Drivers from across the country will travel to the Midwest this week to compete in an ARCA Menards Series Sioux Chief Showdown event at Iowa Speedway on Saturday.
Three talented young rookies from Bill McAnally Racing – Giovanni Scelzi, Jesse Love and Gracie Trotter – will be among the field of drivers racing in the Shore Lunch 150 at the .875-mile oval in Newton, Iowa.
The race is one of a series of races designated as a showdown event on this year’s ARCA Menards Series schedule. The showdown events are considered a series within a series.
The three BMR drivers competed in the first showdown event of the year at Phoenix Raceway in early March. Scelzi had a top 10 finish, coming home 10th in the No. 16 NAPA AUTO PARTS / Curb Records Toyota Camry. Love was 16th in the No. 19 NAPA Power Premium Plus Toyota Camry, after getting caught up in a late-race incident; while a mechanical issue sidelined Trotter and left her to finish 22nd in the No. 99 ENEOS Toyota Camry.
The BMR drivers are running the full schedule this year in the ARCA Menards Series West. In addition, they are competing in other select ARCA races.
Love has had a tremendous start in ARCA West competition. He leads the championship standings, with two wins and two runner-up finishes in four starts. Trotter is third in the standings and is coming off a career-best third-place series finish. Scelzi is sixth in ARCA West points.
Saturday’s event at Iowa Speedway is similar in fashion to the 17 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East-West combination races that the track hosted between 2007 and 2019. BMR won the prestigious race four consecutive times. Todd Gilliland went to Victory Lane in the event in 2016 and 2017. Brandon McReynolds swept two East-West events there for BMR in 2015, the last year in which Iowa Speedway hosted two combination races in a season.
BMR has plenty to look forward to at Iowa, with sponsor activation planned around the event. In advance of Saturday’s race, the team will have its No. 16 NAPA Toyota race car and race day transporter on display for race fans to view at the NAPA AUTO PARTS store on First Avenue in Newton on Friday, beginning at 11 a.m.
At the track on race day, BMR will host a group of special guests that BBB Industries is bringing to the event and will provide them with a VIP experience. In addition, NGK will have a VIP crewmember, who was selected by NAPA Des Moines.
The ARCA race is part of a big weekend at Iowa Speedway, which will also feature a doubleheader for the NTT INDYCAR Series. A controlled number of fans will be in attendance at the track, following guidelines of local public health officials.
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