TOLEDO, Ohio (July 12, 2017) – The ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards is returning to Winchester Speedway, the “World’s Fastest Half-Mile” for the 28th running of the Winchester ARCA 200 Sunday afternoon, August 6.
The Winchester ARCA 200 serves as the grand finale in an action-packed race weekend that begins Friday with the Winchester Old Timers vintage race car club, Vore’s FWD Compact cars, Thunder Roadsters and the Top Speed Modified tour. On Saturday, the CRA Street Stocks join the race card alongside the Old Timers club, Thunder Roadsters, ARCA Racing Series practice and General Tire Pole Award Qualifying. The festive weekend culminates with the Winchester ARCA 200 grand finale Sunday afternoon. The Winchester Old Timers Club is on hand all three days.
While Winchester’s amazing history includes more than 100 years, the ARCA national tour also goes way back at Winchester – to 1957 when Don O’Dell won the inaugural event in a Chevrolet in just the fifth season of competition for what would become ARCA’s national tour. ARCA is now in its 65th season.
“It’s important for the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards to race at Winchester Speedway,” said ARCA President Ron Drager. “It’s exactly the type of Midwestern facility where the ARCA brand is well-known and has the chance to be successful. Winchester is big enough and fast enough to play to the very nature of our cars.”
In last year’s race, 2016 champion Chase Briscoe and Dalton Sargeant staged a thrilling door-to-door duel that went down to the wire. While Briscoe moved onto the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in ’17, Sargeant will be coming back to compete at Winchester in the same Cunningham Motorsports 77 car that carried Briscoe to Victory Lane at Winchester last year. Sargeant is locked in a tight championship battle with Ken Schrader Racing’s Austin Theriault. Joe Gibbs Racing is also entered with Las Vegas, Nevada rookie Riley Herbst. Venturini Motorsports has entered three drivers — Snowball Derby winner Christian Eckes, Canadian Rapheal Lessard and Californian Zane Smith.
ARCA History at Winchester
The ARCA Racing Series reaches way back at Winchester – to 1957 when Don O’Dell won the inaugural event in 1957. Ten-time series champion Frank Kimmel is the leading ARCA winner at Winchester with six victories (1996, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2013) followed by three-time series champ Tim Steele, who won four times (1993, 1995, 1997, 2001). 1988 series champion Tracy Leslie won twice at Winchester in 1988 and 1999. Leslie’s son Billy Leslie, with his father spotting, won from the pole in 2007. Cunningham Motorsports went back-to-back as winners with Dakoda Armstrong in 2011 and Alex Bowman in 2012, and repeated with Chase Briscoe in 2016.
The ARCA Racing Series reaches way back at Winchester – to 1957 when Don O’Dell won the inaugural event in 1957. Ten-time series champion Frank Kimmel is the leading ARCA winner at Winchester with six victories (1996, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2013) followed by three-time series champ Tim Steele, who won four times (1993, 1995, 1997, 2001). 1988 series champion Tracy Leslie won twice at Winchester in 1988 and 1999. Leslie’s son Billy Leslie, with his father spotting, won from the pole in 2007. Cunningham Motorsports went back-to-back as winners with Dakoda Armstrong in 2011 and Alex Bowman in 2012, and repeated with Chase Briscoe in 2016.
Other ARCA winners at Winchester include Jack Bowsher (1964), Ralph Latham (1972), Bobby Watson (1972) and two-time series champion Marvin Smith, who won back-to-back races in 1982 and 1983, Bob Keselowski (1990), Gary Bradberry (1994), Bob Strait (1998), Brandon Jones (2014) and Austin Wayne Self (2015).
Media Coverage
The Winchester ARCA 200 will be tape-delayed on MAVTV, airing initially August 19 at 10 p.m. Eastern, and again on August 26 at 10 p.m. Follow live coverage of all the ARCA on-track activities at Winchester with Live audio, timing and scoring and Live chat at arcaracing.com Saturday and Sunday.
The Winchester ARCA 200 will be tape-delayed on MAVTV, airing initially August 19 at 10 p.m. Eastern, and again on August 26 at 10 p.m. Follow live coverage of all the ARCA on-track activities at Winchester with Live audio, timing and scoring and Live chat at arcaracing.com Saturday and Sunday.
