The ARCA Racing Series heads to the Talladega Superspeedway for the International Motorsports Hall of Fame 250. The event will serve as the fifth stop for the series and the final restrictor-plate race of the 2015 calendar. Tom Hessert, who will pilot the No. 77 Barbera’s Autoland Dodge on Friday, comes into the weekend as the defending race winner.
The entry list features 35 drivers from all around North America. Some of these include Sarah Cornett-Ching, Bobby Gerhart, Tyler Audie, Frank Kimmel, Buster Graham, Grant Enfinger, Brandon Jones, Clay Campbell, Andy Seuss, Russ Dugger, Scott Edwards and Bobby Hamilton Jr.
Grant Enfinger has been riding a wave of momentum since the season begun back in February at the Daytona International Speedway. Enfinger has driven the No. 23 Chevrolet to three victories in four races in 2015. The Alabama native currently sits 95 points ahead of Austin Wayne Self through four races.
“Talladega lends itself to more side-by-side, and more passing for the lead. It’ll come down to the last lap where it’s always anyone’s guess,” said Enfinger in a ARCA release. “We’re going after a championship this year. We really want that trophy at Talladega too…maybe just as bad.”
Frank Kimmel will make his second ARCA Racing Series start of the year this weekend behind the wheel of the No. 15 Menards Toyota. Kimmel comes into the weekend looking to capture his third victory at the 2.66-mile oval. The 53-year old finished eighth in the race last season.
Kimmel scaled back this season to mentor the younger drivers at Venturini Motorsports. The Tennessee native announced at the beginning of the year that he will run 10 races throughout the year.
“I really want to thank Billy and all the sponsors for putting this deal together and giving me another race in one of the Venturini cars,” Kimmel said in a release. “As a team, Venturini Motorsports had really fast cars at Daytona. Cody ran really strong, and although Brandon wasn’t in that race, Daniel Suarez was and we all had a shot to win. I think Brandon and Cody are both great young men and I can’t wait to get out there and work with them.
Austin Wayne Self comes into the Talladega Superspeedway looking to secure his first win of the brand-new season. Self has finished inside the top five in three of the four races already completed in 2015. The 2014 Rookie of the Year winner has one previous start at the big track, earning a third-place finish last season.
“Racing at Talladega means a lot to me, it’s where I made my first superspeedway debut with ARCA,” Self stated in a press release. “I was able to finish third in my first trip, I believe we have a strong car we can win with come Friday. This is a short turnaround for us, but this team works so hard and dedicates endless hours to this program at MMM. The new engine and rules package made for one of the best races at Daytona earlier this year, I think the fans are going to be in for a very exciting race Friday evening.”
FOX Sports 1 will carry live coverage of the International Motorsports Hall of Fame 250 at 5:00 p.m. ET. on Friday. You can also listen to live radio coverage of the race on Thunder 92.7 via ARCARacing.com.
About Me: Brett has been following the sport of NASCAR since the beginning of the 2006 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. Since Brett was 13, he has had a passion of chasing a job in sports that not many get the opportunity of doing. He has been in the NASCAR media since the middle of the 2010 season. Since then, he has been a part of many racing podcast shows to improve his talents. He has written for racingonfuel.com and theracingwheel.com. Currently, Brett writes for motorsportsnat.com and TracksideChatter.com. You can find him on twitter @NASCAR_Brett.
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