Scott Melton got the news he was waiting for last week, when doctors cleared him to return to ARCA Menards Series competition.
Melton has been on the sidelines since he was injured in a crash during the ARCA race at Talladega Superspeedway in April. Melton suffered a compound fracture in his lower left leg, an injury that required multiple surgeries to repair.
“It has been roughly three months (since the injury), and the last month has happened relatively quickly,” Melton said. “The pain is pretty much gone. I’m 95 percent. I wasn’t aware at the time of the injury the extent that the ankle was involved.
“So basically up to the point that I’ve had a stiff ankle, I’m a little slow going up and down stairs, and I wouldn’t run a marathon, but I’m good to go.”
Melton returns to ARCA competition at the site of one of his best race tracks, Pocono Raceway, which hosts the General Tire Delivers 200 this Friday (6:30 p.m. ET on FS1). He earned one of his six top-10 finishes in ARCA competition at Pocono in 2020 as well as a 13th-place finish in 2019.
ARCA at Pocono: Entry list | Complete event schedule
Melton said his pair of strong performances at the 2.5-mile paved tri-oval was one of two reasons why he decided to return to action this Friday.
“Traditionally we’ve been good at Pocono. I would say I’m very comfortable at Pocono,” said Melton. “The second that works out really in our favor is there is a day of testing before (on Thursday). I think we’re getting about five hours on the track to get back in the car and get back up to speed. It’s actually pretty good timing.”
While Melton has been sidelined for the last few months as he recovered, that doesn’t mean his No. 69 Toyota has been away from the race track. Will Kimmel piloted the car in two races in Melton’s absence, earning a sixth-place finish at Kansas Speedway. He also raced at Charlotte Motor Speedway, but a crash derailed his efforts in that event.
“There is no better name in the ARCA world than the Kimmels,” Melton said. “Nobody does a better job or works harder. They just did a phenomenal job. As expected, Will was exactly what I expected him to be. He’s good. They made a couple changes to the car and honestly him being in the car for two races, I think, moved us as a team forward quite a bit.”
Looking ahead to Friday’s race at Pocono, Melton believes his equipment is capable of a top-five result. However, the 60-year-old is realistic about his own ability.
“I believe the gear and the team is capable of a top five,” Melton said. “But the reality is, to be totally realistic, I wouldn’t be happy with anything outside of the top 10.”
Andy Jankowiak keeps busy between ARCA starts
The last time Andy Jankowiak competed in the ARCA Menards Series, things got a bit too hot for his liking.
Jankowiak was competing in the General Tire 150 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 27 when his No. 73 Ford caught fire, forcing him to retire from the race. The car suffered significant damage as a result of the fire and required extensive work before it would be able to return to the race track.
Since then, Jankowiak and his small team have worked tirelessly to repair the damaged car, but that doesn’t mean Jankowiak hasn’t had time to do a little bit of racing on the side.
The 34-year-old driver from Tonawanda, New York, has been racing a Sportsman Modified across the Northeast. He picked up a victory in Sportsman Modified competition at Spencer Speedway in Williamson, New York, on June 17. He backed that up with another Sportsman Modified at New York’s Holland International Speedway on July 9.
He was back in action in Sportsman Modified competition on July 14 at New York’s Lancaster Motorplex, where he used a last-lap pass to earn his third victory of the season.
He’ll look to take that momentum with him when he competes in Friday’s General Tire Delivers 200 at Pocono Raceway. He was in the field when ARCA visited Pocono last season, earning a seventh-place finish against a 25-car field.
Double-duty drivers ready to take on Pocono
A handful of competitors will be racing in not one, but two events this weekend at Pocono Raceway.
They include several drivers who are competing in Friday’s General Tire Delivers 200. Chief among them is Brandon Jones, who will be making his third ARCA Menards Series start of the season in the No. 81 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing while also competing in Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race in the No. 19 Toyota for JGR.
He’ll be joined by three other drivers who are planning double-duty, including ARCA Menards Series championship leader Rajah Caruth. In addition to Friday’s ARCA event, Caruth is slated to make his third NASCAR Xfinity Series start of the year driving for Alpha Prime Racing.
Also competing in the ARCA and NASCAR Xfinity Series events will be Sammy Smith, who will again drive the No. 18 for Joe Gibbs Racing in NASCAR Xfinity Series competition at Pocono. Smith made his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut at Road America, where he started eighth and finished 24th.
Lastly, Kris Wright will once again turn some extra laps in ARCA Menards Series competition when he jumps in the No. 02 Chevrolet fielded by Young’s Motorsports. Wright drives for Niece Motorsports in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, which races Saturday at Pocono.
NOTES:
- With no previous Pocono Raceway winners in the field, the ARCA Menards Series is guaranteed to have a new Pocono winner on Friday evening. It will continue a streak of different winners at the 2.5-mile speedway that dates back to 2007, when Chad McCumbee was victorious. He was the first in a streak of 28 different drivers in as many ARCA races to earn a visit to Victory Lane at Pocono.
- Zachary Tinkle, who sat out the last two ARCA Menards Series events, returns to competition Saturday aboard Wayne Peterson’s No. 06 Chevrolet.
- Rajah Caruth enters Friday’s race with a six-point edge on Nick Sanchez in the ARCA Menards Series standings. Daniel Dye sits third, eight points back.