ARCA: General Tire 200 Talladega Preview

The ARCA Racing catapults to Talladega Superspeedway for the General Tire 200. This is the fourth race on the ARCA schedule. There have been three different winners in three different races for ARCA. This is the second and final restrictor plate event for ARCA of 2017.

37 drivers are slated to attempt to qualify into Friday’s race. With a full field being considered 40 in ARCA, all drivers will be able to compete in the race. Notable drivers in the field include Noah Gragson with Venturini Motorsports and Justin Haley with MDM Motorsports.

This is the final race using the steel-bodied cars in ARCA. ARCA is moving from steel bodies to composite bodies at Talladega and Daytona. These bodies will be mandatory in the 2018 season.

Hayley will be making his first career superspeedway start this weekend in Talladega. Hayley currently races in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series with GMS Racing.

“I am so excited to get behind the wheel of the MDM Motorsports ARCA Racing Series car this weekend,” said Haley. “They always show phenomenal speed and contend for wins when they show up to the track. Restrictor plate racing is something I’ve always wanted to do and I am thankful for the opportunity to do so at Talladega. Having my truck series crew chief Kevin Bellicourt on the pit box this weekend will be an excellent resource.”

Gragson will be making his second start in the ARCA Racing Series in 2017.  This is Gragson’s third start with Venturini Motorsports.

“I’m excited to make my first start at Talladega,” said Gragson. “These big tracks can be intimidating going into your first race. Thankfully I’ve got a couple restrictor plate starts under my belt now, giving me some personal experience to lean on going into this weekend. I think that’s a huge confidence booster. I’m excited to reunite with the Venturini bunch and race for win.”

The first ARCA race at Talladega Superspeedway took place in 1969 making this the 52nd race run here. Bill Venturini set the qualifying record back in 1987 at 205.432 mph. Grant Adcox set the race record in 1986 at 173.947 mph. Only 20 Races have been won from the pole position. Adcox also holds the most wins at Talladega at five.

The ARCA Racing Series will be broadcasted live on Fox Sports 1 at 6:00 p.m. EST. Live timing and scoring can be seen at arcaracing.com.

Caleb Whisler
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