Midwest Trucks Also To Crown Champion and ROY
by Kari Shear-Carlson
October 4, 2013-When it comes to the ARCA Midwest Tour presented by Scag Power Equipment and Lester Buildings, Oktoberfest isn’t just a race. It is a championship within a championship. By the time this weekend rolls around, every driver hopes to not only add his or her name to the historic Oktoberfest winners list, but to be in a position to be crowned the ARCA Midwest Tour Champion.
This year, the two likeliest of drivers are i-gogs Sunglasses Touring Star Dan Fredrickson and DOC 360 Touring Star Chris Wimmer. Fredrickson currently leads Wimmer by 38 points going into this weekend’s final race. Fredrickson has one Midwest Tour Championship and three Oktoberfest Championships. While Wimmer has been in contention for championships and led many laps at Oktoberfest, luck just hasn’t gone his way to seal the deal.
Fredrickson and Wimmer have finished within a position or two of one another in almost every event this season. Because of their consistency, it is still mathematically possible for Wimmer to take the point lead and therefore the championship away from Fredrickson and anything can happen when it comes to Oktoberfest.
While Wimmer has had a very consistent season, he isn’t sure if that will be enough to beat Fredrickson this year.
“I think it will be difficult, though, to win the championship. Danny (Fredrickson) has a pretty good lead and usually runs well at La Crosse, so a lot will need to happen this weekend to be able to win the title. I haven’t run very well at La Crosse the past few years, so I’m hoping to be able to go down there, race well and hopefully compete for a win,” said Wimmer.
The Rookie of the Year battle is also still going strong heading into this weekend as well. James Swan leads Dennis Prunty by only 21 points. The two have each had their ups and downs this season and have remained close in points throughout. It will all come down to this final race to determine who will be crowned the 2013 Rookie of the Year.
In addition to the ARCAMT, the Midwest Trucks will be crowning their champion this weekend as well. Jerry Wood currently leads his brother John by 39 points. As is the case with Wimmer and Fredrickson, it is still mathematically possible for John to take the championship away from his brother. The truck championships have proven to come down to the wire in the past, so this weekend could be a battle between the brothers once again.
Natalie Decker is third in the overall point standings and leads the Rookie of the Year standings in the Midwest Trucks. By clinching the title Natalie would be the first female in Midwest Tour history to do so.
The ARCA Midwest Tour will qualify at 2:00pm on Saturday and will join the full schedule of racing beginning at 5:00pm on Saturday night with the main event on Sunday afternoon. For a complete schedule 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.
