Rain couldn't stop 12 years of waiting as the ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards returned to Texas Motor Speedway for a test session in preparation for the Rattlesnake 150 on Friday, April 16, that is part of the Samsung Mobile 500 NASCAR doubleheader weekend.

While the morning session was washed out due to heavy rains throughout Monday, the 1.5-mile superspeedway was dry by 1 p.m. CT today and ready for practice for the 21 drivers on hand. Tuesday's test marked the first time the ARCA Racing Series had raced at Texas Motor Speedway since the inaugural Z-MAX 250 on Sept. 18, 1998.

West Lake, Louisiana's Mikey Kile (left), in a Venturini Motorsports Toyota, led the charts circling the 1.5-mile speedway in 29.033 seconds, an average speed of 185.995 mph.

Brandon McReynolds, in an ESR Toyota, was second quickest overall at 185.752 mph. McReynolds is the son of former crew chief and current FOX race analyst Larry McReynolds. McReynolds hopes to make his first career ARCA Racing Series start in the Rattlesnake 150.

"It definitely helps chatting with Dad and other guys that have been around here a lot," said Brandon, whose father served as a successful crew chief for the likes of Dale Earnhardt and Davey Allison, among others. "It definitely helped being around the race tracks. I'm comfortable because I've been here before. I've seen the facility. Obviously, with Dad over here, it is amazing the things he can tell you even though he didn't drive the race car; he really knows what he's doing."

Steve Arpin, suffering from flu-like symptoms, took just 20 laps around the track but managed the third fastest speed (184.647 mph).

American Speed Association PR
DAYTONA BEACH, FL (Tuesday, March 9, 2010) - It was a re-building year in 2009 for Steve Sinclair as he took over the operations of Wilmot Raceway, an ASA Affiliated Track in Wilmot, WI. After a successful first year, he is ready to step it up for the 2010 season.

"We are definitely increasing the schedule, so there is a lot more race dates for everybody concerned," Sinclair said. "We have five base classes there with the winged 410 Sprint Cars, Modifieds, Street Stocks, 1200cc Mini Sprints, and Fearless 4's which is like a hornet class. Plus we have a bunch of specials, the ASA IRA Bumper-to-Bumper Outlaw Sprint Series is coming there five times, a UMP Summer Nationals Late Model date, the Badger Midgets twice, the Illini Midgets once, an AMA motorcycle race, so we have a pretty busy schedule."

This schedule will begin with a two day opening weekend on May 15-16 with an Open Wheel Extravaganza featuring 410 Sprints, Mini Sprints, Modifieds, Badger Midgets, Street Stock, and Fearless 4's.

Looking back at 2009, Sinclair was happy with how the season went. Part of that success was how he came up with the schedule, "On a limited schedule we had a great year. We are upping the dates but its not going to be an every Saturday night deal," Sinclair explained. "I am looking at what is around us and trying to schedule properly. It worked last year, in some cases where there is a big special on a Saturday we will run our guys on Friday, trying to take advantage of the fact that maybe we can draw some cars those tracks to come down by us and it has worked."

As the 2010 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series season approaches for the LaCrosse Fairgrounds Speedway competitors, track officials are also preparing for the new year.

As the season draws near, Speedway staff will hold the annual Driver Orientation Meeting, on Saturday March 27th. "Anyone interested in racing at the track this year, whether it be Late Models, Sportsmen, Thunderstox, Hornets, or even the new R.A.Y.S. division is encouraged to attend," commented General Manager Chuck Deery. "It is a great opportunity to take care of track and NASCAR memberships, pit parking locations, season pit passes, as well as media information. It is a very informative meeting on procedures during the race season, and new drivers especially are strongly encouraged to attend."

The meeting for all divisions will be held at 10:00 am, located at the Fox Hollow Golf Course Banquet Hall. The hall is located five miles south of the Speedway (take Cty Rd M) on Cty Rd O, in Barre Mills. Doors will open at 8:30 for those that want to handle registrations prior to the meeting.

The 2010 season is set to begin on Saturday April 17th with an open practice session, 11 a.m.- 2 p.m., and then a 200 lap 4-cylinder Enduro on the quarter-mile track at 4:00 p.m. Weekly racing begins the following week on Saturday April 24th, starting at 7:30, featuring the Kwik Trip NASCAR Late Models, North Country Contractors Sportsmen and United Auto Supply Thunderstox.

Drivers will welcome a 100 percent, guaranteed payout during NEW DIRT’s first ever Spring Thaw on Saturday, April 10 at Seymour Speedway. The first green flag is scheduled to fly at high noon.

The show boasts seven classes and will be the first track in northeast Wisconsin to open it’s doors for the 2010 season. “The biggest reason we wanted to do this was it’s so hard to schedule a big special in September,” said NEW DIRT President Dave “Cosmo” Rihm. “We’re rolling the dice but we’re taking a chance. We want to start this show and run a bulk of it in the afternoon when it’s warmer. We’d like to get done early so the fans can meet the drivers on a Saturday night.”

All drivers are guaranteed to make back their entry fee. “If a late model driver, for example, doesn’t make the show, he’ll go home with $175, their entry fee for two days,” said Rihm. On Friday April 9 an inspection and a “test and tune” will take place from noon to 7 p.m. That practice session is free of charge to the public. Crew members will be charged $15.00 on Friday night and $25.00 on Saturday. For more information and a copy of the flyer for this show, including a driver’s payout for each class, please check out the track’s website seymoursuperspeedway.com.

With the recent warm spell Mother Nature has doled out, Rihm is confident the high-banked, third-mile, clay oval will be in race ready shape for the earliest opener ever in the club’s 27 year history. “We covered the frontstretch with plastic and straw last Fall because with grandstand being on the south end it’s always last to thaw out,” said Rihm. “I can tell you there is no frost on the fronstretch right now. With the warm weather we’ve been having, we’re pretty confident we can get out there soon and begin working on the track.”

Kurt Busch celebrates in Victory Lane after winning his third NASCAR Sprint Cup series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. (Credit: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR)NASCAR Media Report
Kurt Busch won two races Sunday: the Kobalt Tools 500 and the Carl Edwards 25.

In a race that went 16 laps—nearly 25 miles—past its scheduled distance, after Edwards retaliated against Brad Keselowski for an incident earlier in Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Busch took advantage of a strong restart to grab the lead during the second attempt at a green-white-checkered-flag restart and crossed the finish line .482 seconds ahead of runner-up Matt Kenseth.

Juan Pablo Montoya, who was closing in on Busch near the end of the regulation 325 laps, finished third but lost his chance to battle for the victory when Edwards hit Keselowski’s No. 12 Dodge on the frontstretch and sent it flying on Lap 323.

Keselowski’s car landed on its roof in the tri-oval, righted itself and slid into the Turn 1 wall. After extensive clean-up, NASCAR restarted the race on Lap 332—without Edwards, who was black-flagged on Lap 326—with Busch assuming the lead from Clint Bowyer, who had taken the point on a two-tire pit stop under caution on Lap 324.

Before Busch could take the white flag, however, a seven-car pileup in Turn 3 caused the 11th caution of the race and set up the second try at the green-white-checkered.

Edwards’ aggression toward Keselowski was payback for a Lap 40 wreck in Turn 2, where Edwards felt Keselowski didn’t give him enough room.

“Brad knows the deal between him and I,” said Edwards, who returned to the track on Lap 191 after losing 150 laps in the garage. “The scary part was that his car went airborne, which was not at all what I expected.