Countdown to J-Day at Dover

by Matt Mercer, Special To Bench Racing With Steve and Charlie

I'm the new guy at Bench Racing and I'm supposed to be the younger perspective. I'm the guy behind The Catfish Show, which you can access through the links on the right.

May 29, 2008 1:14 pm CDT 3 Comments

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The countdown to Joey Logano’s debut at Dover can be counted in hours now. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver has won all he can in lower levels, including Hooters ProCup at the age of 15, outdueling Kevin Harvick in an East-West Touring Series showdown in Iowa at the age of 16, winning the Busch East championship (and 6 races in the process) at the age of 17, and a dominant performance in his ARCA debut earlier this month at Rockingham, all the while testing Gibbs cars across the country. The hype machine has been in overdrive for Logano for a while now, and his debut will come at a challenging track, Dover’s 1-mile concrete oval.

For a lot of fans that pay attention to the lower series and have their eye on the next big driver, Logano has been on the radar for a few years now. When Mark Martin made his first of many retirement announcements, he proclaimed the driver he wanted to see take over his car – in 2005, mind you – was then-15 year-old Joey Logano. That was heady praise for someone few had heard of, and set off a bidding war for his services. (A bit of an aside: Logano had signed a deal with Roush in 2005 to become a development driver, and used an old Martin car to test. Then, Joe Gibbs Racing stepped in and signed a contract with his father, and in effect “stole” Logano from the Roush camp.) In every series and every car he has strapped himself into, this kid has only gotten better. The true test will come, and it will come soon. It seems that every few years the storyline shifts to a new “phenom” making their debut in the #2 series as soon as they turn 18. The first of these was Kyle Busch’s 2003 debut at Charlotte in May, a race in which he ran impressively and led a good portion of the race before recording a strong finish. Fast forward a year or two later, and that phenom was Reed Sorenson making his debut in the #41 at Atlanta, and running in the top 5 most of the day. In those cases, the youngsters ran extremely well.

From everything that I’ve seen about his schedule, he is slated for 18 races from now until the end of the season. In my estimation, he’ll be making a Sprint Cup start before the Chase begins. But it all begins this weekend.

Filed under: ARCA Remax Series, Busch Series, Chase for the Cup, Iowa Speedway, Joe Gibbs Racing, Joey Logano, Kyle Busch, Lowes Motor Speedway, Mark Martin, NASCAR, Nationwide Series, Roush Racing, Sprint Cup Series

Tagged with: Busch East, Dover, Joe Gibbs Racing, Joey Logano, Kyle Busch, Mark Martin, NASCAR, Nationwide Series, Reed Sorenson

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ARCA Young Guns are connected to NASCAR Teams

by Steve Wronkowicz

I am co-host of the syndicated radio show: ON PIT ROW. Charlie likes to call me an "idiot". I'm not an "idiot"; I just prefer not to let the facts get in the way of my opinions.

April 19, 2008 9:22 pm CDT No Comments

Twenty year old Matt Hawkins wins in his ARCA ReMax Series debut at Iowa Speedway.

ARCA’s premier series is perfectly suited to NASCAR owners for the development of their younger talent. Roush-Fenway Racing is using the series to develop #99 Ricky Stenhouse Bill Davis Racing has two drivers using the unique series to give #28 Michael Annett and #02 Bobby Santos some much needed heavy-car experience.

Chase Austin is a Rusty Wallace Inc. driver. Also running the ARCA series is Landon Cassill, driving for Hendrick Motorsports. Michael Waltrip Racing has Ken Butler III running #22 Toyota’s for Eddie Sharp Racing. Also in a ESR Camry is former F1 driver #2 Scott Speed with his ties to Red Bull Racing.

Not all drivers listed are running a full ARCA schedule and some NASCAR teams may add or change drivers at a later date. Be sure to check out arcaracing.com to get a look into all the drivers, developmental or not, in the ARCA ReMax Series.

photo credit: arcaracing.com

Filed under: ARCA Remax Series, Eddie Sharp Racing, Hendrick Motorsports, Inside ARCA, Iowa Speedway, Red Bull Racing, Roush Racing, Rusty Wallace, The Waltrips

Tagged with: ARCA Remax Series, blog, Eddie Sharp Racing, Iowa Speedway, motorsports, Roush-Fenway Racing, Scott Speed

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It’s an Off Week with Plenty of Racing Action.

by Steve Wronkowicz

I am co-host of the syndicated radio show: ON PIT ROW. Charlie likes to call me an "idiot". I'm not an "idiot"; I just prefer not to let the facts get in the way of my opinions.

April 17, 2008 11:16 pm CDT 4 Comments

This weekend has the potential for being one of my favorite race weekends of the year–even without a Sprint Cup race.

The racing will be hot and heavy this Saturday as the ARCA Remax Series heads to Iowa Speedway. Iowa has become one of race drivers favorite tracks in its short history. ARCA Remax Series points leader Justin Allgaier was this weeks guest on INSIDE ARCA, fresh off his win at Salem Speedway at the Kentuckiana Ford Dealers 200 presented by Federated Auto Parts. Allgaier is looking forward to racing at the .875 mile progressively banked oval.

Allgaier will face stiff competition from Michael Annett, as he looks for his third consecutive win. Annett has won the last two races he has entered in the ARCA Remax Series at Talladega in 2007 and the season opener at Daytona this year. Annett is a DeMoines, IA native and thus feels he has a home town advantage.

“I expect to run up front,” said Annett. “I have a lot of confidence in myself and the equipment I’m in. As competitive as the ARCA RE/MAX Series is, to run up front you’ve got to be with a good team. I ran my first three ARCA races with Country Joe Racing, and now with Bill Davis Racing, so I’ve always been with really good teams. I put pressure on myself. I’m with an excellent team now; everything’s in place. It’s up to me from here.”

Also looking to get back on track, both literally and figuratively, is 19 year old Ali Owens who suffered several broken bones in a motorcycle accident in March.

“When the doctor told me that I might miss Iowa I thought no way,” said Owens, driver of the No. 12 ElectrifyingCareers.com Chevrolet. “I focused all my energy on recovery. I worked as hard as I could with my trainer and followed my doctor’s orders and everything worked out. I feel great.”

Great racing and interesting personalities is what ARCA is all about. Combine those with a terrific race track and the 1:30pm ET start time on SPEED with INSIDE ARCA’s insider, Phil Parsons, can’t be missed.

Sunday’s action shifts south of the border to the Mexico City race in the NASCAR Nationwide Series race. Joining the usual cast of Nationwide characters will be Scott Pruett, Boris Said, Patrick Carpentier, Sam Hornish, Jr., and Max Papis. Last year’s last lap shunt involving Pruett and teammate Juan Pablo Montoya had fans talking for weeks. While Montoya will not race in Mexico City in 2008, fans can expect similar thrills as veteran Australian road racer Marcos Ambrose is one of the Nationwide Series regulars to watch.

No Cup race–but this is going to be a fun weekend. I predict no fuel mileage runs in these races. Chances are there will be some good hard nose racing.

photo credit: arcaracing.com

Filed under: ARCA Remax Series, Boris Said, Inside ARCA, Iowa Speedway, Marcos Ambrose, Nationwide Series, On Pit Row The Fastest Two Hours on Radio, Sam Hornish Jr

Tagged with: ARCA, blog, Boris Said, Iowa Speedway, Justin Allgaier, Max Papis, Michael Annett, motorsports, Nationwide Series, Scott Pruett

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