Catchfence

(TOLEDO, Ohio) – The ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards, often regarded as the most versatile racing series in the world, will re-engage its short track roots for the upcoming Messina Wildlife Animal Stopper 200 Friday night, July 27 at Lucas Oil Raceway in Clermont, Ind. The ARCA CRA Super Series will accompany the ARCA Racing Series as part of a stock car double-header.

The event, a preamble to the Brickyard 400 at Indy, follows a trail of diversity for the 60-year-old tour during which the series competed on a wide variety of short tracks, superspeedways, and even a road course in early July. The event at Lucas Oil Raceway will set the stage for yet more versatility when the tour gears up for mile dirt races in Springfield and DuQuoin, Ill. in late August and early September.

The Messina Wildlife Animal Stopper 200 will be live on SPEED at 9 p.m. Eastern. In addition, ARCAracing.com will feature live timing & scoring of all ARCA Racing Series on-track activities.

Entries Stacking Up With Tight Championship Points Battle

The entry list is expected to grow well behind the 35 starting positions up for grabs in the 200-lap main event. NASCAR Camping World Truck Series veteran Matt Crafton has already filed an entry, as has his ThorSport Racing teammate and nine-time ARCA champion Frank Kimmel of Clarksville, Ind.

In addition, an intense championship points battle is taking serious shape with Venturini Motorsports rookie Brennan Poole currently leading the way by just 10 points over Roush Fenway Racing development driver Chris Buescher, who drives Fords fielded by longtime ARCA competitors Roulo Brothers Racing. Kimmel and Penske Racing development driver Alex Bowman trail not far off in third and fourth, respectively.

Eight-time Daytona winner Bobby Gerhart, who is not running full-time on the tour, has also filed an entry in his No. 5 Lucas Oil Chevrolet. A short track appearance has become rare for the Lebanon, Pa. driver.

Rookie Mason Mitchell (W. Des Moines, Iowa) is also expected to enter in an Eddie Sharp Racing (ESR) Chevrolet. ESR earned the ARCA Racing Series championship in 2009 with Justin Lofton driving. ESR also groomed NASCAR veteran Michael McDowell via the ARCA Racing Series tour.

ARCA History at LOR Reaches back Decades; Allison, Stott, Schacht Former Winners

Richard Childress Racing’s Ty Dillon marked the return of ARCA to Lucas Oil Raceway last year with a victory, 26 years after ARCA had last appeared at the historic half-mile oval.

Two-time Series champion Ramo Stott won the inaugural ARCA race at Lucas Oil Raceway in 1971. Ralph Latham followed as victor in 1972, and Bruce Gould was victorious in 1974. Nearly 10 years would go by before ARCA would return in 1983 when two-time Series champ Marvin Smith was the race winner. Bob Schacht won for the first time in 1984. In 1985, a pair of ARCA races were on Lucas Oil’s schedule, with Schacht and Davey Allison claiming victories.

Raceday Schedule Action-Packed with ARCA, CRA

The ARCA CRA Super Series will lead off the day’s on-track activities with practice at 12:45 p.m. The ARCA Racing Series follows with practice at 1:35 followed by final practices for each division. ARCA CRA Super Series qualifying is at 4:30 with Menards Pole Qualifying presented by Ansell for the ARCA Racing Series at 5:30. The ARCA CRA Super Series 100-lap race will kick off the racing activity at 7, followed by the Messina Wildlife Animal Stopper 200 finale under the lights at 9.

ARCA Celebrating 60th Anniversary Season

2012 is the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards’ 60th Anniversary Season, featuring 20 races at 18 tracks. The complete 2012 event schedule is available at ARCARacing.com.

The ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards has crowned an ARCA national champion each year since its inaugural season in 1953, and has toured over 200 race tracks in 26 states since its inception. The series has tested the abilities of drivers and race teams over the most diverse schedule of stock car racing events in the world, visiting tracks ranging from 0.375 mile to 2.66 miles in length, on both paved and dirt surfaces as well as a left- and right-turn road course in its most recent season. This year, the series visited Alabama’s Mobile International Speedway and Minnesota’s Elko Speedway for the first time.

Founded by John and Mildred Marcum in 1953 in Toledo, Ohio, the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) is recognized among the leading sanctioning bodies in the country. Closing in on completing its sixth decade after hundreds of thousands of miles of racing, ARCA administers over 100 race events each season in three professional touring series and local weekly events.

- Automobile Racing Club of America Press Release