PIT BOX: ARCA Menards Series heads to Elko Speedway for another short-track race in the Great Lakes region

ARCA Menards Series competitors will stay in the Great Lakes region for their next race, as Elko Speedway in Minnesota is only a couple states over from Michigan’s Berlin Raceway.

Opened in 1966, Elko has long been a hub for many of the most talented Midwest stock car drivers like Mark Martin, Dick Trickle and Jim Sauter to prove themselves against stout competition. Elko welcomed the ARCA Menards Series for the first time in 2012, with the facility now having hosted events for the series over the past five years.

The most recent ARCA Menards Series race at Elko produced one of the most exciting finishes in the entire history of the platform. As thunderstorms rapidly approached, William Sawalich, Lavar Scott and Kris Wright engaged in an intense duel for the lead, with Sawalich emerging victorious in a three-wide photo finish.

Last year’s ending remains fresh in the minds for drivers and local Elko fans as the ARCA Menards Series returns to the 3/8^th mile complex on Saturday. Elko’s confined layout will create plenty of opportunities for drivers to rub fenders with one another as they all pursue a crucial, mid-season checkered flag.

Tickets information about the Shore Lunch 250 presented by Dutch Boy can be found here. Below is everything to know ahead of the eighth race on the 2025 ARCA Menards Series calendar.

Shore Lunch 250 presented by Dutch Boy

Lavar Scott was 0.011 seconds away from securing his breakthrough ARCA Menards Series win at Elko Speedway last year.

Despite that bitter defeat, Scott has remained steadfast in his pursuit for not only a checkered flag, but also an ARCA Menards Series title. Of the three championship contenders, Scott is the only one not to have recorded a finish outside the top 10, which currently has him within seven points of the lead in the standings.

Elko presents an ideal opportunity for Scott to usurp his title competition in Brenden Queen and Lawless Alan, but he will have to figure out how to best the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota that narrowly edged him for the win in 2024. Max Reaves is back with Gibbs this weekend after placing second in his ARCA Menards Series debut at Berlin Raceway.

Venturini Motorsports, which placed third in last year’s three-wide photo finish with Kris Wright, will bring three cars to Elko this weekend. Along with their normal full-time competitors in Alan and Isabella Robusto, Venturini also has young Midwest driver Ty Fredrickson making his ARCA Menards Series debut in their No. 25 Toyota.

Fresh off their first victory as a program at Berlin, Nitro Motorsports looks to build upon that momentum with another strong outing Saturday. Taylor Reimer will pilot Nitro’s No. 70 Toyota at Elko. She scored a seventh-place finish in her most recent ARCA Menards Series attempt at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds last season.

Other names set to compete at Elko on Saturday include Willie Mullins, Jason Kitzmiller, Becca Monopoli and Brayton Laster.

The complete entry list for the Shore Lunch 250 presented by Dutch Boy can be found here.

RACING REFERENCE:

• Previous ARCA Menards Series races at Elko
• ARCA Menards drivers at Elko

RACE FACTS:

CREW CHIEF HANDOUT: Field limited to 26 starters plus provisionals. This event will be run under the 2025 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 (EIRI).

RACE PIT STOP: Break pit stop procedure. Breaks at or near the conclusion of laps 75 or 175. No adding or moving tires to or from pit box once race has started.

TIRE ALLOTMENT: Per ARCA Rulebook, maximum number of tires for use in the event (purchased at track and from-home tires) = 14 (EIRI).