Ten Race “Mini-Series” to See ARCA Menards Series Compete with East and West Teams
Sioux Chief Manufacturing, one of America’s leading rough plumbing components manufacturers, has signed on become the entitlement sponsor of the ARCA Menards Series Showdown in 2020. Sioux Chief has been the sponsor of ARCA’s former Short Track Challenge since the 2017 season and has agreed to increase its involvement to support one of the major initiatives of NASCAR’s acquisition of ARCA.
The newly increased point fund, combined with race purses, owner plan, and contingency awards, will now offer racers a chance to compete for their share of over $920,000 in posted awards throughout the ten-race series.
“The Sioux Chief Showdown will bring together the best teams from the ARCA Menards Series and the ARCA Menards Series East and West to give racing fans a show they’ve never seen before and we are honored to be a part of it,” said Sioux Chief Manufacturing Company president Joe N. Ismert. “We have seen a lot of great drivers and great races in the Short Track Challenge over the past three seasons and we’re excited to see what 2020 will bring.”
Since 2015, Sioux Chief has been involved in the series as a race event sponsor and special awards program sponsor. The Racing Vendor business-to-business relationship with series entitlement sponsor Menards has not only created memorable moments on the race track, but has put Sioux Chief products in front of millions of customers in America’s third-largest home improvement retail chain and created brand awareness among millions of spectators watching at the track and on live national television.
The Sioux Chief Showdown is a ten-race series within a series that will bring together the best of the best from the ARCA Menards Series, the ARCA Menards Series East and ARCA Menards Series West, formerly known as the NASCAR K&N Pro Series. Those events, held on oval tracks 1.25-miles in length and under and road courses, offer drivers who may not be able or eligible to run the full 20-race ARCA Menards Series schedule the opportunity to run for a championship. Combined with the overall ARCA Menards Series championship, and the East and West championships, drivers will have four separate championships to compete for in 2020.
We are looking forward to participating in the Sioux Chief Showdown in 2020,” says Max Siegel, owner of Rev Racing. “As we approach this new series and this new level of competition, we are working hard to make the necessary preparations with our crew and team. We have a really talented group of drivers on the 2020 roster and look forward to a year of successful finishes.”
The Sioux Chief Showdown will take its first green flag of the season on March 6 at ISM Raceway in Phoenix and conclude on September 26 at Memphis International Raceway. In between will be races at Salem Speedway, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lucas Oil Raceway, Elko Speedway, Iowa Speedway, WWT Raceway, Watkins Glen International, and Bristol Motor Speedway. The complete Sioux Chief Showdown broadcast schedule, including race start times and broadcast networks, will be released in the coming weeks.
The announcement took place at the Indiana Convention Center on the final day of the Performance Racing Industry Trade Show, and the site Saturday night’s ARCA Menards Series Championship Awards Banquet. Ismert was on hand to present Christian Eckes the 2019 Sioux Chief Short Track Challenge championship trophy. Eckes, also the overall ARCA Menards Series champion, has signed to race in the NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series with Kyle Busch Motorsports in 2020.
2020 ARCA Sioux Chief Showdown Schedule
DATE TRACK CITY
Friday, March 6 ISM Raceway Avondale, Arizona
Sunday, April 19 Salem Speedway Salem, Indiana
Saturday, May 29 Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Lexington, Ohio
Friday, July 3 Lucas Oil Raceway Brownsburg, Indiana
Saturday, July 11 Elko Speedway Elko, Minnesota
Friday, July 17 Iowa Speedway Newton, Iowa
Sunday, August 2 WWT Raceway at Gateway Madison, Illinois
Friday, August 14 Watkins Glen International Watkins Glen, New York
Thursday, Sept. 17 Bristol Motor Speedway Bristol, Tennessee
Saturday, Sept. 26 Memphis International Raceway Millington, Tennessee
ABOUT SIOUX CHIEF
Sioux Chief Manufacturing is a family-owned American corporation based in Peculiar, Missouri that designs and manufactures rough plumbing products, parts, and accessories for residential, commercial, industrial and government applications. Sioux Chief’s product line is divided into three core groups: Supply, Drainage and Support. Sioux Chief designs, builds, and maintains its own machines, tools and dies, and equipment. Sioux Chief manufactures more than 90% of the products it sells and takes great pride knowing industry professionals rely on them for their intense focus on crafting tomorrow’s better rough plumbing tools and equipment.
ABOUT MENARDS
Menards home improvement stores are well known throughout the Midwest for a complete selection of high-quality, name brand merchandise and all the tools, materials and supplies for any job. Menards offers full-service lumberyards, beautiful garden centers, name brand appliances, pet & wildlife products and even a line of convenience groceries to provide a one-stop shopping experience. Whether just needing a light bulb, gallon of paint or household supplies, or building a deck, fence or new home, there is something for everyone at Menards whether a beginning do-it-yourselfer or more experienced contractor.
A family-owned and run company started in 1958; Menards currently operates 325 stores located in 14 Midwestern states. Menards is known throughout the home improvement industry as the low-price leader; it’s no wonder their famous slogan – “SAVE BIG MONEY” – is so widely known and easy to remember. Menards does things right – the company’s strength and success can be seen in the well-stocked and maintained stores, the lowest prices in town, and the way Guests are always treated like family.
ABOUT ARCA
The Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) is among the leading and most versatile auto racing sanctioning bodies in the country. Founded in 1953 by John and Mildred Marcum and acquired by NASCAR in April 2018, the organization administers more than 100 events each year in multiple racing series, including the ARCA Menards Series, the ARCA Menards Series East and West, the ARCA/CRA Super Series and the ARCA Midwest Tour, plus weekly racing at Toledo and Flat Rock Speedways.
