5/15/2015
Katlynn Leer
Arca Truck Series season kicks off saturday at toledo speedway
Millersport, OH – Come this Saturday, the wait is finally over. The long awaited start to the 2015 ARCA Truck Series racing season is finally here, with the first green flag of the season dropping on the “Buckeye Cable System 50” at the famed half-mile Toledo Speedway in Toledo, Ohio. Buckeye Cable is celebrating their 50 Anniversary this year.
Toledo Speedway has seen its fair share of ARCA Truck Series events, having hosted at least one ARCA Truck Series event over the past 16 years.
In 21 events at Toledo Speedway four drivers have a combined twelve wins, each with three. Robbin Slaughter became the first back to back winner, winning consecutive races between the 1999 and 2000 racing seasons. At one point Slaughter had won three of four events from 1999-2001. Chad Guinn became the next back to back winner, winning the 2003 and 2004 events. Over the span of three years Paul Hahn picked up three wins at Toledo. Recently it was 2014 series champion Danny Jackson becoming the only other driver to have three career victories at Toledo Speedway, his final win coming last season. All four drivers won a race at Toledo during a championship season.
This weekend’s event is one of rare proportions. In 16 seasons of ARCA Truck Series racing, only twice has there been an event at Toledo Speedway that didn’t feature a past winner. Since the inaugural race in 1999, the only other event that didn’t have a past winner at Toledo was July 7, 2006.
Not only is it an event that features no previous winners at Toledo, but the expected field will combine for only one career ARCA Truck Series win. That lone win belongs to Cody Quarrick, who won last season at Jennerstown Speedway. The combination of no previous winners at Toledo and only one career winner amongst all the starters makes for a very interesting storyline.
As if it wasn’t interesting enough, the storyline has another twist with the growing number of V8 engines to the series.
The V8 crate engine was introduced for competition in the 2013 racing season. Many were leery to jump from their proven V6 power plants to the V8. That was until Cody Quarrick put his Ford V8 in victory lane at Jennerstown last season. Joining him this year will be Shawn Szep, Craig Meyers, and Holley Performance Rookie of the Year candidate Katlynn Leer.
The biggest question this Saturday isn’t pertaining to the performance of the V8’s. Instead, many will be interested to see if the odds are truly with a first time winner prevailing.
Series veteran Brad Yunker, who will make his 90 career start on Saturday, has the most laps at Toledo Speedway of any other driver starting this Saturday. His first career start in the ARCA Truck Series came at Toledo Speedway in 2002, where he finished 18 after ignition failure. Yunker has had his fair share of disappointments at Toledo, with 4 DNF’s, but he also has five top-tens and a career best of 4.
On the opposite side of the spectrum is the 2014 Holley Performance Rookie of the Year Jeff Myers Jr., who is eyeing his ninth career start Saturday. While it is only his second ARCA Truck Series start at Toledo, the youngster has turned quite a few laps at the half-mile behind the wheel of a sportsman. His lone start at Toledo Speedway in an ARCA truck came last season in the C.A. Bailey Excavating-Bailey Family Racing Chevrolet, where he nabbed an eighth place finish.
Cody Quarrick with his Ford V-8 and Shawn Szep with his Chevy V-8 are the two V8’s to keep an eye on this Saturday. Quarrick, who won the first ARCA Truck Series event with a V8 in 2014, has been great on half-mile speedways. In seven starts at a half-mile track, Quarrick has recorded five top-fives. Aside from his win last season, two of those were at Toledo were he took a second and a fourth place finish. That second place finish came in 2012 when he made his first career start at Toledo Speedway.
The other V8 to watch is veteran Shawn Szep. After a handful of rough runs at Toledo early in his career, Szep’s most recent starts have both been third place finishes. Szep led 11 of the 50 laps in last year’s event while battling Danny Jackson and Levi Mansfield for the win. It is also interesting to note that in 36 starts, Szep has five runner-up finishes.
Many drivers will be a contender to win this Saturday, from veterans Brad Yunker and Shawn Szep to Holley Performance Rookie of the Year candidates Tim Mennecke to Katlynn Leer. It is the storyline that will repeat itself every event this season, in what is bound to be an exciting season of ARCA Truck Series racing.
Don’t miss the start of something special in 2015 at Toledo Speedway this Saturday. Follow Live Timing throughout the day on our website, or follow get updates by following us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
The ARCA Truck Series completed its fifth full season presented by the Phoenix Management Group of Ohio, LLC, (or PMG) of Millersport, Ohio in 2014, under a licensing agreement with the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA).
The ARCA Truck Series (ATS) ran exhibition races late in 1998 with the first full season in 1999. Today, the series has grown into one of the most versatile in short track racing, having taken popular four cylinder, V-6 & V-8 sealed crate engine powered trucks to asphalt tracks of many sizes under one mile, road courses, and numerous dirt tracks in its history.
The Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) is among the leading and most diverse auto racing sanctioning bodies in the country. Founded in 1953 by John and Mildred Marcum, the organization administers more than 100 events each year.
Following the ARCA Truck Series has become easier than ever lately! For in-depth stories, continually log on to ARCATruckRacing.com. You can now also follow the series on Twitter at @ARCATruckRacing, there is an “ARCA Truck Series” Facebook page, “ARCA Truck Series” on YouTube and “ARCA Truck Racing” is on LinkedIn.
For more information please contact:
Keith Bales, PR – Media Director
