Race Weekend Schedule & Weather Forecast: June 17th to 19th 2011

Photo Credit: Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR

West Allis, Wisconsin
Milwaukee Mile
IZOD INDYCAR Series/ Firestone Indy Lights Series

Friday:

3:00pm- IZOD INDYCAR Practice

Temperature: 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Partly Cloudy
Chance of Precipitation: 0%

 
3:45pm- IZOD INDYCAR Practice (All Cars)
 
Temperature: 21 degrees Celsius (70 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Partly Cloudy
Chance of Precipitation: 0%




Saturday:


8:45am- Firestone Indy Lights Practice

Temperature: 17 degrees Celsius (63 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Cloudy with chance of thunderstorm
Chance of Precipitation: 50%


9:45am- IZOD INDYCAR Practice

Temperature: 18 degrees Celsius (64 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Cloudy with chance of thunderstorm
Chance of Precipitation: 50%


11:55am- Firestone Indy Lights Practice

Temperature: 18 degrees Celsius (65 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Cloudy with chance of thunderstorm
Chance of Precipitation: 50%


12:55pm- IZOD INDYCAR Practice

Temperature: 19 degrees Celsius (67 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Cloudy with chance of thunderstorm
Chance of Precipitation: 50%


3:50pm- Firestone Indy Lights Qualifying
 
Temperature: 22 degrees Celsius (72 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Cloudy with chance of thunderstorm
Chance of Precipitation: 50%


4:45pm- IZOD INDYCAR Qualifying
Temperature: 22 degrees Celsius (72 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Cloudy with chance of thunderstorm
Chance of Precipitation: 50%


Sunday:

12:30pm Firestone Indy Lights David Hobbs 100



Temperature: 19 degrees Celsius (67 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Cloudy with chance of thunderstorm
Chance of Precipitation: 20%


3:30pm- IZOD INDYCAR The Milwaukee 225
Temperature: 21 degrees Celsius (70 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Cloudy with chance of thunderstorm
Chance of Precipitation: 20%



Brooklyn, Michigan
Michigan International Speedway
NASCAR Sprint Cup/NASCAR Nationwide Series/ ARCA Racing Series

Thursday:

2:30pm- ARCA Practice

Temperature: 21 degrees Celsius (70 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Partly cloudy
Chance of Precipitation: 30%




Friday:

10:00am- ARCA Qualifying

Temperature: 19 degrees Celsius (66 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Partly cloudy
Chance of Precipitation: 20%


11:30am- NASCAR Nationwide Practice

Temperature: 22 degrees Celsius (72 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Partly cloudy
Chance of Precipitation: 20%


12:30pm- NASCAR Sprint Cup Practice

Temperature: 23 degrees Celsius (73 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Partly cloudy
Chance of Precipitation: 20%


2:00pm- NASCAR Nationwide Practice

Temperature: 24 degrees Celsius (74 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Partly Cloudy
Chance of Precipitation: 20%


3:30pm- NASCAR Sprint Cup Practice

Temperature: 24 degrees Celsius (74 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Partly Cloudy
Chance of Precipitation: 20%


5:15pm- ARCA RainEater Wiper Blades 200

Temperature: 24 degrees Celsius (75 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Partly Cloudy
Chance of Precipitation: 20%


Saturday:

11:10am- NASCAR Nationwide Qualifying

Temperature: 21 degrees Celsius (70 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Cloudy with chance of thunderstorm
Chance of Precipitation: 50%


1:10pm- NASCAR Sprint Cup Qualifying

Temperature: 22 degrees Celsius (71 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Cloudy with chance of thunderstorm
Chance of Precipitation: 50%


3:30pm- NASCAR Nationwide Alliance Truck Parts 250

Temperature: 23 degrees Celsius (73 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Cloudy with chance of thunderstorm
Chance of Precipitation: 50%



Sunday:

1:00pm- NASCAR Sprint Cup Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400

Temperature: 24 degrees Celsius (75 degrees Fahrenheit)
Sky Conditions: Cloudy with chance of thunderstorm
Chance of Precipitation: 30%

Ty Dillon to Start on Pole for ARCA Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 at Daytona

Photo Credit: ARCA

Taking the pole at 185.533 miles per hour around Daytona International Speedway for the ARCA Racing Series Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200, The #41 Chevrolet of Ty Dillon claims the first competitive pole on the resurfaced 2.5 mile oval circuit. Handily beating the times of Venturini Motorsports drivers Kyle Fowler and Canadian Steve Aprin, 18 year-old Ty Dillion (the grandson of NASCAR Sprint Cup team owner Richard Childress and brother of 2011 NASCAR Camping World series driver Austin Dillon) has earned his second pole out of 4 total ARCA Racing Series starts.

Matt Merrell and Bobby Gerhart 5-time reigning winner of the ARCA 200 mile race at Daytona fills out the top-5 starters for Saturday afternoon. With 43 cars completing the Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 grid, 4 countries of male and female racers will be suiting up for the 2011 edition of the event. Some notable names starting this event will be NASCAR regular Ricky Carmichael in 7th place, 2011 Toyota All-Star race winner Jason Bowles in 16th, Venezuela INDYCAR driver Milka Duno in 23rd and 9-time ARCA champion Frank Kimmel starting 26th. 76 years young, NASCAR Cup series winning car James Hylton will start the ARCA Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 in 35th place driving his #48 Ford. 

Assembled as the first stock car race to be run on the smooth, oval pavement, the Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 for the ARCA Racing Series is likely to be closely examined by NASCAR as drafting speed, tire wear and the racing itself is less predictable than previous years. Judging qualifying for the ARCA race alone, single car speeds around the 2.5 oval Daytona International Speedway is 4 miles per hour faster than the time trial laps in 2010.

The first race kicking off the 2011 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards, the Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 at Daytona International Speedway is set to start at 4:30 PM Saturday afternoon.


2011 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards
Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200
Daytona International Speedway


Pos #  | Car #  | Driver |  Origin  | Sponsor/Car Make  | Qualifying Time and Speed

1. 41 Ty Dillon/Lewisville NC UNOH Chevrolet
2. 15 Kyle Fowler/Smyrna GA Venturini Motorsports Chevrolet
3. 25 Steve Arpin/Fort Frances ON Mike's Hard Lemonade-Trent's Tire Toyota
4. 32 Matt Merrell/Portland TX Red Line Oil Toyota
5. 5 Bobby Gerhart/Lebanon PA Lucas Oil Slick Mist Chevrolet
6. 55 Hal Martin/Galliano LA NOLA Motorsports Park Toyota
7. 4 Ricky Carmichael/Tallahassee FL Monster Energy Chevrolet
8. 66 Mark Thompson/Cartersville GA Phoenix Air Toyota
9. 31 Tim George Jr./New York NY RCR Development Chevrolet
10. 52 Tom Hessert/Cherry Hill NJ Federated Auto Parts Toyota
11. 28 Miguel Paludo/Nova Prata Brazil STEMCO-Duroline Toyota
12. 98 Kevin Swindell/Goodlettsville TN Curb Records-Eddie Sharp Racing Toyota
13. 16 Joey Coulter/Miami Springs FL Rip It Energy Fuel-Darrell Gwynn Foundation Chevrolet
14. 22 Dakoda Armstrong/New Castle IN Ferrellgas-Syngenta Dodge
15. 19 Brian Rose/Louisville KY Harris Trucking-ASE Toyota
16. 6 Jason Bowles/Ontario CA Eddie Sharp Racing Toyota
17. 14 John Ferrier/Middletown NY CGS Imaging Ford
18. 30 Terry Jones/Amherstburg Ontario Jones Group Dodge
19. 17 Chris Buescher/Prosper TX Roulo Brothers Racing Ford
20. 09 Benny Gordon/DuBois PA VSI Ford
21. 94 Brett Hudson/Owensboro KY Hudson Performance Drivelines Dodge
22. 11 Bryan Silas/Stuart FL National Speed Sport News-Fast Track Ford
23. 63 Milka Duno/Caracas Venezuela Citgo Lubricants Dodge
24. 12 Maryeve Dufault/Sorel Quebec TMR Dodge
25. 77 Joey Licata/Van Nuys CA Wrong Inc. Dodge
26. 44 Frank Kimmel/Clarksville IN Ansell-Menards Ford
27. 82 Sean Corr/Goshen NY Empire Racing Ford
28. 1 Chad McCumbee/Supply NC ModSpace Ford
29. 18 Chris Lawson/Troutman NC Ideal Steel Custom Flame Cutting Dodge
30. 00 Ed Kennedy/Coppell TX Thunder 2 Lubricants-Daytona Lagoon Chevrolet
31. 36 Grant Enfinger/Fairhope AL BeasleyAllen.com-Excaliber Coach Dodge
32. 26 Tommy Joe Martins/Como MS Martins Motorsports Dodge
33. 23 Nick Igdalsky/Long Pond PA Fox Realty Chevrolet Provisional
34. 34 Darrell Basham/Henryville IN IndustrialDepot.com Ford Provisional
35. 48 James Hylton/Inman SC Radon.com Ford Provisional
36. 10 Ed Pompa/Ballston Spa NY Rifenburg Construction-Double H Ranch Chevrolet Provisional
37. 06 Barry Fitzgerald/Sykesville MD CanadianHeroes.com Chevrolet Provisional
38. 68 Steve Blackburn/Prestonsburg KY Honda of Prestonburg-Harley of Pikeville Dodge Provisional
39. 7 Brent Cross/Cortland NY Cummings Auto Machine-Quadraflex Chevrolet Provisional
40. 58 Chad Hackenbracht/New Philadelphia OH Tastee Apple Chevrolet Provisional
41. 75 Benny Chastain/Tallahassee FL Drive To End Hunger AARP Toyota Provisional
42. 3 Brent Brevak/Eau Claire WI Red's Auto Ford Provisional
43. 42 Scott Stenzel/Orlando FL Yellow Stripes Making The Driver Ford

Dirt Flies as Steve Arpin Wins DuQuoin

Photo Credit: ARCA

We have all been acquinted with the fact that NASCAR's top series specialize in racing on paved surfaces. In fact, the series which is now known as the NASCAR Sprint Cup division hasn't run on a dirt track since 1969 won by Richard Petty. The ARCA Racing Series is a unique stock car tour which annually holds events on both paved and dirt tracks. Running two dirt track races in total for 2010 in the state of Illinios, this offers a truly special opportunity for full-bodied stock cars to jockey on looser surfaces. With the first race transpired at the Illinois State Fairground two weeks ago in Springfield, the second of the dirt oval races was being held on Labour Day Monday at the DuQuoin State Fairground.

The green flag dropped for the Southern Illinois 100, 33 Starters led by the #10 Ford of AJ Fike flew across the start line entering into what would be a very tense outing for many competitors. Fike would stay out front for the first 16 circuits around the 1-mile DuQuoin dirt oval until he lost the lead to local driver Kelly Kovski. Losing the led, AJ Fike's day which started with a Menards Pole award ends due to the ill-effects of an engine failure to the #10 car.

Spending 14 laps out front in the #17 Chevrolet Kovski, who regularly serves as a Car Chief for another driver, retained the top spot until he pitted ahead of lap 31. By pitting, former long-time NASCAR Sprint Cup mainstay Ken Schrader took the lead of the 100 lap. Schrader's appearance at the front of the race would be relatively short-lived as ARCA overall points contender Tom Hessert overhauled the Federated Chevrolet on lap 37. Harking back to the tensity of the Southern Illinois 100, drivers would have to survive 11 cautions within the 100 lap event. This was significant for Hessert's effort in the #77 dodge as he wanted a long, green flag to separate him from the rest of the field. Through the multiple yellow flags, this was not going to happen for Tom Hessert.

As Hessert led, Venturini Motorsport driver and Canadian Steve Arpin found the strength in his #55 Mike's Hard Lemonade Chevy was on short runs. Meaning, once Arpin climbed to second, the #77 Dodge was in his sights. On lap 62, Fort Frances, Ontario native Steve Arpin pulled off the race-winning pass going in to lead the final 39 laps around the 1-mile dirt track. Having previously scored pole at the Illinois State Fairground ARCA race, Arpin's championship-winning background on dirt tracks made this event the obvious location for breaking a 5-month ARCA Racing Series winless streak.  

Photo Credit: ARCA

Tom Hessert gave Arpin an honest fight up to the checkered flag but finished 1/2 a second behind. Hessert's finish two positions ahead of Patrick Sheltra (point leader heading into the event) has resulted in a tie at the top of the ARCA Racing Series point standings. Steve Arpin's Venturini Motorsport teammate Mikey Kile finished 3rd which allowed the driver to elevate himself to 5th in the points.

Ken Schrader placed 5th in the Southern Illinois 100 at DuQuoin ahead of Will Kimmel, Craig Goess, Chad McCumbee, Kelly Kovski and Bryan Silas who made up the remainder of the race's top-10 finishers.

Dakoda Armstrong Wins ARCA Race at Talladega

The first event for a triple-header of stock car action at the superfast Talladega Superspeedway, the ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards races for supremacy for a 250 mile event on mid-afternoon Friday.

Some years ago, the ARCA Series stock car races on restrictor plate races were untamed affairs with no-fault novice drivers committing themselves to the tight, fast characteristics of 190 mile per hour racing.However, the quality of the ARCA Racing Series field has improved with major NASCAR race teams increasingly relying on the stock car sanctioning body as a farm team to developing new driving talent. Grant Enfinger and Tim George Jr are two of these development drivers eagerly auditioning for a bigger role in their auto racing future. Reflective of the increased talent in the ARCA Racing Series, winner of the last two event of this 2010 season, Steve Arpin, has been granted with his first ride in the NASCAR Nationwide Series this weekend.

Claiming pole with an average speed of 186.499 miles per hour around the 2.66 mile oval, Penske Racing development driver Dakoda Armstrong in the #22 Cunningham Motorsports Dodge led the field through the first 32 of 94 laps with Venturini Motorsport cars of Mikey Kile and Canadian Steve Arpin riding behind. Impacted by two cautions for single-car wrecks through the event's early stage, the Talladega ARCA 250 would be shaken on lap 50 by an massive crash on the front stretch involving at least 9 cars.

With drivers James Buescher, Ricky Carmichael and the winner of ARCA's Daytona winner Bobby Gerhart ending up with vehicles damaged beyond repair, the #60 Dodge of Patrick Sheltra suffered substantial impact onto the left portion of the front end. Patched by the #60 team, Sheltra's car continued to race. Through the final race rundown, nine cars overall would reported out of the event due to accidents. A hefty toll, there were actually 10 other cars reported out due to mechanical problems from engine, overheating or transmission issues. As 250 miles continues to remain a test of maturing drivers running on limited resources, almost half of the field did not make it the checkered flag.

Since lap 52, Roush Fenway Racing development driver Grant Enfinger in the #09 Ford was leading with the Steve Aprin's #55 Toyota pushing. Into the final 10 laps, Enfinger held first spot but the #22 Dodge of Dakoda Armstrong headed a three-car draft freight train. Closing on the #09 Ford, Armstrong received a spirited push from the embattled #60 Dodge of Patrick Sheltra. In the last lap, Grant Enfinger was overwhelmed by Armstrong and Aprin down the Talladega backstretch. Armstrong, receiving a final nudge from Sheltra, was able to pass Enfinger into turn 3 to take the race lead once and for all. As a scramble occurred for the top-5, the #55 car of Steve Arpin inadvertently cut off the #16 of Joey Coulter.Spinning through turn 4, both cars avoided noticeable damage with Arpin finishing 15th and Coulter trailing in 16th place.

Gaining a first victory in his 12th ARCA Racing Series start in the Talladega ARCA 250, Dakoda Armstrong had the experience of championship caliber NASCAR Cup Series crew chief Paul Andrews wrenching the #22 Dodge.

Persevering through the lap 50 accident, Patrick Sheltra finished 2nd in an aerodynamically-challenged #60 Dodge. The #31 Chevrolet of Tim George Jr, the #81 Toyota of Craig Goess and Mikey Kile's #25 Toyota rounded out the top-5 finishing positions.