Story By: ARCA RACING SERIES – ST. LOUIS, MO – Sam Mayer vs. Ty Gibbs. Michael Self vs. Bret Holmes, and a whole field of ARCA Menards Series drivers who would like nothing better than to steal the spotlight.
The Dutch Boy 150 Saturday night will crank up the action as the series returns to World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway (5 p.m. CT / 6 p.m. ET. The ARCA Menards Series race will also be round seven of the Sioux Chief Showdown, and will air live on MAVTV and TrackPass on NBC Gold and can also be heard on MRN.
It was the shot heard ’round The Arch.
Sam Mayer was cruising through the final lap en route to his first career ARCA Menards Series win last June. Until he wasn’t. A bump-and-run from Ty Gibbs in Turns 3 and 4 moved him up a groove and allowed Gibbs to skate by and claim his first series victory.
Mdboy669 20 Dutchboy Arca Race Logo Final
They return this weekend, ready to continue their back-and-forth. Mayer is coming off an ARCA Menards Series East win at Dover International Speedway, a race in which Gibbs led a race-high 104 laps before a cut tire ended his day abruptly.
Since the ARCA race at Gateway, Mayer has eight wins, four seconds and five thirds in 22 starts across the ARCA Menards, East and West series. Gibbs? Eight wins, five seconds and two thirds in 22 starts.
Then there’s Self and Holmes, who are separated by just 15 points. Holmes had whittled the gap considerably before Self’s historic win at the DAYTONA Road Course gave him a season sweep of the ‘World Center of Racing’ and a little breathing room.
Self won the General Tire Pole Award last year at Gateway but an axle issue limited him to just 85 laps and left him in 13th place.
Holmes, who was 10th last year at Gateway, has been really strong at the tracks longer than a mile, and a return trip to the midwest oval just may suit his program’s improvements.
And Chandler Smith is not to be forgotten. Smith lost the Sioux Chief Showdown points lead to Venturini Motorsports teammate Self after struggling on the road course, but he returns to a track that fits his strengths. While he’s been held out of Victory Lane since July 3 at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indiana, Smith has still won once every three starts in his ARCA Menards career and is overdue for another.
RACE FACTS
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RACE |
Dutch Boy 150 |
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PLACE |
World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway, Maidson, Ill. |
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DATE |
Saturday, Aug. 29, 2020 |
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TIME |
5 p.m. CT |
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TELEVISION/RADIO |
MAVTV & TrackPass on NBC Gold (live), 5 p.m. ET; MRN & SIRIUSXM Ch. 385 and online Ch. 985 (live) |
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TRACK LAYOUT |
1.25-mile paved oval |
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EVENT SCHEDULE |
Saturday, Aug. 29 — Garage opens: 7 a.m. CT; Practice: 10:30-11 a.m.; Dutch Boy 150: 5 p.m. |
CREW CHIEF HANDOUT: The starting field for the Dutch Boy 150 is limited to 36, including provisional positions. The field will be set by 2020 Sioux Chief Showdown Owners Points (1-25) for the Dutch Boy 150. The remaining 11 spots will be awarded through the provisional process. This event will be run under the 2020 ARCA Menards Series rules, procedures, regulations and specifications.
QUALIFYING: No qualifying.
RACE PIT STOP: No adding or moving tires to or from pit box once race has started. A maximum four (4) crew members may service car. No tires and fuel may be added outside of the break.
The Dutch Boy 150 will be 120 laps (150 miles) and is to be run in three (3) segments. The race will have the first break, at or near the conclusion of Lap 40; and a second break, at or near the conclusion of Lap 80. At the conclusion of the break(s), vehicles will line up in the order they were running at the beginning of the break.
The maximum tire allotment available for this event is as follows: Per ARCA Rulebook, maximum number of tires allowed in pit box for use in race is eight (8).
ARCA Adds Toledo Date For Two Series Amid Adjustments
Once again, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced the ARCA Menards Series to be nimble in its 2020 scheduling.
Events at Michigan’s Berlin Raceway and New Hampshire Motor Speedway have been removed from the 2020 ARCA Menards Series East slate, as has the ARCA Menards Series race at Indiana’s Salem Speedway. In place of these events, a new ARCA Menards Series/ARCA Menards Series East race at Toledo Speedway has been added to the schedule on Saturday, Sept. 12.
“The logistical challenges created by COVID-19 forced us to make some difficult decisions,” ARCA President Ron Drager said. “We are disappointed that we won’t be visiting Berlin Raceway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway and Salem Speedway this year, but we look forward to bringing the excitement of ARCA Menards Series racing back to those great facilities in the future.”
The Sept. 12 event at Toledo, which will be broadcast live at 5 p.m. ET on MAVTV and TrackPass on NBC Gold, will be open to a limited number of fans – the first Toledo Speedway event to feature fans this year.
The race will count championship points toward both the ARCA Menards Series and ARCA Menards Series East.
It will mark the third ARCA Menards Series and second ARCA Menards Series East events on the famed half-mile track this season. Sam Mayer swept the ARCA Menards Series doubleheader at Toledo on July 31 and Aug. 2, while Ty Gibbs captured the checkered flag in the ARCA Menards Series East return event on June 13.
The ARCA Menards Series & Sioux Chief Showdown returns to action Saturday with the Dutch Boy 150 at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway. Coverage begins at 6 p.m. ET on MAVTV and TrackPass.
The next ARCA Menards Series East event will be Toledo on Sept. 12.
