TOLEDO, Ohio (June 29, 2016) – The ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards is making its way back to Iowa Speedway for another summertime, short track classic on the .875-mile Newton, Iowa oval. The 10th Iowa ARCA 150 presented by Casey’s General Stores is coming Saturday night, July 9.
The Iowa ARCA 150 will serve as the preamble to the next-night IndyCar Series Iowa Corn 300, bringing together a high-profile stock car tour with the top open wheel circuit in America.
Wentzville, Missouri’s Kyle Weatherman, who finished second at Iowa in his last two attempts, likes the weekend line-up.
“That’s really cool…to be running with IndyCar,” Weatherman said. “Last year was my first IndyCar race, so I’m looking forward to seeing it again. From a fan perspective, this just seems like the perfect weekend…getting to see the ARCA cars run and Indy. To me, there’s something for everyone in that. It would be interesting to talk to a couple of the guys from IndyCar and get their thoughts on the track. As a driver, there probably isn’t a lot of carry-over from one series to the other, but it’d still be cool to get their perspective.”
Weatherman finished second at Iowa in 2013 and again in ’15. Weatherman gave up the lead to W. Des Moines, Iowa’s Mason Mitchell on the final lap in last year’s thriller. Mitchell, the 2014 ARCA national champion, gave his hometown fans exactly what they came to see.
“I grew up 30 minutes west of Iowa Speedway,” Mitchell said. “It’s my Daytona 500. It’s bigger than the championship to be honest. The championship is huge, but there’s nothing like winning in front of your hometown crowd. The reaction you get is unbelievable.”
Veteran Tom Hessert won the ARCA race at Iowa Speedway in 2010. Hessert, currently fourth in ARCA Racing Series standings, will be driving the No. 25 flagship machine for Venturini Motorsports. Hessert also likes the ARCA/IndyCar double-header.
“That place gives you the superspeedway feel in a short track package…one of the coolest tracks in the country,” Hessert said. “Having IndyCar there is really going to enhance the weekend for the fans, and I’m looking forward to seeing them. The IndyCars are so awesome, and to see them on a short track is going to be really exciting. I really think the ARCA race combined with IndyCar at Iowa is one of the best packages anywhere. I’m looking forward to all of it.”
No Repeat Winners at Iowa
In nine previous ARCA races at Iowa since the inaugural event in 2006, there have been no repeat winners. Steve Wallace won the first ARCA race at Iowa, and hometown hero Mason Mitchell won the most recent in 2015. Other ARCA winners at Iowa include Frank Kimmel (2007), Matt Hawkins (2008), Parker Kligerman (2009), Tom Hessert (2010), Ty Dillon (2011), Alex Bowman (2012), and Grant Enfinger (2013). Dillon is the only repeat Menards Pole winner at Iowa, having done it in 2010 and 2011.
ARCA Iowa Schedule/Media
Practice for the Iowa ARCA 150 is from 11:30 – 1:00 p.m. Saturday with Menards Pole Qualifying presented by Ansell following at 3:15. The Iowa ARCA 150 is live on FS2 at 8 p.m. local Central time. Live Timing and Scoring and live Chat will also be available at arcaracing.com.
From ARCA.
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