Rookie contender Natalie Decker will make her third start of the 2018 campaign and track debut when the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards returns to action in Sunday’s matinee running of the Kentuckiana Ford Dealers ARCA 200 at Salem Speedway.

Decker, a fan favorite, started out the season winning the General Tire Pole Award and finishing fifth at Daytona and 11th at Nashville, expresses excitement and optimism headed into the weekend. Also to note, Decker’s Salem start will mark the energetic drivers’ 10th career ARCA appearance since jumping onto the scene last May at Toledo Speedway.

“I’m super excited to make my first start at Salem,” says Decker. “I came down with the team (Venturini Motorsports) last year after signing my deal to get acquainted with everyone and watch the Spring race. It didn’t take long for me to figure out why drivers like this place. It’s really racy with unique turns on both ends of the track – from a fan’s perspective it delivers a lot of excitement. I fell in love with this place right away.”

“We came down last week and had a really good test with our N29 Capital Partners Toyota. It’s definitely a tough track but we learned a lot and made some big gains throughout the day. Dave Leiner (crew chief) and I continue to work really well together and have a lot of confidence going back. As I visit these new tracks this year we’ll continue to work hard and set our goals. I grew up racing short tracks but there’s still a lot to learn in these ARCA cars. I’m happy with our start so far.”

Continuing her efforts to raise awareness about Distracted Driving, the 20-year old driver, will once again feature ‘People Against Distracted Driving’ (PADD) on the back of her bright red Toyota Camry at Salem.

Decker, the National Spokesperson for the New Jersey based charity, along with her sponsor N29 Capital Partners, will continue to push the message during the month of April (Distracted Driving Awareness Month) and throughout the season.

The Kentuckiana Ford Dealers ARCA 200 is live on MAVTV at 2 p.m. Sunday, April 22. Look for live timing, scoring and chat at arcaracing.com.

VMS PR

Ford made headlines this year when it officially returned to the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series after a three-year hiatus.  Next year figures to be just as noteworthy when Ford Performance rolls out a new Mustang Funny Car body for NHRA competition.

Mark Rushbrook, global director of Ford Performance Motorsports, made the announcement today as part of a week-long Mustang birthday celebration.

What makes this new version of Mustang unique is that Ford Performance engineers and designers are utilizing many of the same technical tools and resources employed in the NASCAR and IMSA Ford GT programs to create a body that emphasizes aerodynamic efficiency.

“We’ll be applying all our advanced aerodynamic tools in the development of this new Mustang Funny Car,” said Rushbrook.  “These are the same tools and resources such as CFD, scale model and full-size wind tunnel testing that we have used to develop the Ford GT race car and are using to develop the new Mustang for NASCAR.  These are the exact same tools we use in our production car process, so it allows us to use racing development as a way to create better cars and trucks for our consumers.

“It has been quite a few years since we last did a Mustang Funny car body for competition, so we are very confident we will be bringing a competitive car to the track next year.”

This will mark the first new body for Mustang in Funny Car since 2009, reinforcing a commitment Ford made to the sport when it officially returned this season with driver Bob Tasca III.  And even though he has to wait 10 more months before getting to drive it in competition, Tasca is already fired up for what lies ahead.

“I’ve seen some of the early aero numbers and it’s absolutely incredible how slippery the car is going to be on the race track,” said Tasca, who has made it to the final round 11 times in his NHRA Funny Car career and posted four victories.  “When you’re trying to find hundredths and thousandths of a second on a race run, having an aerodynamic piece like the Ford Performance engineers are giving us will make all the difference in the world.”

Ford has a championship heritage in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series, having won 238 overall events in Funny Car and 16 championships.

The new Mustang Funny Car is in the early stages of development, and after approval by the NHRA, will be shown to the public late this year.  It will make its competition debut at the NHRA Winternationals in Pomona, Calif., next February.

Ford Performance PR

The West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame has announced that Bryan R. Sperber has been announced as an inductee in the 2018 class of the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame.

“I’m tremendously humbled to be inducted in the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame.  This is such an amazing honor and I deeply thank the Hall of Fame Board for the truly incredible recognition,” said Sperber.

Throughout his 21 years as track president—16 at ISM Raceway—Sperber has overseen the growth of ISM Raceway into one of the premier motorsports venues in the country. Now the host of two Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races and one Verizon IndyCar Series race, the track is undergoing a $178 million modernization project to create the ultimate venue for technology and fan experience. Sperber previously served as the president of Watkins Glen International.

Sperber is joined by the five members of the elected Class of 2018: Larry Albedi, Joe Garone, Oren Prosser, Greg Pursley and Dick Woodland.

“This class of inductees is among the greatest in the last decade and a half,” said Ken Clapp, chairman of the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame. “The board of directors couldn’t be happier with its vote. We’re extremely pleased to be able to honor the pioneers of our sport, figures whose accomplishments are unquestioned but which may not be well-known to media members and fans of the current era. They deserve to be honored for their achievements that brought us to where we are today.”

The Class of 2018 will be inducted June 21, 2018 at the Meritage Resort and Spa in Napa, Calif. The event, presented by Gateway Motorsports Park, again accompanies the annual Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR K&N Pro Series West weekend at nearby Sonoma Raceway.

West Coast HOF PR

A racing career that began in 1945 will continue as legendary driver Hershel McGriff gets back behind the wheel of a stock car when the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West visits Arizona’s Tucson Speedway on May 5.

McGriff, who turned 90 in December, will drive the No. 04 South Point Hotel & Casino Toyota Camry prepared by Bill McAnally Racing.

It’s an opportunity he just couldn’t pass up.

“Who would turn down a free ride in a K&N car built by Bill McAnally Racing?” McGriff asked.

“Bill said to pick out a track anywhere on the West Coast that has a K&N race and that’s where we’ll race,” McGriff explained. “Tucson’s my home. So, we decided on Tucson, although I haven’t run here that much. It’s going to be fun. I hope I do well, for his sake. I think I can.”

McGriff, who in his last full season of series competition teamed with Bill McAnally in 2001, talked about the performance of the BMR cars in this year’s K&N West season opener at Kern County Raceway Park near Bakersfield, California.

“I saw the Kern race,” he said. “I watched his cars run first, third and seventh. They handled pretty good the whole race. Some of the other cars were starting to slow up a little bit after 70 or 80 laps. Their cars stayed with it.

“Hopefully, mine will be the same. So it’ll be up to me to turn the wheel in the right direction,” McGriff said with a chuckle. “But I’ll be okay. When I get my helmet on, they won’t know who’s in there. They won’t know whether I’m 90 or 22. They’ll be wondering who was in the car by the end of the race.”

McGriff – who holds numerous K&N West records – has accumulated 35 wins, 37 poles, 98 top fives, 144 top 10s, in 266 races on the circuit during a career that dates back to the first year of the series in 1954. He holds the mark as the oldest winner in the series, with his last victory coming at the age of 61. His last series start was on the road course of Sonoma (California) Raceway in 2012 at the age of 84.

McAnally says he is looking forward to teaming up, again, with the NASCAR Hall of Fame nominee.

“I was extremely privileged to be associated with one of the 50 Greatest Drivers In NASCAR, when Hershel drove for us in 2001,” McAnally said. “It’s great to have him back, as he returns to the series for this event.

“We appreciate Michael Gaughan and the South Point Hotel & Casino coming on board to be a part of this,” McAnally said. “Michael and I were partners in 2001; when his son, Brendan, and Hershel were teammates. We had some great times and a lot of success that year, and it will be great to get together again.”

McGriff’s return to competition at Tucson will involve some members of his family who are well known in the racing industry. Pitching in to help on the car will be his son, Hershel McGriff Jr.; his son-in-law, Tex Powell; and another son-in-law, Chuck Bown.

The Tucson event will be a busy night for the family – with McGriff’s granddaughter, Mariah McGriff, competing in a Super Late Model division race and Hershel Jr., competing in an Outlaw Late Model race.

“They will be real busy, but all I have to do is get in and drive it,” the elder McGriff said.

McGriff grew up in Sioux Fall, South Dakota and began racing stock cars at the age of 17 after his family moved to Portland, Oregon. He borrowed his father’s car to compete in a race at Portland Speedway in September of 1945.

One of what McGriff considers his biggest accomplishments came in 1950 when he won the Pan American road race in Mexico. His encounter during that event with fellow competitor Bill France Sr., led to a lifelong friendship.

That same year, France invited McGriff to compete in the first Southern 500 race at Darlington Raceway in South Carolina. After driving his car cross-country, McGriff raced it to a ninth-place finish and then drove it home to Portland.

McGriff’s venture into what is now known as the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series was most extensive in 1954, when he raced in 24 of 37 events. He netted four wins and finished sixth in the final point standings. He is also credited with winning five pole positions in NASCAR’s premier division.

Rather than pursue a full-time racing effort, McGriff opted to return home to Portland the following season to focus on his family and a lumber business. He was basically away from racing from 1955 until getting involved again in 1967.

McGriff was always a fan favorite in the sport, reflected in the record 12 consecutive years – from 1981 to 1992 – that he was named as the Most Popular Driver in what was then the NASCAR Winston West Series. He won the series championship in 1986.

In addition to competing at tracks across the country, McGriff raced a NASCAR stock car in the 24 Hours of LeMans in France, and also competed in Australia and Japan.

He was named as one of the 50 Greatest Drivers in NASCAR in 1998 and was also awarded the NASCAR Award of Excellence. He was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2006, was among the inaugural class inducted into the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame in 2002. He was named to the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame and is a NASCAR Hall of Fame nominee.

While some drivers may plan on relaxing the day after the Tucson race, McGriff is too busy to slow down.

“I fly out the next morning to Mount Pocono in Pennsylvania,” he said.  “I’m in the Kyle Petty Charity Ride (Across America) for the third year.”

He will miss the first two days, but will meet up with the group to begin the third day and finish out the fundraising motorcycle trip.

BMR PR