Thursday
ARCA Trucker Paul Hahn Closing in on All-Time Milestone Marks Headed to Mansfield
Press Release
Hahn, who drives the no. 7 Hahn’s Powder Coating-Fox Auto Parts-Howe Racing Chevy Colorado, has 23 series wins in 91 career starts. That’s just one away from Chad Guinn’s all-time series win mark of 24.
“I’ve had my eye on the all-time win mark for some time now,” said Hahn.
Hahn, who already holds the all-time pole record with 17, is also closing in on Guinn’s all-time lap leader stat of 1403 laps led in 39 races. Currently, Hahn has led 1288 laps in 33 races, a difference of 115 laps.
“I haven’t really paid attention to that (laps led category),” said Hahn. “That’d be pretty cool to get there, but in order to get that, I have to win because you can’t win without leading laps.”
And that’s exactly what Hahn did the last time the ARCA Lincoln Welders Truck Series raced at Mansfield in 2005 – he led laps, the last 20 that counted the most en route to the winner’s circle.
“Mansfield’s a tough track; it’s hard on equipment. It’s especially rough on your right-front suspension – especially your right-front brake and hub; so you have to be cautious about that.
“You carry so much speed down the straightaways and then you have really tight corners, so you have to use a lot of brake to slow down or you’ll wash up the track. And since we’ve started running the V-6s, it adds weight so there’s more strain on the front suspension. Last time we raced there though we ran 100 laps, but we’re only running 50 this time, so it shouldn’t be so bad.”
The 50-lap ARCA Lincoln Welders 50 Saturday at Mansfield will serve as the show-opener for the ARCA RE/MAX Series Tim Richmond Memorial 200, which follows at 8:30 PM. The Mansfield Truck race is event number three of a tight nine-race schedule in 2009, one that leaves little-to-no room for error.
“In the past, you had a half-dozen more races to help make up for any DNFs, but this year you have to really be on your game every race. And with these big truck counts we’re getting, if you sell out early in the race, your finishing position could really hurt you in the points.”
Despite a shorter schedule in 2009, the ARCA Lincoln Welders Truck Series is, at this moment and time, the most competitive it’s ever been on record. Currently, there are 27 top-notch trucks entered for Mansfield, an entry list that nearly rivals the RE/MAX Series, which has 33 entries.
“Right now, the competition has never been better in this series. With Danny Jackson coming back and Brian Norton running so well, we’ve all got our hands full.”
Hahn opened the season with a dominating performance at Toledo Speedway where he led all 100 laps. Jackson DNFed in the Toledo opener. In the second stop on the ’09 tour at Flat Rock Speedway, tables were turned when Jackson held off Hahn for 100 laps to win the round two thriller.
“All these guys here are so much fun to race with; I hope it continues. Canada will determine who can go the distance. I know some of the guys are picking and choosing with people struggling as they are. This year’s schedule may not look all that great on paper, but it sure looks good on everyone’s checkbooks.”
The ARCA truckers are twice going to Canada this year with events at Sauble Speedway in Sauble Beach, Ontario on June 27 and at Peterborough Speedway in Peterborough, Ontario on July 25.
“Sometimes fewer races aren’t so bad, especially in these challenging times. It’s not always about quantity. Sometimes it’s more about quality, and this series has a lot of quality on it. I know last year, a lot of guys were concerned about towing all the way out to Iowa, but fortunately a lot of them went and then they saw how nice the place was, and we were treated excellent, so I’m sure everyone’s going back.”
The ARCA Lincoln Welders Truck Series is headed back to Iowa Speedway on July 11th to run in tandem with the ARCA RE/MAX Series.
Other events on the ARCA Lincoln Welders Truck Series 2009 tour include Winchester Speedway (July 19), Lake Erie Speedway (August 29) and the Salem Speedway season finale on September 19, also in conjunction with the RE/MAX Series.
The ARCA Lincoln Welders Truck Series will join the ARCA RE/MAX Series for the same-day double-header at Mansfield. Raceday features an action-packed day of activity with ARCA Truck practice from 1:30 to 2:30 followed by RE/MAX Series practice from 2:30 to 4:00. Qualifying for the Trucks is at 4:15 followed by RE/MAX Series qualifying (Menard Pole Qualifying presented by Ansell) at 5:00. The fan-friendly affair also features an on-track autograph session from 6:00 to 6:45. Racing gets underway at 7:00 with the 50-lap ARCA Lincoln Welders 50 Truck Series event followed by the grand finale – the Tim Richmond Memorial ARCA RE/MAX 200 mile race, set for 8:30 PM.
ARCA Racing Network to Broadcast All Day at Mansfield
The ARCA Racing Network will be covering all the on-track activity for both the ARCA Lincoln Welders Truck Series and the ARCA RE/MAX Series from Mansfield. Listen and watch live streaming audio and video of practice, qualifying and both races at ARCAracing.com inside the ARCA Nation.
- ARCA Press Release
Article Tags: ARCA Lincoln Welders 50 Truck Series, ARCA Lincoln Welders Truck Series, ARCA RE/MAX Series, Chad Guinn, Lake Erie Speedway, Mansfield Motorsports Park, Paul Hahn, Salem Speedway, Tim Richmond Memorial ARCA RE/MAX 200, Winchester Speedway
