ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards Thumbnail

Adding to 11 races previously announced for next year’s schedule, ARCA officials released four more event dates as the unveiling of 2012′s entire race slate approaches.

The series will return to Winchester Speedway, the “World’s Fastest Half-Mile,” on Sunday, June 24. The race will be the 22nd for ARCA at the track 75 miles northeast of Indianapolis; the first ARCA race at Winchester took place in 1957, just the fifth season of ARCA competition. Dakoda Armstrong lifted Cunningham Motorsports to victory at Winchester in June.

“Winchester is exactly the type of Midwestern facility where the ARCA brand is well-known and has the chance to be successful,” said ARCA president Ron Drager. “Winchester is big enough and fast enough to play to the very nature of our cars.”

ARCA will make its seventh visit to the 0.875-mile Iowa Speedway on Friday, July 13 – one day before a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at the track. Ty Dillon and Richard Childress Racing earned a dominating win at Iowa in July on his way to the 2011 series championship.

“Racing at Iowa Speedway is important from a market and venue perspective, as we reach a number of fans from several major areas there,” Drager said. “Being as recently built as it is, Iowa Speedway is one of those tracks that has the luxury of incorporating so many amenities – sightlines and facilities among them – to be fan-friendly and competitor-friendly. Iowa Speedway fans have strongly supported ARCA.”

The 25th appearance for the ARCA Racing Series at Berlin Raceway will occur on Saturday, August 11. The 0.4375-mile oval near Grand Rapids, Mich. hosted ARCA for the first time in 1958, and Matt Merrell won this July to take his first victory with Win-Tron Racing.

“Berlin Raceway is unlike any of the short tracks we go to in terms of its unique layout and pit road,” said Drager. “It’s been a staple of the tour for a number of years, and it seems that everyone from local guys like 2002 winner Fred Campbell to multi-time champions like three-time winner Frank Kimmel has a chance to be successful.”

Madison International Speedway will host ARCA for the second consecutive year and the fifth time since 1970 on Sunday, August 26. Alex Bowman drove Venturini Motorsports to the winner’s circle on the half-mile this season. The race is the year’s only event in Wisconsin, home to series presenting sponsor Menards. After taking place as a one-day Friday event in 2011, on-track activities will spread over two days – a Saturday and Sunday combination.

“The state of Wisconsin is renowned for the quality of its racing – teams and facilities – so it’s an important state from that perspective,” said Drager. “In addition, Wisconsin race fans are well-educated about the sport, and Terry Kunes and his staff at Madison provide a great venue at which our series can perform and compete.

“We consider every one of these race tracks important challenges to our racers, and there is a true advantage to racing within the Menards footprint. As Menards continues as our highest-profile marketing partner, racing in these Midwestern and Central states takes on added significance.”

More detailed schedule information for the season will be available shortly. The following race dates for the 2012 ARCA Racing Series schedule have been announced:

February 18 – Daytona International Speedway

March 10 – Mobile International Speedway

May 4 – Talladega Superspeedway

June 9 – Pocono Raceway

June 15 – Michigan International Speedway

June 24 – Winchester Speedway

July 1 – New Jersey Motorsports Park

July 13 – Iowa Speedway

July 21 – Chicagoland Speedway

August 4 – Pocono Raceway

August 11 – Berlin Raceway

August 19 – Illinois State Fairgrounds

August 26 – Madison International Speedway

September 3 – DuQuoin State Fairgrounds

October 19 – Kansas Speedway

The ARCA Racing Series will wrap up the 2011 season with the Championship Awards Banquet at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center in Covington, Ky., near Cincinnati, on Saturday, December 10.

The ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards featured 19 events at 16 tracks on its 2011 schedule. The series has crowned an ARCA national champion each year since its inaugural season in 1953, and has toured over 200 race tracks in 28 states since its inception. In 2011, 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 0.4 mile to 2.66 miles in length, on both paved and dirt surfaces as well as a left- and right-turn road course.

Founded by John 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 two professional touring series and local weekly events.

- Automobile Racing Club of America Press Release

Win-Tron Racing

Returning to the cockpit for the Lakeville, Minnesota for the first time in two months, Wilson was antsy to get behind the wheel of his No. 32 Champion Brands Toyota Camry on Friday morning to get his fourth career ARCA start wrenched up.

Under the leadership of Mike Chaffee, considered a wizard by many in the ARCA Racing Series garage, the team spent practice getting Wilson comfortable with the track and improving their No. 32 Champion Brands Toyota Camry from the open-test at the 1.5-mile speedway last month. Mounting the 13th quickest lap overall at a lap of 32.591 seconds at 165.690 miles per hour, Wilson was content but ready to confer with his team in order to find more speed for Menards Pole by Ansell qualifying.

No. 32 Champion Brands Toyota Camry

Despite a quicker lap, Wilson advised the team that his car was a little tighter than practice but also had some looseness as well.

From the drop of the green flag, Wilson hovered comfortably in the top-15 being advised by Chaffee that his lap times were very consistent. The 19-year old driver noted to his team that his left front of the car was hooking the apron and he was backing up his corners in turn three and four in order to and improve the handling of his Japanese nameplate.

When the first caution flag of the day waived on lap 24, Wilson sat 13th. While the other 12 cars ahead of him in the field elected to take the trip down pit road, Chaffee made a bold move and kept his rookie on the racetrack which allowed the driver of the No. 32 Champion Brands Toyota Camry to inherit the lead on lap 26.

Wilson, winner of last Fall’s Richard Petty Driver Search II would lead the field back to green but quickly be swallowed by his competition of fresher tires but he continued to fight for respect and a place inside the top-10.

Slipping back to 11th by lap 31, Wilson would hunker down and remain there until a caution on lap 36 allowed Chaffee to bring his protégé to pit road for tires, fuel and a track bar adjustment to battle a loose condition that Wilson was battling.

Restarting in the 19th position on lap 39, Wilson picked up four positions on the race track to lock the 15th spot when the third yellow of the night waived. Under the caution, the rising phenom advised his team that his car was free up off but extremely loose in traffic. The team acknowledged their driver’s explanation and would make another adjustment on their final pit stop.

Racing resumed with Wilson focused on motoring his, No. 32 Champion Brands Toyota Camry back towards the top-10. From laps 64 to 85, Wilson would flirt between 12th and 13th before the caution flag flew on lap 88 allowing Chafee to bring his young pilot to pit road for the final stop of the night.

Loaded with four tires, a splash of fuel and a wedge adjustment, Wilson restarted the race in the 12th position but immediately found himself moving forward and battling with Tom Hessert, Chad Hackenbracht and John Blankenship. Coming to the white flag, Wilson attempted to pass Hackenbracht for a spot inside the top-10 but a lousy move by a lap-machine trapped Wilson from completing the pass. Instead, he would have to duck behind Hackenbracht coming to the checkered flag and be forced to settle for 11th.

Ryan Wilson

He added, “On the bright side, we had a solid night and we’ll go to Toledo next and see if we can’t put our No. 32 Champion Brands Toyota Camry back in the top-10.”

Nate Thiesse, co-car owner of Win-Tron Racing offered his sentiments on the outcome of the 18th race of the season.

“We could not be more proud of Ryan,” Thiesse sounded. “We utilized some strategy and he led some laps and found himself in a lot of situations he had never experienced before in an ARCA car. He is a good kid with a tremendous amount of talent. His feedback was very impressive, especially with his inexperience in these heavier type of stock cars. All in all, we’re more than satisfied with the run and extremely proud of Ryan and we’re all anxious to get to Toledo Speedway, a type of track that is ideal to him.”

Next up for the ARCA Racing Series is the 19th and final race of the 2011 season. The ARCA Toledo 200 presented by Federated Car Care is set for Sunday, October 16th set to launch at 2:00 p.m. local live on SPEED. Earlier in the year driver Matt Merrell started fifth before rising to a podium finish of third.

Further information including driver opportunities with Win-Tron Racing is available by visiting win-tronracing.com or contacting Nate Thiesse at 612.306.1641

For more on Champion Brands LLC and their extensive line of products, please log on to championbrands.com or championsusechampion.com.

Additional input on Ryan Wilson is available by logging on the web at RyanWilsonMotorsports.com.

- Win-Tron Racing Press Release

Win-Tron Racing

Diversity is a strong word that is often associated with the ARCA Racing Series and Win-Tron Racing, a veteran team on the circuit has often lived up to its definition with this weekend’s race being no exception. The team knows a challenge lies ahead for them, but they are welcoming their new driver to the family at one of their favorite tracks.

The Brentwood, Tennessee native comes to ARCA with a vast array of experience including competing in the Champion Racing Association (CRA) Super Late Model Series. He is also a former winner at Salem when he netted his first career tour Late Model victory in the Ken-Ten Series in June of 2010.

Knowing that their 16-year old pilot has success at the Southern Indiana short track before sets a tone of ease for the Mike Chaffee-led team, but they are also aware that their newest protégé still has a lot to learn.

“It’s always exciting to bring a driver to ARCA for the first time,” said Win-Tron Racing co-car owner Nate Thiesse. “Mason comes to our team on the heels of a healthy season in the CRA Super Late Model Series and an extensive resume that resonates back years. Obviously, his experience at Salem will play into our advantage initially as far as him getting up to speed, but he’s up against some competition he’s never had to face before and a car he is unfamiliar with.

Despite those scenarios, there is potential for him to earn a lot of respect and potentially gleam in the limelight. While we know that our team is capable of winning races, we haven’t set our expectations that high for Mason. We just want him to learn, have fun and hopefully we’ll leave somewhere inside the top-10. If we can do that, we’ll consider the weekend a great success.”

Thiesse was quick to point out though, “We’re not saying that Mason can’t win the race on Saturday night, we just don’t want to put that kind of pressure on him in his first race. Salem though is a track where strange things have happened and a place that has bred first-time winners, so anything is possible. The biggest goal for this weekend is for him to be safe, have fun and bring the car home in one piece.”

Mason Mingus

“Salem Speedway definitely ranks near the top of the list of my favorite tracks to race at,” sounded Mingus. “I have only been able to race at Salem one time, but I had a lot of success there. It is a very tough track to race on but as long as we are able to save tires and have a consistent car it is a lot of fun.

Being that this will be my first time in an ARCA car it will be a big learning experience. I intend to be patient throughout the race and take opportunities when they come. Although it will be a different experience than driving a late model I will do everything I can to be competitive enough to win the race.”

When asked about the opportunity to drive for Win-Tron Racing, a team that has been victorious at the legendary oval in the past, he reflected by saying, “I have heard a lot about Win-Tron racing and seen that they have had a very good track record in the past, and that helps me to have confidence that I will be able to adjust very quickly because they will have a good car when they show up to the track. I’m just thankful for the opportunity.”

ARCA’s second-to-last short track race signifies the 16th race that Champion Hi-Tech Lubricants, a division of Champion Brands will heed the role as the primary sponsor for the final race in the Prairie State. Headquartered in Clinton, Missouri, Champion Brands LLC produces and blends more than 300 products including fuel, oil and engine additives and lubricants for the automotive, heavy truck, agricultural and specialty markets.

Overall, the team has recorded one win (Merrell, Berlin (Mich.) Raceway), five top-fives and nine top-10 finishes. The veteran ARCA team currently sits ninth in the car owner standings with just three races remaining.

From Salem Speedway, the Win-Tron Racing team will trek to Kansas Speedway with Randleman, North Carolina native Ryan Wilson to participate in the open ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards test session at the mile-and-a-half oval on Tuesday, September 20 to prepare for round 18 of the year, the Kansas Lottery 98.9 which is set to launch on Friday, October 7 live on SPEED.

The Kentuckiana Ford Dealers ARCA Fall Classic by Federated Car Care (200 laps / 111 miles) is the 17th of 19 events on the 2011 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards schedule. The 87th ARCA event held at Salem (Ind.) Speedway is a one-day show. Practice begins Saturday, September 17 with an hour and a half practice session planned from 1:05 p.m. – 2:35 p.m. Menards Pole by Ansell qualifying is slated to begin at 4:00 p.m. The field will take the green flag later in the evening at approximately 7:15 p.m. The event will not be televised but race coverage including live timing and scoring throughout the 1,329th race for the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards since it was formed in 1953 will be available through the ARCA Racing Network (ARN) online at arcaracing.com presented by ARCANation.com. All times are local.

Further information including driver opportunities with Win-Tron Racing is available by visiting win-tronracing.com or contacting Nate Thiesse at 612.306.1641

For more on Champion Brands LLC and their extensive line of products, please log on to championbrands.com or championsusechampion.com.

Win-Tron Racing

Windom in his inaugural ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards debut at the Illinois State Fairgrounds (Springfield) last month stunned the field with an impressive third place outing in the Allen Crowe 100. Before Springfield, Windom had never sat in an ARCA car let alone a stock car.

During the Allen Crowe 100, Windom hovered inside the top-10 for a majority of the race before recovering from being spun out mid-way during the event to charge through the field for an impressive podium finish.

The effort turned a lot of heads throughout the ARCA garage not including the Lakeville, Minnesota-based team. Heading into Monday’s Labor Day tradition, Windom eyes a victory in just his second career start.

Chris Windom

Despite his lack of experience behind the wheel of a 3,400-pound stock car, Windom adapted quickly which was crucial yet impressive, considering he had only one hour of practice and one lap of qualifying before taking the green flag. Monday’s agenda will be identical which doesn’t faze the 20-year old.

“It is what it is as far as the schedule lay out,” offered Windom. “It’s fine with me though. I trust the setup that Mike (Chaffee, crew chief) is bringing and if it’s not to our liking, we’ll make some adjustments and aim towards another good run on Monday afternoon.”

Win-Tron Racing co-car owner Nate Thiesse admitted it wasn’t a hard decision to put Windom back behind the wheel in the final dirt race of the season.

“Chris showed extreme talent and car control in his ARCA Racing Series debut at Springfield,” he said. “His finesse with the No. 32 Champion Brands / Win-Tron Racing Dodge Charger looked more of a veteran rather than a rookie. We’re excited to have him back with us for Monday’s race and hoping we can have the same success.”

No. 32 Champion Brands / Win-Tron Racing Dodge Charger

Thus far in 2011, Win-Tron Racing owned by former American Speed Association (ASA) champion Kevin Cywinski and Thiesse has had four drivers behind the wheel of their No. 32 entries this year. Portland Texas native Matt Merrell started off the season before handing the wheel over to Ryan Wilson, the winner of last Fall’s Richard Petty Driver Search II for two races before Windom took the reins. Most recently, five-time ARCA winner and fellow Minnesota native Joey Miller guided the team to a seventh place outing at Madison International Speedway on August 26th.

Overall, the team has recorded one win (Merrell, Berlin (Mich.) Raceway), five top-fives and nine top-10 finishes. The veteran ARCA team currently sits ninth in the car owner standings with just four races remaining.

The Southern Illinois 100 presented by Federated Auto Parts (100 laps / 100 miles) is the 16th of 19 events on the 2011 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards schedule. The 29th ARCA event held at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds is a one-day show. Practice begins Monday, September 5 with a one hour practice session planned from 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. Menards Pole by Ansell qualifying is slated to begin at 11:00 a.m. The field will take the green flag that afternoon shortly after 1:00 p.m. The event will not be televised but race coverage including live timing and scoring throughout the 1,328th race for the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards since it was formed in 1953 will be available through the ARCA Racing Network (ARN) online at arcaracing.com presented by ARCANation.com. All times are local.

Further information including driver opportunities with Win-Tron Racing is available by visiting win-tronracing.com or contacting Nate Thiesse at 612.306.1641

For more on Champion Brands LLC and their extensive line of products, please log on to championbrands.com or championsusechampion.com.

No. 32 Champion Brands Dodge Charger

Armed with the same piece that took them to victory in the 10th installment of the season, the Lakeville, Minnesota-based team felt confident heading into the first of two practice sessions Friday afternoon.

During the first session, Merrell in his No. 32 Champion Hi-Tech Lubricants Dodge Charger produced the 16th fastest time after complaining of a tight condition on his automobile. Changes made by crew chief Mike Chaffee for the final practice session had the team ready to make a climb. In happy hour, the Portland, Texas native climbed to 12th fastest overall but the former USARacing Pro Cup Series star was still complaining of a tight condition.

Baffled by the car’s handling, Chaffee, car chief Mike Resop and Merrell went back to the drawing board Friday night and Saturday morning opting to go with a completely different setup for qualifying.

In time trials, Merrell whistled his No. 32 Champion Hi-Tech Lubricants Dodge Charger around the .875-mile paved oval to a time of 24.297 seconds at 129.646 miles per hour, the team’s fastest lap of the weekend awarding the veteran organization with a solid 13th place starting position.

Amidst scorching temperatures and humid air, the Prairie Meadows 200 took the green flag shortly after 4:00 p.m. local time. The field would be slowed before the completion of lap one when Milka Duno spun in turn three. During that first lap though, Merrell had climbed into the 12th position where he restarted the race on lap six.

With the field setting into their first span of consecutive green flag racing laps, Merrell found himself sliding back through the field as laps clicked away with the 26-year old once again informing his team that his No. 32 Champion Hi-Tech Lubricants Dodge Charger was tight.

Continuing a green flag run, Merrell would find himself lose a lap to the leaders 30 circuits into the event. Maintaining his position inside the top-20, Merrell would have the opportunity to bring his No. 32 Champion Hi-Tech Lubricants Dodge Charger to pit road when the second yellow flag waived when two cars appeared to have blown their right front tire.

Chaffee brought his driver to pit road where four tires, fuel and a major chassis adjustment were in order to help Merrell combat his handling issues.

Ready to resume racing, Merrell had barely begun to climb to full song before a ball joint failure sent the most recent winner in ARCA competition hard into the outside wall.

Matt Merrell

“It’s very frustrating to go from celebrating a win to having a race like we did in Iowa,” offered Merrell. “It’s just been our luck lately. We’ll have a good week and then something out of the ordinary will happen and bite us hard. I hate it for Win-Tron and Champion, we were looking forward to having a good weekend.”

Car owner Nate Thiesse offered his thoughts on this weekend’s race. “We are all shaking our heads wondering why. We made some strides throughout the weekend but ultimately ran into more bad luck. We’ll dissect this car very thoroughly and try to see what exactly happened.”

With the mishap, Merrell slid to eighth in the championship standings and sits just 10 points from retaking seventh from fellow competitor Tom Hessert III.

Next up for the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards is a welcomed trip back to Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis, formally known as O’Reilly Raceway Park (ORP) for the running of the Ansell Protective Gloves 200 set for Thursday, July 28th. The iconic short track event will be aired live on SPEED beginning at 7:00 p.m. Eastern.

Merrell made his 24th career start in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards at Iowa Speedway this weekend. In those 24 outings, Merrell has one win (Berlin (Mich.) Raceway, July 2011), nine top-fives and 12 top-10s. His best start position for Win-Tron Racing occurred at the tricky triangle of Pocono (Pa.) Raceway where he qualified his No. 32 CollinsHope.org Dodge Charger second in June of 2009.

Further information including driver opportunities with Win-Tron Racing is available by visiting win-tronracing.com or contacting Nate Thiesse at 612.306.1641

For more on Champion Brands LLC and their extensive line of products, please log on to championbrands.com or championsusechampion.com.

- Win-Tron Racing Press Release

On the heels of a solid sixth place finish at Berlin (Mich.) Raceway last weekend, a win in Saturday afternoon’s Prairie Meadows 200 would be a boost that Hessert in Ken Schrader Racing’s No. 52 Federated Auto Parts Chevrolet Impala would be more than glad to welcome.

Tom Hessert III

The odds of pulling off his second career ARCA win in the 11th race of the 2011 season are grand. Adding ammunition towards the field for yet another victory at Iowa Speedway will come with the guidance and helm of crew chief John Monsam.

“Our car was virtually perfect,” Hessert recalled. “We made some adjustments from practice to qualifying and in the race we just found our niche. John Monsam is a large part of the success that we had all of last season and having him with us this year is awesome. He and I communicate very well and have a great place to start with the car based upon last year’s set up. I feel that with the information we have and with the strong team at KSR we can certainly contended for another win at Iowa Speedway.”

He continued, it’s been too long since Ken Schrader Racing and Federated Auto Parts have been to victory lane, so hopefully we’ll be able to turn that around this weekend.”

Grabbing his seventh top-10 finish in 10 races last weekend places Hessert eighth overall in the championship standings with just nine races remaining. Trailing sixth place competitors Tim George Jr. and Matt Merrell by 95 points and fending off Chad Hackenbracht in ninth whose just 25 markers behind; points are crucial as ever with the series beginning to make a dent in their second half.

“If we can continue our solid finishes, hopefully we can chop off some of our deficit to some of the other drivers and teams and move the KSR team up the ladder,” sounded Hessert. “The competition is tight, maybe even a little tighter than last year, so we just have to remain focused and hope in the end, the points will take care of themselves and we’ll be in the hunt.”

In addition to Federated Auto Parts, Cherry Hill Classic Cars will serve as an associate marketing partner for Hessert’s 75th career ARCA start. In his previous 74 outings, he has maneuvered one win, 14 top-fives and 37 top-10s.

The Prairie Meadows 200 (200 laps / 175 miles) is the 11th of 19 events on the 2011 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards schedule. The sixth ever ARCA race at Iowa Speedway is a two-day show. Practice begins Friday, July 15th with an hour and twenty minute practice session planned from 3:00 p.m. – 4:20 p.m. A final fifty minute session has been etched in from 5:30 p.m. – 6:20 p.m. Menards Pole by Ansell qualifying is slated for race day, Saturday July 16th set to begin at 12:10 p.m. The event will take the green flag shortly after 4:15 p.m. The event will air live on SPEED. Additional event coverage including live timing and scoring throughout the 1,323rd race for the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards since it was formed in 1953 will be available through the ARCA Racing Network (ARN) online at arcaracing.com presented by ARCANation.com. All times are local.

For more on Tom Hessert III, please visit tomhessert.com.

- Tom Hessert Racing Press Release

Matt Merrell, driver of the No. 32 Champion Brands Dodge Charger celebrates his first career victory in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards at Berlin (Mich.) Raceway in the Hantz Group 200 driving for Win-Tron Racing.

The triumph was a nice and welcomed reward for Merrell and his Lakeville, Minnesota-based Win-Tron Racing team after several weeks of misfortune tried to damper the team’s confidence and spirit.

From the moment the No. 32 Champion Brands Dodge Charger unloaded from the hauler on Saturday afternoon, it was a rocket ship. After netting the 13th fastest time in practice, Merrell stepped up to the plate in qualifying and rocketed his automobile to the third fastest time.

During the course of the 10th race of the 2011 ARCA Racing Series, Merrell patiently waited to make his move on pole sitter Grant Enfinger. Merrell took the lead shortly before halfway and carried the lead over into the second half of the slugfest.

A caution on lap 117 allowed the Win-Tron Racing team to make their lone trip to pit road. With four tires and fuel, Merrell was set for the remainder of the race, but returned to the race track second behind new leader Tim George Jr.

While George Jr. appeared to be heading towards his second career victory in the ARCA Racing Series, Merrell riding in second was begging for a caution as he knew that he had enough to battle for the top-spot in his No. 32 Champion Brands Dodge Charger. Merrell’s wish came true when the yellow flag waived on lap 189.

Just after the restart, Merrell brilliantly made an inside move on George Jr. to inherit the lead before the caution flag waived with Merrell at the point. Setting up for the green and white flags waiving simultaneously, Merrell held off a last-lap attempt by George Jr., but it was the No. 32 Champion Dodge Charger with Merrell at the helm taking the checkered flag first, ahead of a massive melee occurring behind him on the frontstretch. The 26-year old finished 0.289-seconds ahead of George Jr.

Merrell’s first career victory comes in his 23rd career ARCA Racing Series and exceeds past two runner-up finishes at Berlin (Mich.) Raceway and Pocono (Pa.) Raceway in 2009.

“Man, I don’t know what to say, this is awesome,” said the jubilant driver. “I cannot thank Win-Tron Racing, Kevin (Cywinski), Nate (Thiesse), Mike (Chafee, crew chief), Mike (Resop, car chief) and the entire team enough for all that they have done for me. They have stood behind me because they believed in me and I am so glad I’m finally able to give them a victory. We had an awesome car tonight. The Champion Brands Dodge was stellar. Tim (George Jr.) was able to get away from us all on that restart but I knew if we could get back to him, that we would have something for him. Thankfully, the caution flag came back out late in the race and I was able to do what I knew our Champion Brands Dodge Charger was capable of.”

He continued, “This is our first win with Champion Brands and I’m thrilled for them. We’ve had a couple of tough weeks, but I knew that if there was a track that I could give them a win, Berlin would be the place. I have an early flight Sunday morning, but we’re definitely going to do some celebrating before I get on the plane!”

Co-car owner Nate Thiesse offered, “We knew it was just a matter of time before Matt would take Win-Tron Racing to victory lane. He wanted it bad tonight and you could see that from the moment that green flag dropped. I’m stoked for him and this entire Win-Tron Racing team. This was a big night for us and I could not be more proud!”

The annual trip to Berlin (Mich.) Raceway, just on the outskirts of Grand Rapids signifies the ninth race that Champion Brands heeded the role as the primary sponsor of the No. 32 Dodge Charger. Headquartered in Clinton, Missouri, Champion Brands LLC produces and blends more than 300 products including fuel, oil and engine additives and lubricants for the automotive, heavy truck, agricultural and specialty markets.

Saturday night’s win was the first for Win-Tron Racing since Justin Marks led the team to Victory Lane at Palm Beach (Fla.) International Raceway last February.

Next up for the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards is a trip out West to Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa for the running of the Prairie Meadows 200 on Saturday, July 16th. The 11th race of the season will air live on SPEED and ARCARacing.com beginning at 4:00 p.m.

Merrell made his 24th career start in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards at Berlin (Mich.) Raceway this weekend. In his previous 23 outings, Merrell has one win (Berlin (Mich.) Raceway, July 2011), nine top-fives and 12 top-10s. His best start position for Win-Tron Racing occurred at the tricky triangle of Pocono (Pa.) Raceway where he qualified his No. 32 CollinsHope.org Dodge Charger second in June of 2009.

Further information including driver opportunities with Win-Tron Racing is available by visiting win-tronracing.com or contacting Nate Thiesse at 612.306.1641

For more on Champion Brands LLC and their extensive line of products, please log on to championbrands.com or championsusechampion.com.

- Win-Tron Racing Press Release

Matt Merrell

Never seeing the Marne, Michigan facility before that night of competition, Merrell, the former USARacing Pro Cup Series star wowed the ARCA regulars and his Win-Tron Racing team with an impressive third place qualifying run. During the 200-lap slugfest, Merrell looked like a veteran rather than a rookie as he found himself battling with eventual series champion Justin Lofton for the win. In the end, Merrell came up one position short, notching his career-best finish (second) in ARCA to this day.

Nearly two years later, Merrell remembers everything about that race and plans to exercise those tactics in the 10th race of the 2011 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards season.

“Berlin is such a neat place,” offered Merrell. “It’s not about horsepower; it’s about finesse and keeping your car intact. We were able to do that a couple years ago and believe me; I know I have to do that again this weekend.”

He added, “it’s been a rough couples weeks for us. After a strong start to the season, we’ve encountered some misfortune, most of it not of our doing. It’s been tough but this is a great organization with some of the best talent in the garage. Hopefully, our streak of bad luck is over and Berlin will be the place to put us back on path.”

After nine races, Merrell and his Mike Chaffee-led team hoist seventh in the ARCA Racing Series championship standings just 165 points from cracking the top-five. The 26-year old is not only focused on those crucial points but also taking the Lakeville, Minnesota-based team to victory lane.

“I could go on for weeks and talk about what a great operation Win-Tron Racing has. Kevin (Cywinski, owner), Nate (Thiesse, owner), Mike (Chaffee), Mike (Resop, car chief) and the entire Win-Tron gang have been so beneficial to my racing career. Every time we come to the race track, we’re quick. You cannot ask for much more than that. A victory on Saturday night would be a small way of giving my thanks to them and Champion Brands.”

The annual trip to Berlin (Mich.) Raceway, just on the outskirts of Grand Rapids signifies the ninth race that Champion Brands will heed the role as the primary sponsor for the Lakeville, Minnesota-based team. Headquartered in Clinton, Missouri, Champion Brands LLC produces and blends more than 300 products including fuel, oil and engine additives and lubricants for the automotive, heavy truck, agricultural and specialty markets.

“I appreciate the support from everyone at Champion Brands,” sounded Merrell. “They understand that there are going to be some bumps along the way in racing, but they’ve been super to work with and I know it would mean a lot to all of us to bring home the checkered flag on Saturday night.”

Co-car owner Nate Thiesse offered his preview on Saturday night’s battle. “I know this has been a track that Matt has been itching to get back to. We like Berlin too. It’s a technical track, so there’s a lot that goes into having a good run there. The last couple weeks have been tough on us, but we’re not quitters and we’re going to show why this team is championship caliber material on Saturday night!”

Merrell will make his 23rd career start in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards at Berlin (Mich.) Raceway this weekend. In his previous 22 outings, Merrell has eight top-fives including runner-up finishes of second at Berlin (Mich.) Raceway and Pocono (Pa.) Raceway (August) in 2009 and 11 top-10s. His best start position for Win-Tron Racing occurred at the tricky triangle of Pocono (Pa.) Raceway where he qualified his No. 32 CollinsHope.org Dodge Charger second in June of 2009.

The Hantz Group 200 (200 laps / 100 miles) is the 10th of 19 events on the 2011 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards schedule. The 24th ARCA race at Berlin (Mich.) Raceway is a one-day show. Practice begins Saturday, July 9 with a one hour and half practice session planned from 2:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Menards Pole by Ansell qualifying is slated to begin later in the day at 5:00 p.m. The field will take the green flag later that night shortly after 8:00 p.m. The race will not be televised but event coverage including live timing and scoring throughout the 1,322nd race for the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards since it was formed in 1953 will be available through the ARCA Racing Network (ARN) online at arcaracing.com presented by ARCANation.com. All times are local.

Further information including driver opportunities with Win-Tron Racing is available by visiting win-tronracing.com or contacting Nate Thiesse at 612.306.1641

For more on Champion Brands LLC and their extensive line of products, please log on to championbrands.com or championsusechampion.com.

- Win-Tron Racing Press Release

Tom Hessert III

Despite his massive amount of experience in the development series, the Cherry Hill, New Jersey native had never experienced the power of Winchester in a stock-car, but that fact is now extinct.

Hoping to utilize that experience during the ninth race of the season, Hessert and his Ken Schrader Racing (KSR) team were heavily optimistic entering the third short track race of the year.

In practice Saturday afternoon, Hessert guided the No. 52 Federated Auto Parts Chevrolet Impala to the seventh quickest lap overall during the lone practice session of the day Communicating with crew chief John Monsam following practice, the two offered suggestions to improve the handling on their Chevrolet bowtie.

Time trials showed that Hessert mounted the 13th fastest lap in qualifications. Even though the team wasn’t happy with their starting position, they were confident in their race setup in ARCA’s return trip to Winchester Speedway.

From the drop of the green flag, the No. 52 Federated Auto Parts Chevrolet Impala dialed in nicely with the track. Moving up the ranks, Hessert found himself knocking on the door of the top-10 inside the first five circuits of the race. Inching forward, the caution flag waived on lap 10 for an incident in turn four. Right before the yellow, Hessert’s No. 52 made contact with another competitor in typical short track beating and banging action.

Better to be safe than sorry, Monsam elected to bring his former USARacing Pro Cup Series driver to pit road where the team worked on the right front fender of the No. 52 Federated Auto Parts Chevrolet before sending their driver back into battle.

Marred deep inside the top-20, Hessert would have to exercise patience as he methodically maneuvered his General Motors piece through the field. Hessert once again found himself solidly in the top-10 when a multi-car wreck ensued on lap 37.

Back to racing, Hessert would begin to battle the handling of his race car. As the race progressed into a long green flag run, Hessert would find himself fighting to stay on the lead lap against leader Ryan Blaney on lap 88. Blaney would prevail with Hessert tucked in behind the No. 25.

Luck would strike for the KSR team on lap 93 when the yellow flag waived with the No. 52 became the beneficiary of the Aarons Lucky Dog, thus putting Hessert back on the lead circuit.

Nestled safely in the top-10 during the second half of the race, it would be another long green flag run that would find Hessert fending off the leader to maintain a spot on the lead lap. A gallant effort by Hessert would come up short, but with just four cars on the lead lap, the yellow flag waived putting Hessert once again back on the lead circuit.

Over the course of the final 30 laps, Hessert would find himself as high as second but eventually have to settle for fifth despite giving point’s leader Ty Dillon a run for fourth literally coming to the checkered flag.

“Winchester is an awesome place,” commented Hessert. “That race was over pretty quick. We struggled a little bit today with the handling of our No. 52 Federated Auto Parts Chevrolet. The guys on the Ken Schrader Racing team did a good job adjusting on the car and we made the best out of the situation.”

He added, “no one really wanted to give an inch those last couple laps and that’s typical good ole’ fashion short track racing. I had a lot of fun racing Ty (Dillon) there at the end and I was happy to be able to rebound from our misfortune last week at Michigan. Thanks again to the team and especially Federated Auto Parts not only for their support of us, but supporting ARCA’s return to racing at Winchester.”

With the ninth race of the year complete and officially at the half-way mark in the 2011 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards series, Hessert occupies eighth in the championship standings just 60 makers behind seventh place runner Matt Merrell.

Thus far in 2011, the 25-year old Hessert and the KSR team have produced two top-fives and six top-10 finishes. A second place (outside pole) at New Jersey Motorsports Park is the team’s best qualifications effort to date this season.

In addition to Federated Auto Parts, Cherry Hill Classic Cars served as an associate marketing partner for Hessert’s 73rd career ARCA start. In those 73 outings, he has maneuvered one win, 14 top-fives and 36 top-10s.

Next up for the ARCA Racing Series is their final stop in the Great Lakes state with a stop at Berlin (Mich.) Raceway for the running of the Hantz Group 200 set for Saturday, July 9th. Hessert will make his fourth start at the Marne, Michigan race track looking to secure his fourth consecutive top-10 effort.

For more on Tom Hessert III, please visit tomhessert.com.

- Tom Hessert Motorsports Press Release

Dakoda Armstrong Wins The Winchester ARCA 200 Presented by Federated Auto Parts

Armstrong stuck in the top five for most of his first start in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards since May 15 at Toledo Speedway, and pounced upon the lead with 10 laps to go after moving into position because of a key pit decision by veteran crew chief Paul Andrews.

Andrews had elected to give the No. 22 Cardinal Ethanol / ICM, Inc. / Murex Dodge just two fresh tires and less than a full load of fuel on a Lap 170 pit stop, the move that the New Castle, Ind. driver said helped him to the third win of his ARCA career.

“We didn’t fill all the way up, just so we’d stay a little bit free,” said Armstrong, who only entered the race Wednesday after combining enough sponsor funding to make the start possible.

“We were getting a little bit tight as the night went. The car was perfect. I think a couple people started pushing through the center, and we were still rotating and could actually drive off. It was a great call, and it was a great run.”

Armstrong’s start was his fifth of the year for Cunningham Motorsports. In three weeks – on his 20th birthday – Armstrong will make his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut at Iowa Speedway for ThorSport Racing.

Rookie points leader Ty Dillon (No. 41 Richard Childress Racing Development Chevrolet) had assumed the race lead at Lap 162 when Ryan Blaney (No. 25 Lauren Briant/Venturini Motorsports Chevrolet), who had led 154 laps, suffered a flat right front tire, knocking him out of contention in his ARCA debut. Dillon seemed primed to win for the fifth time in nine races this season, using the same strategy he had taken to victory twice before in June: staying patient while the leader suffered trouble, and then advancing into the lead and running away to the checkered flag.

A late two-tire stop for Dillon, though, left him with bad left tires and forced him to bottom out and drive loose in the turns, allowing Armstrong to make the pass for the lead and the eventual win on Lap 190.

Earlier in the day, Blaney – the son of NASCAR and World of Outlaws veteran Dave Blaney – had sped to a Winchester ARCA qualifying record of 15.837 seconds (113.658 mph), but Dillon charged around him on the outside at the start and seized a 0.119-second lead on the first lap. Blaney stormed back inside of Dillon in the third turn of the next lap to lead for the first time in ARCA Racing Series competition.

Though Chris Buescher (No. 17 David Ragan Ford/Roulo Brothers Racing Ford) challenged Dillon for second and came exceptionally close to overtaking him on Lap 7, Dillon kept the position. The early battle was a sign of things to come for Buescher and Dillon.

Matt Merrell (No. 32 Champion Oil Dodge) crashed coming out of the third turn on Lap 10, with Blaney holding a 0.721-second lead. The first caution period of the race lasted four laps, and Blaney kept the lead off of the Lap 15 restart. Mike Young and Blaney’s Venturini Motorsports teammate John Blankenship both spun in separate incidents over the next 15 laps, and Blaney continued to lead out of each ensuing restart.

A five-car incident involving Maryeve Dufault, Richard Harriman, Young, Levi Youster, and Darrell Basham brought the field to the red flag at Lap 37. After a seven-minute delay, the race began again, with Blaney leading the field through a small cloud of fluid-drying material laid on the track through the exit of Turn 1 and the entrance of Turn 2.

With Frank Kimmel (No. 44 Ansell/Menards Ford) passing Armstrong for fourth on Lap 45 and Buescher continuing to battle Dillon for second place, Blaney began to run away from the field. Clean air in front of him helped Blaney to a 1.187-second lead by Lap 57, a 2.025-second advantage six laps later, and more than three seconds on the field by Lap 69.

Tim George Jr. (No. 31 Applebee’s / Potomac Family Dining Group Chevrolet) ran sixth at the time, and Chad McCumbee (No. 1 ModSpace Ford) passed Tom Hessert (No. 52 Federated Auto Parts Chevrolet) for seventh. Chad Hackenbracht (No. 58 Tastee Apple Chevrolet) followed suit and got by Hessert at Lap 72, but Blaney continued to extend his advantage over the entire group.

By the time Jared Marks crashed in Turn 2 on Lap 91, Blaney had moved his lead above four seconds. The leaders all came to pit road, though, and it was Hackenbracht who assumed the top spot after taking just two tires. George followed in second, with Blaney, Dillon, and Buescher rounding out the top five.

Hackenbracht led through the halfway point of the race, but Blaney was quick to take back the lead, moving past Hackenbracht by a very slim margin on Lap 101. Three laps later, Blaney had built an advantage of more than a second on Hackenbracht, and Dillon and Buescher soon passed Hackenbracht for second and third.

Blaney again built his lead over the field, and received a boost when Dillon and Buescher continued to battle. Dillon first used lapped cars as picks to keep Buescher at bay, but Buescher pulled the same trick at Lap 130, as Kimmel acted as a block to help Buescher move past Dillon for second. Meanwhile, Blaney extended his lead to nearly four seconds, and was then able to send Hackenbracht – formerly the leader – off of the lead lap.

At Lap 160, Dillon passed Buescher for second, and just two laps later, Blaney’s tire blew, sending him to pit road and Dillon to the lead. Dillon created a three-second advantage as Buescher also experienced issues, but the Lap 170 pit cycle truly shaped the finish.

With Armstrong having moved to second after taking just two tires, Dillon initially opened up a short lead but almost immediately saw sparks come from under his car. Armstrong closed in little by little, shortening Dillon’s lead with every lap as fans from his hometown just a 35-minute drive away stood and cheered in the center of the grandstands.

Armstrong grabbed the lead at Lap 190, and drove away to a 0.9-second victory in front of his friends and family, backing up a similar home state performance achieved in his win at Salem Speedway last September.

“It just couldn’t have been better,” Armstrong said. “Our sponsors had a hospitality tent, so we brought out about 60 or 70 people. You can’t get any luckier than that, to get a win when everyone’s here and it’s just 35 minutes from my home. It’s huge for us.”

Buescher, who had been making the Armstrong-Dillon battle a three-man fight, passed Dillon to take second for the fourth time this season and third time in the last four races.

“Let me just say that I can’t believe we’re leaving Winchester without any damage to the car; that’s a good thing,” Buescher said. “We finished second again, so we’ve got to break this little streak we have going. But it’s not bad.”

After earning his way back on to the lead lap, Hackenbracht passed for third place – a fourth career-best in his last five races – and Dillon drove home fourth. Hessert finished fifth, the final driver on the lead lap.

Blaney ended the race sixth, one lap down, and led McCumbee, Kimmel, Grant Enfinger (No. 36 Hoosier Tires Midwest / RaceTires.com Dodge), and Blankenship in the top 10.

George finished 11th, followed by Marks, Sean Corr, Levi Youster, and Young.

Though Armstrong led 11 laps, including the most important, Blaney walked away with the top total at 154 laps. Dillon led 29, and Hackenbracht led six. The race was slowed by six total cautions for 34 laps, and ended with an average speed of 77.782 mph after one hour, 17 minutes, and eight seconds.

The ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards returns to action after the Independence Day holiday weekend, with a race Saturday, July 9 at Berlin Raceway in Marne, Mich., just outside Grand Rapids. The Hantz Group 200 is scheduled as the 10th race of 19 on the ARCA Racing Series schedule, and will begin at 8:30 p.m. with live timing and scoring coverage provided at a href=”http://www.ARCARacing.com”>ARCARacing.com. The event will be the 24th for the series at Berlin since 1958.

ARCA Racing Series practice begins at 2:30 p.m., and will last for 90 minutes. Menards Pole Qualifying presented by Ansell follows at 5, and the ARCA Racing Series drivers will participate in an autograph session at 6:15, just before the race. ARCARacing.com will feature live timing and scoring coverage of all events.

The ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards features 19 events at 16 tracks on its 2011 schedule. The series has crowned an ARCA national champion each year since its inaugural season in 1953, and has toured over 200 race tracks in 28 states since its inception. The series tests the abilities of drivers and race teams over the most diverse schedule of stock car racing events in the world, annually visiting tracks ranging from 0.4 mile to 2.66 miles in length, on both paved and dirt surfaces as well as a left- and right-turn road course.

Founded by John 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 two professional touring series and local weekly events.

- Automobile Racing Club of America Press Release

No. 32 Champion Oil Toyota Camry

The Lakeville, Minnesota team arrived in the Irish Hills of Michigan with a brand new Toyota Camry hoping to guide Merrell towards another strong run in his inaugural meeting with the two-mile oval.

The teams were given an hour and a half practice on Thursday afternoon to dial in their machines with Merrell eclipsing the 11th fastest lap overall. The team led by ARCA wizard Mike Chaffee made some slight adjustments to their Japanese nameplate hoping to give Merrell a comfortable race setup.

Time trials occurred on Friday morning with Merrell being coached by his team to just make a good lap. With a loose race car underneath him, Merrell negotiated the 19th fastest lap.

Despite their starting position, the veteran ARCA team had little worries about their performance during the 100-lap shootout.

The green flag waived shortly after 5:15 p.m. with Merrell attempting to throttle his way in the field. An early race caution would waive on lap three with Merrell uncharacteristically slipping back to the 21st position.

Waiting for his car to come to life, Merrell would slowly inch his No. 32 Champion Oil Toyota Camry through the running order closing in on the first quarter mark.

When the second yellow flag of the day waived on lap 30, the Portland, Texas native had climbed into the 16th position offering a prime opportunity to enter pit road for tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment.

Restarting the race in the 14th position, Merrell methodically began working his way up the leader board and by the half-way mark; the former USARacing Pro Cup Series star had crafted his Toyota into the 10th position.

The Win-Tron Racing development driver would hover inside the top-10 for the remainder of the event but coming to a green white checkered, Merrell sitting ninth had his sights set on a potential seventh place finish.

In a three-wide battle on lap 99 of the race, Merrell found himself racing with nine-time ARCA champion Frank Kimmel and Chad McCumbee. Kimmel drifted up into the path of Merrell which turned the No. 32 Champion Oil Toyota Camry hard into the outside wall on the backstretch.

Matt Merrell

“I always have had a lot of respect for Frank (Kimmel), but this is the second time in three races where I’ve had a problem with the way he drives,” offered Merrell. “I’ve always given him a lot of room and raced him clean but his boldness cost us a good finish for the team and Champion Oil. I hate it. I’m frustrated and disappointed. I just don’t know want to say.”

Win-Tron Racing co car-owner Nate Thiesse offered his comments on Friday’s outcome. “It’s a shame to be taken out the way we were like that on the last lap. I’m all about for good, hard racing but what happened to Matt and us today could have been easily avoidable. It’s discouraging for Matt because of the bad luck he’s had the last couple of races, but this team stands behind him and we know he can get the job done at Winchester next week.”

Next up for the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards is a return to Winchester (Ind.) Speedway for the running of the Winchester ARCA 200 presented by Federated Auto Parts. Merrell will make his inaugural debut at the Indiana short track.

Merrell made his 21st career start in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards at Michigan International Speedway on Friday. In those 21 outings, Merrell has eight top-fives including runner-up finishes of second at Berlin (Mich.) Raceway and Pocono (Pa.) Raceway (August) in 2009 and 11 top-10s. His best start position for Win-Tron Racing occurred at the tricky triangle of Pocono (Pa.) Raceway where he qualified his No. 32 CollinsHope.org Dodge Charger second in June of 2009.

Further information including driver opportunities with Win-Tron Racing is available by visiting win-tronracing.com or contacting Nate Thiesse at 952.469.1839.

For more on Champion Oil, Champion Brands LLC and their products, please log on to championbrands.com or championsusechampion.com.

- Win-Tron Racing Press Release

ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards Thumbnail

Thirteen drivers appeared Thursday night at an autograph session held during the Brooklyn/Irish Hills Race Fest, just several miles north of the speedway, and had the chance to interact with a steady line of passionate race followers over the course of one hour.

From Friday’s starting lineup, Robb Brent, Benny Chastain, Sean Corr, Joey Coulter, Maryeve Dufault, Tim George Jr., Chad Hackenbracht, Hal Martin, Chad McCumbee, Josh Richards, and Bryan Silas all posed for pictures and signed hero cards and other memorabilia for fans. Additionally, Salem race winner Brennan Poole and rookie driver Jared Marks showed at the session to do the same, even though neither entered Friday’s race.

“That’s what drives our sport, and we’re all very blessed to be in the position we’re in,” said McCumbee. “Any time we can give back and take care of the sport, and use our sport to bring joy to people, that’s what it’s about. That’s the number one goal.”

McCumbee’s No. 1 ModSpace Ford from the Andy Belmont Racing stable was on display, giving fans in Brooklyn’s village square a sharp visual next to local classic cars and a festive array of hometown displays.

Friday afternoon, many of the same drivers joined some others – including eventual race winner Ty Dillon and runner-up Max Gresham, as well as nine-time ARCA champion Frank Kimmel – in a suite above the MIS pit road to greet a group of children from the Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital in Grand Rapids, a Michigan city located approximately 125 miles northwest of MIS. The event took place as part of the annual “MIS Cares” program, a track community initiative.

MRN Radio turn announcer Jeff Striegle, a West Michigan native, acted as the master of ceremonies, introducing the ARCA drivers to a full room before the drivers posed for pictures and walked table-to-table to sign autographs and take pictures with ill children, many of whom were enjoying their first trip to a major sporting event.

“We need to count our blessings as race car drivers,” said McCumbee. “To be able to influence and to be able to make a difference in people’s lives, we can’t take that for granted.”

Tom Hessert, Grant Enfinger, and Matt Merrell, all top-10 drivers in the series standings, appeared for the children.

“It’s awesome, and anywhere we go we try to do stuff like this,” said Enfinger. “It’s always nice. I think they’re having the time of their lives just watching, and to have guys who are as privileged as we are to actually race talk to them is always a cool thing.”

“It’s a lot of fun to come up here and see the kids,” Hessert said. “Like Grant said, we’re really fortunate to do what we’re able to do every weekend. It’s fun to take a little time out of the day and hang with the kids. They really enjoy it and it’s nice to come up and meet some people.”

“It takes a lot for them to be able to come out here and do this stuff,” said Merrell. “You can tell they’re enjoying it. Their eyes light up and it’s really neat.”

The ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards returns to action Saturday, June 25 in the Winchester ARCA 200 presented by Federated Auto Parts at Winchester Speedway in Indiana. The event is scheduled as the ninth of 19 on the 2011 ARCA Racing Series schedule; the ARCA Truck Series will join the ARCA Racing Series at the track.

ARCA Racing Series practice begins at 1:45 p.m., and will last for 90 minutes. Menards Pole Qualifying presented by Ansell begins at 4:45 p.m., and the 200-lap, 100-mile race will take place at 8 p.m. ARCARacing.com will feature live timing and scoring coverage of all events.

The ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards features 19 events at 16 tracks on its 2011 schedule. The series has crowned an ARCA national champion each year since its inaugural season in 1953, and has toured over 200 race tracks in 28 states since its inception. The series tests the abilities of drivers and race teams over the most diverse schedule of stock car racing events in the world, annually visiting tracks ranging from 0.4 mile to 2.66 miles in length, on both paved and dirt surfaces as well as a left- and right-turn road course.

Founded by John 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 two professional touring series and local weekly events.

- Automobile Racing Club of America Press Release

Grasping the thrill and joy of victory at Iowa Speedway last year, Hessert knows winning on a speedway would mean that much more for his racing resume and team moralhttp://www.catchfence.com/wp-admin/media-upload.php?post_id=77678&type=image&TB_iframe=1e as the half-way mark approaches on the calendar.

The Cherry Hill, New Jersey native will make his fourth career start at the monstrous two-mile oval in the RainEater Wiper Blades 200, but eyes his first career top-10 finish at the track nestled in the Irish Hills of Michigan.

Tom Hessert III

Hessert, a former successful USAC racer added, “to win is always a blessing. I’ve experienced once before in ARCA and I’m eager to do it again. It’s the Motor City, so motoring to victory lane would be justified for sure.”

Michigan International Speedway’s enormous size and wide racing groove leave the door open for plenty of action and Hessert feels that neither the fans nor the competitors will be denied excitement in the eighth race of the season.

“It’s definitely an enjoyable place to race, if you have a good car,” Hessert explained. “The track is plenty wide, so if you have a mistake, your odds of recovering are better than another track we may compete on. John (Monsam, crew chief) and I will work together on the setup on Thursday and hopefully we can put our Federated Auto Parts Chevrolet in a position we can be satisfied with rolling into race day.”

Currently, Hessert occupies the seventh position in the ARCA Racing Series point standings, just 90 markers behind sixth place competitor Matt Merrell.

In addition to Federated Auto Parts, Cherry Hill Classic Cars will serve as an associate marketing partner for Hessert’s 72nd career ARCA start. In his previous 71 outings, he has maneuvered one win, 13 top-fives and 35 top-10s.

The RainEater Wiper Blades 200 (100 laps / 200 miles) is the eighth of 19 events on the 2011 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards schedule. The 30th ARCA race at the Irish Hills track is a two-day show. Practice begins Thursday, June 16 with a one hour and half practice session planned from 2:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Menards Pole by Ansell qualifying is slated to begin on race day, Friday, June 17th at 10:00 a.m. The field will take the green flag later in the day shortly after 5:00 p.m. The event will be televised live on SPEED. Live timing and scoring throughout the 1,320th race for the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards since it was formed in 1953 will be available through the ARCA Racing Network (ARN) online at arcaracing.com presented by ARCANation.com. All times are local.

For more on Tom Hessert III, please visit tomhessert.com.

- Hessert Racing Press Release

Matt Merrell

A blown tire at Chicagoland Speedway and a practice incident at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway have tried to rattle the cage of the Lakeville, Minnesota team but the team has overcome the hiccups which included a 10th place finish in the Pocono ARCA 200 to maintain a solid footing in the championship standings.

Like Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway and Talladega (Ala.) Speedway, Merrell has never raced at MIS but the Portland, Texas native will lean on the expertise of his team led by crew chief wizard Mike Chaffee.

“I’m not worried about going to a place that I’ve never been before,” offered Merrell, who stands sixth in the championship standings after seven races. “This Win-Tron Racing team is on top of their game when it comes to these big ovals. The team had a strong run at Michigan last year with Justin Marks and believe me I want to do the same for them and Champion Oil on Friday afternoon.”

The 26-year old added, “We’ve had some bumps in the last two races, so I would like to rebound on Friday with a win for the team. They won a race by this time last year, so I feel like they are long overdue for a trip to victory lane. Nate (Thiesse, car owner), Kevin (Cywinski, car owner), Mike (Chaffee), Mike (Resop) and all the boys have given more than I could ever ask for all year long, so it would be a nice reward for us all.”

Closing in on the half-way mark of the 2011 season, Merrell is satisfied with the team’s performances but illustrates that the veteran ARCA team still has a lot on the table. “We’re not going anywhere,” Merrell sounded. “The championship battle is tight, but we’re not going down without a fight. We just have to keep plugging away at those top-fives and top-10s. When push comes to shove, I would like to be in the thick of the battle.”

The first of two contests held in the Great Lakes state signifies the seventh race that Champion Oil will heed the role as the primary sponsor for the Lakeville, Minnesota-based team. Headquartered in Clinton, Missouri Champion Oil, a division of Champion Brands LLC produces and blends more than 300 products including fuel, oil and engine additives and lubricants for the automotive, heavy truck, agricultural and specialty markets.

Thiesse offered his comments on Friday’s race. “We’re all looking forward to Michigan. It’s a place over the years where we have really excelled at. Matt has shown time and time again that he can master a track in his first try. We don’t expect anything different this week.”

Merrell will make his 21st career start in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards at Pocono Raceway this weekend. In his previous 20 outings, Merrell has eight top-fives including runner-up finishes of second at Berlin (Mich.) Raceway and Pocono (Pa.) Raceway (August) in 2009 and 11 top-10s. His best start position for Win-Tron Racing occurred at the tricky triangle of Pocono (Pa.) Raceway where he qualified his No. 32 CollinsHope.org Dodge Charger second in June of 2009.

The RainEater Wiper Blades 200 (100 laps / 200 miles) is the eighth of 19 events on the 2011 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards schedule. The 30th ARCA race at the Irish Hills track is a two-day show. Practice begins Thursday, June 16 with a one hour and half practice session planned from 2:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Menards Pole by Ansell qualifying is slated to begin on race day, Friday, June 17th at 10:00 a.m. The field will take the green flag later in the day shortly after 5:00 p.m. The event will be televised live on SPEED. Live timing and scoring throughout the 1,320th race for the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards since it was formed in 1953 will be available through the ARCA Racing Network (ARN) online at arcaracing.com presented by ARCANation.com. All times are local.

Further information including driver opportunities with Win-Tron Racing is available by visiting win-tronracing.com or contacting Nate Thiesse at 952.469.1839.

For more on Champion Oil, Champion Brands LLC and their products, please log on to championbrands.com or championsusechampion.com.

- Win-Tron Racing Press Release

Matt Merrell

Excited to return to the track of his career-best finish in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards, Merrell along with his Lakeville, Minnesota based team armed themselves with a strong No. 32 Champion Oil Toyota Camry for the seventh race of the season.

The team’s weekend though took a dramatic turn just two laps into practice on Saturday morning. After maneuvering the 13th fastest lap his lone lap of practice, Merrell’s machine broke loose in the tunnel turn and slapped the inside retaining wall forcing the team to pull out the No. 32 Champion Oil Dodge Charger as a back-up.

The Chrysler nameplate though was a solid piece as it was the same machine that guided Merrell to a third place finish at Toledo Speedway last month.

With no practice in the backup car, Merrell’s first lap in the No. 32 Champion Oil Dodge Charger would occur during Menards Pole by Ansell qualifying where Merrell negotiated a lap of 57.008 seconds or 157.873 miles per hour landing Merrell a very respectable 14th on the starting grid. However, the team would be forced to relinquish their starting position as they opted to use the backup machine for the Pocono ARCA 200.

Mother Nature has played havoc with the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards for much of the season and Saturday proved to be no different. With a light mist in the air, the drop of the green flag for the seventh race of the season would waive shortly before 2:00 p.m.

Merrell in the No. 32 Champion Oil Dodge Charger appeared to be shot out of a canon as he quickly found himself solidly in the top-20 by the completion of lap one.

By lap five, Merrell had muscled his way into the 15th position and quickly closed on the competition ahead of him. By lap 10, the Portland, Texas native had maneuvered into the 14th position. When the first caution flag waived on lap 18, Merrell found himself in the 13th position. Routine pit stops occurred on lap 19 with Merrell on the rear-bumpers of the lead pack.

With light rain falling and fog present, the caution period extended over the next 12 laps, and initially, ARCA officials decided to drop the green flag on lap 32. After restarts to begin laps 32 and 33 were aborted, officials instructed drivers to drive down pit road to close lap 35 where the red flag would be issued as everyone waited for the fog to lift.

A short time later, the cars would be re-fired and moved from pit road. The green flag would fly on lap 38. Merrell would maintain a spot inside the top-12 until the caution flag would waive on lap 50.

Lap 53 offered the final trip to pit road where a superb pit stop by the Mike Chaffee-led team would soar Merrell into the top-10.

Restarting the event on lap 57, Merrell would defend his position from a hard charging Sean Corr before a caution flag waived two laps later for dense fog again around the facility. Red flag conditions would again adorn the field but ultimately the fog would force ARCA officials to consider the race complete on lap 59 with Merrell scored in the 10th position.

“We definitely had our ups and downs this weekend, but we persevered with a top-10 finish,” said Merrell. “I (still) feel really bad about what happened in practice. She just broke loose. The guys did a great job getting the backup together and even though the backup wasn’t as strong as the primary we made the best out of the situation. It really was a champion-like performance this weekend.”

Nate Thiesse, co-owner of Win-Tron Racing offered his thoughts on the weekend at Pocono. “We made the best of the situation. We pulled together and overcame some adversity and finished in the top-10. I feel if we could have completed all 80 laps, we could have had a little better finish. We’ll take this though and march on to Michigan.”

Merrell occupies sixth in the championship standings, just 60 points from fifth place competitor Chad McCumbee and 65 from fourth held by Chris Buescher.

Next up for the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards is round eight of nine on the 2011 schedule. The RainEater Wiper Blades 200 from the two-mile oval of Michigan International Speedway is set for Friday, June 17th at 5:00 p.m. Eastern live on SPEED. Merrell will make his inaugural debut at the track nestled in the “Irish Hills.”

Merrell made his 20th career start in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards at Pocono Raceway. In those 20 outings, Merrell has eight top-fives including runner-up finishes of second at Berlin (Mich.) Raceway and Pocono (Pa.) Raceway (August) in 2009 and 11 top-10s. His best start position for Win-Tron Racing occurred at the tricky triangle of Pocono (Pa.) Raceway where he qualified his No. 32 CollinsHope.org Dodge Charger second in June of 2009.

Further information including driver opportunities with Win-Tron Racing is available by visiting win-tronracing.com or contacting Nate Thiesse at 952.469.1839.

For more on Champion Oil, Champion Brands LLC and their products, please log on to championbrands.com or championsusechampion.com.

- Win-Tron Racing Press Release