With fifteen races in the books and races to go, it’s the time of the season that drivers who have yet to win a race in the ARCA Menards Series start to feel the heat. The opportunities, that once seemed limitless, are now down to just a handful. Every race that passes without that trip to victory lane raises the pressure to win before the season ends.
The next two races on the series’ schedule, the August 18 Allen Crowe 100 presented by Lucas Oil on the Springfield Mile at the Illinois State Fairgrounds and the August 31 Southern Illinois 100 on the Magic Mile at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds, offer those winless drivers a unique opportunity to make their first trip of the season to victory lane. Both tracks are one mile long and both are dirt, and that dirt surface can be a huge equalizer.
Last year, at DuQuoin, Travis Braden (No. 27 MatrixCare/Consonus Health Care/Liberty Village Ford) played his strategy perfectly and found himself in the lead at the halfway point of the 100-mile contest. Braden’s team, owned by Illinois businessman Don Fike, is competitive but doesn’t have a big budget or an alliance with a bigger organization. Braden led for 17 laps and saw a clear path to victory.
“Last year, being that I had never raced on a true dirt track in a stock car before, we didn’t know what to expect and expectations were basically not even on our mind,” Braden said. “But after a solid first go at it in Springfield, we actually saw a glimpse of victory on the horizon at DuQuoin.”
Unfortunately, just as the dirt surface can be an equalizer, it can also bite when you least expect it.
Braden’s march to the DuQuoin victory ended at lap 66 when he was tagged from behind on a restart, ending his race against the concrete rather than in victory lane. With two races on dirt coming, Braden sees them both as an opportunity for his “little team that could” to find redemption after last year’s disappointment.
“I am now very hungry for that redemption,” Braden said emphatically. “We’ve had so many opportunities for victory and have yet to manage it. After having it taken away from us in DuQuoin last year, I have a bit of a chip on my shoulder for this one. No excuses.”
With a string of consistent performances early in the season, Braden established himself as a contender for the ARCA Menards Series championship. He sits 150 points out of the lead in fourth position with five races remaining, not an insurmountable deficit by any means. His team, which only has two full-time employees including himself, recently added long-time NASCAR crew chief Jim Long to their roster for race weekends. Braden, who has dual degrees in aerospace and mechanical engineering from West Virginia University, oversees preparation in the shop while Long advises on setup. At the track, Long calls the shots while Braden, who still assists on preparing the racecar, transitions into driver mode. It’s a unique arrangement that Braden believes has benefitted the team and could end up with a victory before the season ends.
“It’s been great working with Jim so far, although the challenges of having just two guys to do everything in the shop does wear a bit,” Braden said. “Not only are we even more short handed than we were with three guys, we are now spending extra time and effort working on improving our setups and collecting more information. It’s enjoyable and rewarding conceptually, and most of the time physically as well, but there definitely are days that it’s overwhelming for us all. Just add it to the list of reasons were so hungry for a win.”
The ARCA Menards Series returns to action with the first of two dirt track races with the Allen Crowe 100 presented by Lucas Oil on Sunday August 18 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds. Practice on the one-mile dirt oval will begin at 10 am ET/9 am CT, General Tire Pole Qualifying is set for 12 n ET/11 am CT, and the 100-mile feature event will go green at 2:30 pm ET/1:30 pm CT. The race will be televised live flag-to-flag on MAVTV. ARCA for Me members can follow live timing & scoring, live chat, and live track updates at ARCARacing.com. New users can register for free with a valid email address at ARCARacing.com/login. For ticket information please visit TrackEnterprises.com.
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