ARCA Midwest Tour Headlines at Madison International Speedway this Sunday afternoon, May 4th
by Kari Shear-Carlson
May 1st, 2014 – As the only driver to make every race in the history of the ARCA Midwest Tour presented by Scag Power Equipment, Nathan Haseleu has racked up his fair share of victories over the years, his most recent, the 2013 Oktoberfest 100. Winning that race is high on every short track drivers list and a win is celebrated no matter when or where it happens. But like Oktoberfest, there is just something special about winning certain races. For Haseleu, one of those is the Joe Shear Classic 100 at Madison International Speedway.
“There are a few races on the schedule that are a little bit more significant than others. This race means a lot for a couple of reasons. First of all, Joe Shear was a great racer, so to win a race in his honor is pretty special. Second of all, I’ve raced at MIS a lot, so winning there has always been important to me. Not only that, but when you get off to a good start, the whole season runs smoother,” said Haseleu.
In 2009, Nathan Haseleu became the winner of the 1st Annual Joe Shear Classic. “I’d like to be the first repeat winner,” he said. This Sunday, May 4th, he will have the opportunity when the stars and cars of the ARCA Midwest Tour return to MIS for the “6th Annual Joe Shear Classic.”
In four out of the last five Joe Shear Classic events, Nathan has finished sixth or better. This puts him as one of the top contenders for this Sunday afternoon’s event, but he knows that it won’t be easy with the drivers that he will be up against.
“When I look at the list of drivers; we lost a lot of really good short track drivers, but we have also gained a lot of good guys. So I guess really there are just different drivers to beat,” said Haseleu.
One guy that everyone will have their eyes on is Travis Sauter. Nathan and his RaceTeamGear.com, Colony Brands, and The Swiss Colony sponsored team know that he’ll be tough to beat, but are up to the challenge.
“Travis (Sauter) has got something figured out. He’s got a very fast race car. It just doesn’t fall off. But that’s the key to winning big races. You’re just gonna need a really fast race car to beat him,” said Haseleu, in response on how to break Sauter’s 10-race super late model winning streak at MIS.
Nathan and the rest of the ARCA Midwest Tour drivers will have a chance to see what they’ve got when they take to the track this Sunday afternoon. The Tour will also be joined by the Midwest Trucks. Qualifying begins at 1:15pm followed by racing at 2:30pm. Ticket prices are $15 for adults, $13 for ages 12-17 and 60+, kids 11 and under are FREE.
There will be an optional open practice on Saturday from 12pm-5pm with free grandstand admission all day.
For more information about this weekend’s event, log on 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 to arcamidwesttour.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.
