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ARCA Veteran Brad Smith Guests ON PIT ROW Tuesday

October 19, 2008

After 21 years of Racing in the ARCA RE/MAX Series, Brad Smith has a unique perspective on big time auto racing.

Joining The Pit Crew live from the Toledo Speedway Bar and Grille will be the long time independent car owner and driver.  Smith got his start in ARCA in 1988 and has seen the many changes that have been made to the series over the years.

Brad will join in on the discussion starting in the second hour of ON PIT ROW, beginning at 6pm ET.  ON PIT ROW can be heard via live stream at www.onpitrow.com or at www.arcaracing.com if you do not have a local radio station carrying the show in your area.

While much of the focus of the end of the 2008 season revolved around the tight points battle and subsequent interaction between Scott Speed, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Justin Allgaier and Frank Kimmell; Smith will be able to give his perspective on his battles in the points and what inspires him to return to this form of racing year after year.

In the years that Brad has run in the RE/MAX Series, his best finishes have been twelfths at Salem, Winchester and Pocono.  2001 saw Smith finish a career high, thirteenth in drivers points.  Listen in to hear what motivates this Engineer and Business major to follow his love for automobile racing on the ARCA RE/MAX circuit.

Last weeks 90 minute INSIDE ARCA show was the last one for the 2008 race season.  INSIDE ARCA will now be part of ON PIT ROW throughout the off season, with the 90 minute version returning before Speedweeks in 2009.  Tune in to ON PIT ROW to get all your ARCA post season info.

photo credit: BethAnne Heisler/ON PIT ROW

Written by Steve Wronkowicz · Filed Under ARCA Angels, Inside the ARCA Remax Series, On Pit Row, On Pit Row on the Road | Leave a Comment 

I’d Rather Drive a Chevy at Lowes Motor Speedway

October 6, 2008

Week five of the Chase has taken place at Lowes Motor Speedway every year to mark the halfway point. The race has seen a Chaser win each time, and 3 of the 4 races have been won by Jimmie Johnson (twice) and Jeff Gordon. Breaking the Chevy streak was Kasey Kahne in 2006. Chevys have taken a majority of top 10 spots, and it’s no wonder because the dominant Chevy teams – Hendrick and Childress – have been represented well. On the Hendrick side, obviously Gordon, Johnson, and previous driver Kyle Busch have top finishes, but Childress drivers Jeff Burton and Clint Bowyer haven’t been too shabby either. The wild card could be the Roush Fenway Fords, however. Their last big year was 2005, and they placed 3 cars in the top 5 in this race.

As far as the championship is concerned, your guess is as good as mine. Looking at the track record, Johnson’s won this race in the years he failed to win the championship. He hasn’t won this race in 2 years, but won the championship in both. Go figure. I remember back in 2004 and Kurt Busch was involved in an early incident but came back for a top 5. The overarching theme of this race is that the title weighs heavily on the minds of the contenders.

The winners:
2007 – Jeff Gordon
2006 – Kasey Kahne
2005 – Jimmie Johnson
2004 – Jimmie Johnson

Champs finish:
2007 – Jimmie Johnson - 14th
2006 – Jimmie Johnson - 2nd
2005 – Tony Stewart - 25th
2004 – Kurt Busch - 4th

Fantasy options – Obviously, the man to beat at this track is Johnson. 2 wins and a runner-up finish in the Chase, not to mention his record at the track in general. Another driver to watch out for is Jeff Burton. I’m thinking about starting Burton this week, because he seems to have the speed again in his cars to be a contender. Thirdly, Carl Edwards has yet to experience the same success here as he has in Atlanta and Texas. Could it finally come this year? I’m hoping, but I’m not certain.

Sleepers here are always tricky. Does Kahne count as a sleeper? He had one good month here in an otherwise forgettable 2008 season, and has won this race before. Brian Vickers could finally get it done at this race. He runs extremely well at LMS. Scott Speed, Brad Keselowski, and Bryan Clauson are all expected to make their debuts this week. Count on one of them, most likely Speed or Keselowski, to have a stronger run than expected.

Finally, the song for this week’s race comes courtesy of a personal favorite on my playlist right now, “Coming Home” by Alter Bridge. Check it out, I’m out until next week.

Photo credit: Icon Sports Media

Written by Matt Mercer · Filed Under 1, Chevrolet Racing, Hendrick Motorsports, Lowe's Motor Speedway, NASCAR, Nascar Chase 2008, Richard Childress Racing | Leave a Comment 

Chrissy Wallace ON PIT ROW Today!

July 29, 2008

Chrissy Wallace ON PIT ROW Today!Three and a half hours of racing talk - we call it Bench Racing - kicks off live today at 5 pm EDT with a visit from Chrissy Wallace. Chrissy, daughter of NASCAR star Mike Wallace, has been campaigning in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series but this weekend she’ll take over the very competitive ARCA RE/MAX Series Toyota of Hattori Racing for the ARCA RE/MAX Pocono 200. That car has been fast everywhere it’s been this season so Wallace should be a real contender at Pocono.

Also ON PIT ROW today are scheduled guests, Booty Barker, crew chief of the Stewart-Haas Racing #66. There’s plenty to talk to Booty about from tires to team stuff.

Veteran NASCAR writer Dustin Long will join us as well to talk about the weekend at Indy and the weeks ahead.

INSIDE ARCA will feature the winner of Saturday night’s ARCA RE/MAX 200 at Berlin Raceway - Scott Speed. Speed has his hands full with Pole sitter Justin Allgaier and ARCA legend Frank Kimmel. It was great. Steve and I were at Berlin to help call the race for ArcaNation.com. What a blast.

Our ARCA Insider, Phil Parsons will stop by as will Patrick Donahue, crew chief on Scott Speed’s Red Bull Toyota. And later, NASCAR’s David Stremme will join us during the INSIDE ARCA SHORT TRACK REPORT to talk about his appearance this weekend for a CRA Super Series late model race at historic Toledo Speedway.

Listen live starting at 5pm EDT right here at OnPitRow.com!

Written by Charlie Turner · Filed Under Inside the ARCA Remax Series, On Pit Row, On Pit Row on the Road, Show News | 2 Comments 

ON PIT ROW & INSIDE ARCA Doubleheader Dynomite Today at 5

April 29, 2008

Bobby Allison is a tough act to follow. Add to the Hall of Famer a roster of Boris Said, ARCA Insider and former Talladega winner, Phil Parsons, ARCA Iowa winner Matt Hawkins and Red Bull crew chief Patrick Donahue….. Well Steve had a big show to live up to. And he did!

Untitled PostToday - with prayers to the live radio gods - ON PIT ROW will have David Ragan to talk about a week that included a road course in Mexico, plate races in Talladega and short track testing in Toledo.

Later we’ll have Yates Racing driver David Gilliland and one other surprise guest. You’ll have to tune in or come on out to the Toledo Speedway Bar & Grill for that one.

INSIDE ARCA will feature ARCA RE/MAX Series points leader Matt Carter, a return visit from Patrick Donahue - this time as the crew chief of the Kansas 150 Grand winning #2 driven by Scott Speed.

Our ARCA Insider Phil Parsons will be here for his weekly look into the ARCA RE/MAX Series and Kansas Race winner Scott Speed will join us as well.

Rounding out the night of ON PIT RADIO is the ARCA Short Track Report with guests Michigan Motorsports Hall of Famer, Gary Lindahl and ARCA Lincoln Welders Truck Series points leader Steve Christman to talk about his win at Anderson Speedway.

So what are ya’ gonna do next week Steve?

UPDATE:  The surprise guest was Andy Hillenburg, owner of The Rock - Rockingham Speedway -  and is Andy ever pumped for this week’s Carolina 500!  Did you know that they are going to start 50 ARCA RE/MAX  cars in that race?  Can’t wait.

Photo credit: Icon Sports Media, Inc.

Written by Charlie Turner · Filed Under Inside the ARCA Remax Series, NASCAR, On Pit Row, Show News, Site News | Leave a Comment