The Road to Oktoberfest
by Jana Wimmer
Oct 2, 2014 – Jonathan Eilen has his eyes on the prize this weekend at Oktoberfest. For the first time in his ARCA Midwest Tour presented by Scag Power Equipment career, Eilen has not tallied a win. While he has racked up five top-five finishes and eight top-ten finishes and sits third in the point standings, he hopes to close out the year in Victory Lane. “I am very hungry for a win,” says Jonathan Eilen, “LaCrosse is one of those tracks either we hit the setup on the head or where we just struggle. In years past I’ve not been too excited to go just because we have not ran very well there in the past, but for some reason I’m really excited to race there this year. I hope that means something.”
Some of that excitement might stem from the Oktoberfest finale going back to the 200-lap format it had in past years. “Running the 200 lapper will be very cool just because I remember growing up watching the big race that was always 200 laps and thinking how awesome it would be to be there someday racing it,” says Eilen.
The 200-lap event will boast live pit stops and throw a little more strategy into the equation for the drivers and crew. Luckily for Eilen he is surrounded by some excellent people and the strategy planning has already started. “We have thought of a couple different strategies we are hoping we will be able to try,” says Eilen, “But as everyone knows nothing usually goes to plan in racing. One of our biggest helps on being so consistent is because Chad and Spiff prepare the cars so well and don’t let anything sneak past them as far a mechanical failures. With a little luck we would be right there at the end of the 200-laps.”
While the top two in Midwest Tour points will battle it out on Sunday, Eilen may have a battle of his own. Third in point standings, Eilen has just a three point edge over Chris Weinkauf heading into the weekend. “Going into LaCrosse I really don’t think about any differently than any other race,” says Eilen, “If I give it my all and don’t hold back that’s all I can do and let us finish where we are supposed to finish.”
Be sure to follow the ARCA Midwest Tour on Facebook (midwesttour) and Twitter (@midwesttour).
For complete event details log on to arcamidwesttour.com.
Upcoming Event Information
What: 45th Annual Oktoberfest
Where: West Salem, WI
When: October 4th-5th, 2014
To learn more about the Automobile Racing Club of America Midwest Tour, log on to arcamidwesttour.com. For questions, call Tim Olson at (612) 327-5831 or e-mail tim@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.
