA Menards Series at Kansas Speedway on May 14, 2022. (Photo: Ed Zurga/ARCA Racing)

Amber Balcaen rides momentum into Berlin

Canadian Amber Balcaen has been one of the more consistent ARCA Menards Series competitors in the last three events.

Balcaen has scored three straight top-10 finishes in the No. 30 Ford for Rette Jones Racing dating back to May 14 at Kansas Speedway, where she finished ninth. She followed that up with a seventh-place run at Charlotte Motor Speedway, which she backed up with a 10th-place finish last Saturday night at Iowa Speedway.

She is one of four drivers during that stretch to earn three straight top-10 finishes, joining Sanchez, Mosack and Greg Van Alst. Sanchez and Van Alst will both be in the field when the ARCA Menards Series visits Berlin Raceway this Saturday evening.

“We want to go out there and have a shot to win and finish inside the top five, top 10 every week, but the ARCA Menards Series is a very tough series right now,” Balcaen said this week. “There are some very good teams with talented drivers all fighting for their time in the spotlight, myself included.

“We keep checking items off our checklist for the 2022 ARCA season and hopefully a top-five finish is the next thing we do on Saturday night.”

NOTES:

  • In addition to the ARCA Menards Series Zinsser SmartCoat 200, Berlin Raceway will host weekly racing for the Limited Late Model and Sportsman divisions Saturday evening. The Michigan track is part of the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series.
  • Dallas Frueh is scheduled to make his ARCA Menards Series debut Saturday night at Berlin Raceway in the No. 27 Toyota fielded by David Richmond. Frueh has worked as a crew member in the ARCA garage while also racing himself on the side. He earned the 2019 Van Hoy Oil CRA Street Stock Rookie of the Year Award.
  • Ed Pompa, who will drive for Andy Hillenburg’s Fast Track Racing team this Saturday, has earned two top-10 finishes in ARCA competition during his career. His first came at Berlin Raceway in 2016, when he started 16th and finished 10th.