Track: Kansas Speedway, 1.5-mile oval
Race: 8 of 20
Event: Dawn 150 (150 miles, 100 laps)
Schedule:
Friday, July 24
4:30 p.m………..Practice
10:00 p.m……….Race (FS1)
(all times ET)
Hailie Deegan, No. 4 Monster Energy Ford Fusion
Hailie Deegan is ready to get back on track, literally and figuratively, Friday at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City. After not finishing outside of the top 10 all season in the ARCA Menards Series, the last two races have not gone well for the 19-year-old rookie. She was hooked into the wall while running third with 24 laps remaining at Kentucky Speedway on July 11. Last weekend a broken track bar ended her day while running second at Iowa Speedway. Deegan is ready to restart her top-10 streak this Friday at Kansas.
The Temecula, Calif., native has one prior ARCA start at Kansas. Last year she competed in the series’ season finale there. She started 12th and finished eighth in her first start at an intermediate track. Kansas will be only the second intermediate-track race for the ARCA Menards Series this season, the other being Kentucky two weeks ago.
The DGR-Crosley team is taking a Monster Energy Ford Fusion which Deegan has not raced yet this season. It has been a backup car for some races and was in the DGR-Crosley stable last year before being rebuilt as a Fusion in the off season.
The Dawn 150 will be live on FS1 at 10 p.m. ET on Friday. The race will be 100 laps and 150 miles. There will be scheduled competition breaks at, or around laps 30 and 60.
Deegan on Kansas: “Kansas is really fun. It’s the first mile-and-a-half track I ever raced on. It’s got tight walls on exit, so we want to make sure our Monster Energy Ford is not tight. I think we have a good piece to work with based on how we baselined at Kentucky, our first intermediate track we raced this year with DGR-Crosley. We should have a good set-up. We are kind of perfecting that set-up right now to bring it to Kansas. Hopefully we have a good run and win soon.”
Tanner Gray, No. 17 Pneumatech Ford Fusion
Tanner Gray returns to the ARCA Menards Series this Friday for a triple-duty weekend at Kansas Speedway. He will compete in both the ARCA and NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series races on Friday night, followed up by another Truck Series race on Saturday afternoon. Gray hopes the experience he gains in the ARCA race will parlay into success in the Truck Series race on Saturday.
This will be Gray’s sixth ARCA start of the season, and his second at Kansas Speedway. He competed in the series’ season finale at Kansas last fall and finished sixth. In five starts this year, he has one top-five and two top-10 finishes. The DGR-Crosley team will be taking the same Ford Fusion which Gray finished ninth with at Kentucky Speedway two weeks ago.
This Friday Gray’s No. 17 Ford Fusion will have a new look. Pneumatech will be the primary sponsor for the race. Since 1966, Pneumatech has provided industry-leading compressed air and gas treatment solutions to production facilities across the globe. Its innovative machines and accessories provide clean, dry air and gas to industries such as automotive, textile, power generation, oil & gas, food & beverage, and electronics. They design equipment that is easy to configure, transport, use and maintain, and they provide responsive service globally to ensure you get the most out of your equipment over its long lifetime. Furthermore, they have the capability to engineer products to fit your specific applications. For more information, visit their website at:
The Dawn 150 will be live on FS1 at 10 p.m. ET on Friday. The race will be 100 laps and 150 miles. There will be scheduled competition breaks at, or around laps 30 and 60.
Gray on Kansas: “When the season started I had only planned on running four ARCA races this year, but we keep adding more since the extra seat time is such a huge help for me. Without having practice, or qualifying in the Truck Series, the ARCA races have really helped me gain experience. I ran at Kansas last fall and it was a fun track. The more I can race the better off I am. Being able to run 234 laps Friday night between the two races will be a huge help for Saturday and the other intermediate tracks.
“I’m also happy to have Pneumatech on board with us for the ARCA race. This is the first time they have sponsored me and I hope we can give them a lot of exposure with a really good run Friday night.”
Thad Moffitt, No. 46 Richard Petty Performance Plus Motor Oil Ford Fusion
Thad Moffitt will make his first start at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City on Friday in the ARCA Menards Series. Not only will it be his first start at Kansas, but only his fourth start on an intermediate track in his career. In his previous three starts on mile-and-a-half tracks, he has two top-10 finishes at Charlotte Motor Speedway and Chicago Speedway in 2019. He finished 15th after an accident ended his race early at Kentucky Speedway two weeks ago.
Moffitt, the grandson of NASCAR legend Richard Petty, has achieved the best results of his career so far this season. Prior to 2020, he had 15 starts with four top-10 finishes. This year alone, he has four top-10 and two top-five finishes in seven starts. His fifth-place finishes at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway and Lucas Oil Raceway outside of Indianapolis are his best in the ARCA Menards Series to date.
On Friday, Moffitt will be driving the same Ford Fusion which Tanner Gray drove at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway last month.
The Dawn 150 will be live on FS1 at 10 p.m. ET on Friday. The race will be 100 laps and 150 miles. There will be scheduled competition breaks at, or around laps 30 and 60.
Moffitt on Kansas: “I’ve never raced at Kansas, but I heard that it is pretty similar to Kentucky, so after running there two weeks ago we have a good baseline. We worked on our car all day and got better, but we still lacked a little bit of handling and speed. I think we’ll have a good baseline going into Kansas and hopefully turn it into a good, positive race, since we need one for sure right now.”
