by Kari Shear-Carlson
July 23, 2013 – The ARCA Midwest Tour presented by SCAG Power Equipment and Lester Buildings returned to Grundy County Speedway this past Friday night for the Wayne Carter Classic Calypso Lemonade 100. It was a hot day which led into a hot night. With lightning all around, last year’s champion Jonathan Eilen came from 17th to win his first race of the season.
JONATHAN EILEN BRINGS HOME HIS FIRST WIN OF THE SEASON
i-gogs Sunglasses Touring Star Jonathan Eilen’s night didn’t start where he wanted it to, but it’s not necessarily where you start but where you finish that matters. Eilen raced to get the 17th starting spot in the 25-car field after failing to qualify in the top sixteen. Eilen was one of those silent stalkers all night long. He just sort of appeared with about 20 laps to go. He was in the top four when he appeared to really get on the wheel. He picked off one car after another and finally, after a tight bumper-to-bumper battle with DOC 360 Touring Star Chris Wimmer, took the lead with about ten to go and came home with the victory.
Chris Wimmer was second followed by i-gogs Sunglasses Touring Star Dan Fredrickson in third.
After winning the JRI Shocks Fast Dash of the top 16 qualifiers, DOC 360 Touring Star Jason Weinkauf earned the honors of starting in the top spot of the 100 lap event.
Eilen won the Hedman Hedders Qualifier and lined up just behind the the top 16 in qualifying and ahead of the remainder of the field.
CHRIS WIMMER SCORES YET ANOTHER FAST QUALIFIER AWARD
I guess you could say Chris Wimmer is the “fastest” driver in the Midwest Tour. Wimmer took home the tenth qualifier award of his career, the most of any driver. With a time of 14.705, Wimmer led the field of drivers in qualifying yet again. Spiked Island Touring Star Cardell Potter was second with a 14.890 followed by Spiked Island Touring Star Jacob Goede with a 14.898.
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR BATTLE CONTINUES TO BE TIGHT
Vita Ice Touring Star Jeremy Miller was the highest finishing Rookie of the Year contender in the field. Miller finished in the 14th position with Spiked Island Touring Star James Swan behind him in 16th and Nick Barstad in 18th. James Swan still leads the tight ROY points standings with 898, only 13 over Dennis Prunty with 885. Jeremy Miller is in third with 843 points.
FREDRICKSON CONTINUES TO STRETCH HIS POINTS LEAD
With his three wins so far this season, Dan Fredrickson continues to lead the points battle with 1109 points. Chris Wimmer is only 40 points back with 1079. The two of them have finished within a few positions of one another in almost every event. DOC 360 Touring Star Nathan Haseleu has been quietly lurking in each event and cannot be counted out as he is third in the standings with 1024 points.
NEXT EVENT
The next event for the ARCA Midwest Tour is Saturday, August 4th at Veterans Raceway Park in Tomah, WI. For complete event details go to arcamidwesttour.com.
Be sure to follow the ARCA Midwest Tour on Facebook (midwesttour) and Twitter (@midwesttour).
To learn more about the Automobile Racing Club of America Midwest Tour, log on toarcamidwesttour.com. For questions call the ARCA Midwest Tour office at (262) 729-4111 or Tim Olson at (612) 327-5831 or Steve Einhaus (630) 212-6022 at or e-mail Tim Olson at tim@arcamidwesttour.comor Steve Einhaus at steve@arcamidwesttour.com.
The Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) is among the leading auto racing sanctioning bodies in the country. Founded in 1953 by John and Mildred Marcum, the organization administers more than 100 events each year in multiple racing series, including the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards, the ARCA/CRA Super Series, the ARCA Truck Series and the ARCA Midwest Tour, plus weekly racing at Toledo and Flat Rock Speedways.
