The busiest stretch of the season for teams and drivers continues Saturday with the seventh race of the 2023 ARCA Menards Series season: the Menards 250 at Minnesota’s Elko Speedway.
Saturday’s race (8 p.m. CT / 9 p.m. ET on FS2/FloRacing) at Elko marks the ninth time the series has visited the 0.375-mile short track located in Elko New Market, Minnesota.
Incredibly, in the eight previous visits by the ARCA Menards Series to Elko, eight different drivers have emerged as winners. It started with Brennan Poole, who won the first series race at the track in 2012. Victories by Frank Kimmel, Grant Enfinger, Austin Theriault, Gus Dean, Chandler Smith, Corey Heim and, most recently, Sammy Smith, followed.
Odds are high that streak will be extended to nine this Saturday night, as there are no previous Elko Speedway winners expected to participate in the Menards 250.
Tickets to Saturday’s Menards 250 are available here. Below is everything to know about the event.
Menards 250 at Elko Speedway
WHAT TO WATCH FOR:
Days removed from his maiden ARCA Menards Series victory, William Sawalich is heading to his home track in search of victory No. 2.
Sawalich, who grew up roughly 30 minutes from Elko Speedway, will attempt to earn his second series victory during Saturday’s Menards 250. He’ll once again pilot the No. 18 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing.
A strong contingent of drivers from Venturini Motorsports will be looking to deny Sawalich a victory in his own backyard, including Jesse Love, the same driver Sawalich tussled with in order to earn his maiden ARCA victory one week ago at Michigan’s Berlin Raceway.
MORE ELKO: Buy Tickets | Event Schedule
Joining Love from the Venturini Motorsports stable at Elko Speedway will be Conner Jones, Sean Hingorani and Toni Breidinger.
Series regulars Frankie Muniz, Andres Perez de Lara and Christian Rose are all entered at Elko as they each look to earn season-best finishes. Willie Mullins returns to action for the first time since the opening race of the year at Daytona International Speedway, and Casey Carden makes his season debut driving for Alex Clubb.
The complete entry list for Saturday’s Menards 250 can be found here.
RACING REFERENCE:
RACE FACTS:
| RACE | Menards 250 |
| PLACE | Elko Speedway |
| DATE | Saturday, June 24, 2023 |
| TIME | 8 p.m. CT / 9 p.m. ET |
| TV CHANNEL/LIVE STREAM | FS2 / FloRacing |
| RADIO | ARCARacing.com |
| TRACK LAYOUT | 0.375-mile paved oval |
| LAPS | 250 |
| EVENT SCHEDULE | Saturday, June 24: Practice from 3:40 to 4 p.m. CT … Final practice from 4:10 to 4:30 p.m. CT … General Tire Pole Qualifying at 5:20 p.m. CT … Menards 250 at 8 p.m. CT (250 Laps / 94 Miles) |
CREW CHIEF HANDOUT: The starting field for the Menards 250 is limited to 26 starters plus provisionals. This event will run under the 2023 ARCA Menards Series rules, procedures, regulations, and specifications.
QUALIFYING: Two consecutive laps qualifying. No adjustments or repairs may be made on car after taking the green flag at Start/Finish line. All cars must make a qualifying attempt, and all drivers must practice before they can qualify.
RACE PIT STOP: Ova break pit stop procedure. Breaks at or near the conclusion of laps 75 and 175. All cars will be required to make at least one pit stop prior to last 10 laps of race. No adding or moving tires to or from pit box once race has started. (Learn about all of ARCA’s pit stop procedures here.)
The maximum tire allotment available for this event is as follows: Per ARCA Rulebook, maximum number of tires allowed in pit box for use in race is six (6).
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