7.9.2013 Thompson Pulls through at nhms

The grid for the night's Chase opener, with Chris Shella (4) on the pole at a time of 30.390

        Chase competitors were rocked by a non-Chaser in qualifying, as Chris Shella took the pole over TJ Thompson, Drew Carroll, and Blade Whitt with a lap of 30.390 (in fact, he was the only driver in the 30.3 second range in qualifying). The field quickly spread out after seeing the green flag fly, with Drew Carroll taking over the lead on lap 10. TJ Thompson would follow Drew past Shella two laps later, dropping Chris to the 3rd position. That order would stay stagnant until the first caution on lap 29 when Trevor Perry Spun just in front of the leaders off Turn 4.

Trevor Perry (13) spun off Turn 4 on lap 29 to bring out the first caution of the night

        The entire field took to the pits under this caution, though Brendan Burcroff took the opportunity to pit a lap late and pickup a bonus point for leading a lap. Thompson would beat Carroll out of the pits, and the Top 5 for the lap 33 restart would be Thompson, Carroll, Blade Whitt, David Brownell, and Chris Shella. The field would again get in line after Shella and Burcroff got past Brownell moving them into fourth and fifth respectively. One lap 44, Shawn Bailey went for a spin off Turn 2 drawing the race's second caution.

Shawn Bailey (18) self-spun off Turn 2 to bring out the second caution of the race

        Again the field took to the pits for service. David Brownell decided to take two tires on this stop, which got him the lead. TJ Thompson would lose three spots dropping him to fourth, and Chris Shella lost a spot dropping to fifth. The line-up for the restart on lap 49 would be Brownell, Drew Carroll, Blade Whitt, TJ Thompson, and Chris Shella, with David choosing to restart on the outside of the front row. The outside lane was able to make good progress on this short two lap green flag run, with TJ Thompson going from fourth to second, and Brendan Burcroff going from sixth to third. Carroll would fall from second to sixth and Whitt from third to fifth before the caution flew again on lap 50 when Shawn Bailey again lost it off Turn 2, this time getting a piece of the wall.

Bailey (18) spun again off Turn 2 and caught a piece off the wall

        Now being on the edge of the fuel window, the field hit pit road with the exception of Brendan Burcroff who stayed out to take over the lead. The Top 5 after stops for the lap 55 restart wad Burcroff, TJ Thompson, Drew Carroll, Blade Whitt, and Chris Shella. David Brownell was forced to drop to the end of the longest line after receiving a pit road speeding penalty. Another two lap run saw no change in the Top 4, but Shella fell from fifth the sixth when he was passed by Trevor Perry who broke into the Top 5 for the first time on the night. Shawn Bailey spun for a third time in the middle of Turns 1 & 2 to bring out the fourth caution of the night.

Bailey (18) was having a very frustrating night. His third spin came on lap 56

        A good amount of cars hit pit road, the only exceptions being Brendan Burcroff and Joe Pisciotta who stayed out to retain track position. David Brownell and Shawn Bailey took two tires, while the rest of the guys who pit took four. The lap 61 restart Top 5 would be Burcroff, Pisciotta, David Brownell, Blade Whitt and TJ Thompson. The field would get pretty well spread out on this run, but on lap 65 David Brownell got loose off Turn 4 and got into Chris Shella. No caution was thrown, but Shella received a good amount of damage after contact from the inside wall. The caution would, however, fly on lap 73 when Trevor Perry spun in Turns 1 & 2.

Trevor Perry (13) spins for the second time on lap 73. This hit would end his race

        Tires were of virtue on the night, as the whole field once again hit pit road to grab some fresh rubber. Thompson would win the race off pit road, and the restart on lap 78 saw Thompson, Brendan Burcroff, Blade Whitt, Joe Pisciotta, and Rolando Alvarez as the Top 5. The next ten laps would be caution-filled, with only two green flag laps being completed. On the lap 78 restart, David Brownell got into and spun Chris Shella in Turn 1. Then, after the restart on lap 84, Shawn Bailey and Blade Whitt got together, which sent Bailey around off Turn 4. And finally, on the lap 88 restart Drew Carroll, Rolando Alvarez, and Brendan Burcroff got together in Turn 3 while running 3-wide, sending Brendan spinning.

Between laps 78 and 88, only two were completed under green flag conditions

        TJ Thompson still lead coming to the restart on lap 92. Drew Carroll ran second, Rolando Alvarez third, Blade Whitt fourth and David Brownell rounded out the Top 5. The race went back to green and Thompson took a commanding lead, driving out to just under a second in front of Drew Carroll in three laps. To Thompson's dismay, the caution would fly again on lap 95 when Shawn Bailey spun in Turns 1 & 2 trying to get a broken car to the finish. Bailey would collect David Brownell which would effectively end David's shot at winning.

David Brownell (3) was damaged bad when Shawn Bailey (18) spun trying to nurse a broken car to the finish

        The leaders were now looking at a one lap shootout to decide the finishing order of the first race of the Chase. Thompson restarted in the lead with Carroll still second and Whitt now third, Alvarez running fourth and Chris Shella rounding out the Top 5. As they raced down into Turn 1 Carroll was able to give Thompson a shot and get him loose, but Thompson kept it straight and was able to keep up his momentum and stay ahead. it was clear sailing from there as Thompson drove it home to the win, his fourth points win of the season and 13th win all-time, which breaks his previous tie with Chris Shella for most all-time wins. Blade Whitt fell from third on the restart to seventh, after an incident between he and Brendan Burcroff off Turn 2 which left Blade on his roof. Your official finishing order for the event is as follows: 1. TJ Thompson (48pts.) 2. Drew Carroll (43pts.) 3. Chris Shella (42pts.) 4. Rolando Alvarez (40pts.) 5. Joe Pisciotta (40pts.) 6. Brendan Burcroff (39pts.) 7. Blade Whitt (37pts.) 8. David Brownell (37pts.) 9. Shawn Bailey (35pts.) 10. Trevor Perry (34pts.) 11. Ethan Lane (33pts.)

TJ Thompson (24) celebrates his fourth points win of the season

        With the win Thompson pulled out to an eight point lead in the Championship standings over Carroll. Brendan Burcroff sits third 15 points behind with Joe Pisciotta a close fourth, only 17 points behind the lead. Blade Whitt and David Brownell sit in a tie for 5th, but both are 20 points behind the lead now.

by the numbers: facts and figures from NHMS

2 - Positions gained by Joe Pisciotta in the points (up to 4th, biggest gain this week)
4 - Points-paying wins for Thompson this season (leads all drivers)
6 - Different leaders in the race out of 11 total cars
11 - Top 5's for Drew Carroll to this point in the season (out of 11 races)
20 - Points separating the Top 6 in points. All Chase contenders still have a mathematical shot at the Championship
30.149 - Qualifying record at NHMS, still held by Drew Carroll
42 - Laps lead by TJ Thompson en route to his victory

2.19.13 Thompson Takes his first season victory in bristol

    The ARC Truck Series stormed into Thunder Valley, Bristol Motor Speedway on Tuesday night for the eighth week of the 2013A
season.  The 120 lap long Bristol race beat a few of the top ARC contenders, while others were able to sneak out unscathed. The night saw a total of six cautions, with everything from a self-spin to a six car pile-up. Ultimately, TJ Thompson would make an aggressive move to take the lead and would win by a comfortable 2.3 second margin.

TJ Thompson picks up his first win of the season after surviving the 120 lap race at Bristol

    Thompson would be your pole-sitter on the night, setting down a lap time of 15.153 seconds, with his DRC Racing teammate Chris Shella qualifying a close second with a time of 15.195. Revved Up Racing drivers Drew Carroll, Ben Nile, and Blade Whitt would round out the top 5 qualifiers.

DRC Racing drivers TJ Thompson (24) and Chris Shella (7) were the only two drivers to break into the 15.1 second range in qualifying

    TJ sustained the lead as the race went green, but would be passed by Shella around lap 5. Thompson would also be passed by Blade Whitt, as Shella increased his lead, before the first caution of the night flew for Shawn Bailey on lap 13. Bailey had been tapped by Michael Held going into Turn 3 and made slight contact with the wall before his truck came to a rest at the bottom of the racetrack. He would sustain slight damage, but would be able to continue. 

Michael Held (33) gets into Shawn Bailey (18) to bring out the first caution of the night

    The entire field would come down to pit road for service under this yellow. Shella was able to retain the lead, and Thompson barely beat Whitt out of the pits to restart second. Ben Nile, Daltyn England, and Ethan Lane completed the Top 5 for the restart on lap 19. The race would go another 18 laps under green, and the Top 3 remained the same. The caution flew again on lap 37 this time for Jason Rendell, who seemed to have some sort of mechanical failure and came to a stop on the high side of Turn 4. This would end his night.

Jason Rendell (98) appeared to have some sort of mechanical failure when he came to a complete stop in Turn 4

    Again the whole field would bring their trucks to the attention of their pit crews. Blade Whitt had an incredible pit stop and was
able to beat both Shella and Thompson off to take the lead for the restart. TJ would restart second, Shella third, Ethan Lane fourth, and Ben Nile would round out your Top 5 for the restart on lap 43. On the start, the DRC Racing drivers would fall to fourth and fifth as RUR drivers Blade Whitt, Ethan Lane, and Drew Carroll ran first, second, and third. On lap 50, Chris Shella would get loose in
front of Thompson, who ultimately made contact, sending Shella completely around. Ben Nile barely caught a piece of Shella's right rear as he spun, giving both drivers small damage. Both would be able to continue.

Chris Shella (7) spins around after accidental contact from teammate Thompson (24). Ben Nile (72) also caught a small piece of this

    Barry Hines decided to stay out under this caution as the rest of the field hit pitroad to gain some track position. He would restart
first followed by Ethan Lane who won the race off pitroad, Blade Whitt in third, Thompson fourth and Carroll rounding out the Top 5 for the lap 56 restart. The race would continue green for only eight laps and would be slowed again when Ethan Lane and TJ Thompson made contact and both spun around off Turn 2 after racing hard for the lead. Both were able to keep it off the wall and continue. However, this would end the night of early race-dominator Chris Shella who was sent hard into the Turn 1 wall after accidental contact from Ben Nile in an incident completely separate from the wreck off of Turn 2.

Thompson (24) and Lane (15) get together and go around off Turn 2 while racing hard for the lead

    Tires seemed to be valued on the night, as again all drivers hit pitroad. Blade Whitt would restart first followed by teammate Drew
Carroll, Connor Cross in third, Barry Hines fourth, and TJ Thompson rounding out the Top 5. The race received the green again on lap 70. Whitt and Carroll were able to gap the field pretty quickly, and Thompson would slide into third. The green didn't last very long though, as William Poigonnec and Michael Held got together off Turn 4 on lap 73. The wreck would end Held's night, and cause Poignonnec to undergo some serious repairs that would not allow him to return to the track until lap 113 (finished 40 laps down).

Michael Held (33) caught a piece of the wall of Turn 4 and slid down into William Poignonnec (89). The wreck would end Held's night, and put Poignonnec in the pits for extensive repairs

    Blade Whitt, Drew Carroll, and Ben Nile decided to stay out under this caution. Thompson, Lane, Cross, Bailey, and Hines all decided to come to pit road and get service. TJ would miss the commitment cone entering the pits and would be forced to restart at the end of the longest line. The Top 5 would be Whitt, Carroll, Hines, Lane, and Cross for the  restart on lap 80. Blade would lead a few laps before Lane caught and passed him. Whitt then spun the truck off Turn 4 on lap 88, but would not invoke a caution. The race
continued green with Lane now leading Thompson my mere tenths until Blade would once again spun off Turn 2 on lap 103, this time causing a caution.

Blade Whitt (8) spun twice during the 23 lap green flag run, causing a caution during his second loop on lap 103

    The entire pack would pit again, with Ben Nile deciding to take only right side tires while the rest took all four. Ben would lead the
field to the restart on lap 108, followed by TJ Thompson, Ethan Lane in third, Barry Hines in fourth, and Shawn Bailey restarting fifth. Nile chose to restart on the outside, and got a good jump on Thompson who spun his tires a bit. This allowed Lane to get to his inside. The two raced side-by-side through Turns 1-2, and got a good run on Nile down the back straightaway. Entering Turn 3, the Top 3 drivers were three wide.

Ben Nile (72), TJ Thompson (24), and Ethan Lane (15) raced three-wide into Turn 3. All three drivers would make it through without contact

    Nile took the outside, Thompson was in the middle, and Lane hugged the bottom. Miraculously, all three drivers made it out in one
piece, with TJ Thompson being the biggest benefactor. He was able to clear both Nile and Lane and started to pull away with just ten laps to go. Ethan would also get past Ben, who started to drop off on those two tires. Thompson would ultimately drive out to a 2.3 second win over Drew Carroll who was able to make up some spots in the last ten laps. Lane struggled with a loose truck on that last run, but was able to bring it home third. Barry Hines and Connor Cross battled it out for fourth for the entire last ten laps; Barry would be able to hold Connor off and retain fourth while Cross had to settle for fifth. Ben Nile found out the hard way that two tires didn't work, dropping all the way to sixth after leading with just 13 laps to go.

Thompson celebrates his 2.3 second victory over Drew Carroll

    Next week, the ARC Truck Series gets away from the short track beatin' and bangin' and heads to Atlanta Motor Speedway; a slick, fast 1.5 mile racetrack. David Brownell, still searching for his first win of the season, was dominant in Atlanta last season before getting caught up in some trouble. Will he be able to get some redemption? Will TJ Thompson be able to reassert the dominance he showed two and three seasons ago at AMS? Can Shella go back-to-back with Atlanta wins, despite the bad luck he's had the past few weeks? Check back here next week for the answers!

By the numbers: facts and figures from bristol

1 - At least 1 victory for TJ Thompson in every ARC season in which he had competed.
3 - Poles for TJ Thompson this season (leads all drivers).
3 - Top 3 finishes in three starts this season for Ethan Lane.
5 - Points separating sixth in points from eighth in points with just two more races before the Chase.
720 - Laps completed by TJ Thompson this season (out of 720).
840 - Miles run in ARC Truck Series competition to this point in the season.

2.19.2013 Ethan Lane Goes back-to-back in dover

    The seventh week of ARC Truck Series competition rolled into Dover International Speedway for 100 laps at the grueling mile-long
racetrack. Loose cars would be the story of the night, as several cautions were brought out for cars snapping around. 14 trucks sat on the starting grid, lead by pole-sitter Blade Whitt, Drew Carroll, and TJ Thompson.

The start of the ARC Truck Series Monster Mile 100 at Dover

    The field was slowed for the first time in the race on lap three. Coming off Turn 2, Jason Rendell caught the wall and got loose,
sliding down across the nose of David Brownell. Both cars would slide into the inside wall, but were able to continue. Also involved in the wreck were Chris Demerritt and William Poignonnec, who spun trying to avoid the previously spinning cars of Brownell and Rendell. Both sustained little damage and were able to continue.

Drivers scatter to avoid the spinning cars of David Brownell (3) and Jason Rendell (98). William Poignonnec (89) also spun

    A few drivers decided to take this opportunity to pit and adjust on their trucks, including TJ Thompson and Drew Carroll who pit in
from second and third. Blade Whitt stayed out, but lost internet connection and ended up going three laps down. After the caution laps, it was back to green flag racing on lap seven with Christopher Demeritt and Brendan Burcroff leading the field to the green. Just three laps later the caution flew again. This time it was for Chris Demeritt who lost it all by himself off Turn 4. No other cars were involved in this caution.

Chris Demeritt (04) spun off of Turn 4 to bring out the race's second caution

    The race went green again on lap 14 with Brendan Burcroff in first, TJ Thompson second and Ethan Lane (who had come from a 16th place starting position) rounding out the top three. Just two laps later Ethan had gotten around Thompson and was on Burcroff's bumper when they made slight contact. This sent Brendan around and brought out the third caution of the night.

Burcroff (68) went around after incidental contact from Ethan Lane (15). Lane and Thompson (24) got past without damage

    Under this caution, the top three pit for tires, while several others stayed out on the track. Lane, Thompson, and Burcroff would line up sixth, seventh, and eighth for the next restart. Lane would quickly dice through the field, and was back in the lead by the time the next caution flew for Chris Demeritt on lap 23.

Chris Demeritt (04) spun again off Turn 4 on lap 23. The wreck wouldn't end his night, but would give him some decent damage

    Lane would lead David Brownell and Brendan Burcroff back to the green on lap 28. A 13 lap green flag run would follow, in which TJ Thompson would get around Ethan Lane for the lead on lap 40. The run was ended when William Poignonnec and Mark England got together and spun around off Turn 2 on lap 41.

Mark England (16) and William Poignonnec (89) got together off Turn 2 to bring out the caution on lap 41

    Every driver in the field would pit under this caution as they were now inside their pit window. TJ Thompson retained the lead on pit road and would bring them back to the green flag on lap 44. Another twelve lap run was to follow. The caution flew for the fifth time when Blade Whitt got into the outside wall hard off of Turn 4. Upon further review of the replay, you could see netcode caused contact between him and TJ Thompson, who was making a pass on Blade.

Blade Whitt (7) was sent into the wall after netcode bounced him off TJ Thompson's (24) truck, though there was no actual contact

    Ethan Lane and TJ Thompson lead the field back to the green on lap 61. The race looked as though it was going to green to the end when Brendan Burcroff lost it off Turn 2 on lap 80. Once again most of the field hit the pits. The top two saw no change as Lane and Thompson lead the field back to the green flag on lap 86.

Brendan Burcroff (68) lost it off Turn 2 on lap 80 to bring out the race's seventh caution

    The final caution of the night flew off Turn 2 on the same lap of the restart. Barry Hines, who was only on two new tires, slid up
the track off of two into Drew Carroll who was outside of him. Drew went hard into the outside wall and then spun back down the track, collecting David Brownell. Both drivers blew their engines and were done for the night. 

Drew Carroll (87) is sent around after incidental contact from Barry Hines (57) off Turn 2

    This set up a ten lap run to the end with Lane and Thompson leading Barry Hines and Jason Rendell back to the green. Leaders Ethan Lane and TJ Thompson would pull two seconds on the pack, but the difference between the two would never be more than three tenths of a second. Thompson was all over Lane's bumper for the last three laps, but he was unable to make a move
and Ethan Lane would take his second ARC Truck Series race win in a row!

Ethan Lane celebrates his second consecutive ARC Truck Series victory

    Next week, the series heads to the bullring, Bristol Motor Speedway. There has never been a repeat winner in the ARC Truck Series at Bristol, and Chris Shella was the last to win when the series visited BMS two seasons ago. Who will survive and be able to pull out a win in Tennessee? Catch the coverage next week for a full race review here, as well as on our ARC Truck Series Race Hub set to
air next Thursday on our Youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbGS2CMJ0UweEnehZm2frIQ?feature=mhee.

by the numbers: facts and figures from dover

1 - Driver who has completed every lap this season; TJ Thompson
2 - Wins in two ARC Truck Series starts this season for Ethan Lane. They are also the only two wins of his ARC career.
7 - Top tens in seven starts for TJ Thompson this season (leads all drivers).
27 - Incidents this season for Ben Nile (least of the Top 5 in points).
145 - Laps lead by Ethan Lane in the past two races (out of 200 total).

1.29.13 whitt makes history, pulls off the 4 peat with indy win

    It certainly was a historic day in ARC history on Tuesday night. Blade Whitt continued his winning streak, breaking the
previous record of three consecutive victories. We also saw the race go green flag the entire way! That's right, not one caution flag brought the cars down to pace speeds. We were able to go 50 laps, flag-to-flag with no accidents. Awesome racing boys!

The start of the 3rd Annual Brickyard 125

    The day started with TJ Thompson grabbing the pole. Blade Whitt and William Poignonnec filled out the rest of the Top 3. Blade Whitt was able to make a bold pass on TJ Thompson for the lead on lap 1, asserting himself as a threat to win the race. As the opening laps wore on, the field spread out quickly.  The Top 3 of Blade Whitt, TJ Thompson, and Daltyn England checked out by about two seconds over the second pack of Brendan Bucroff, David Brownell, and William Poignonnec. Further back was two more
seperate packs of drivers.

The Top 3 were racing hard, swapping positions almost every lap

    About 15 laps in the Top 3 were racing extremely hard. TJ Thompson, Blade Whitt, and Daltyn England were repeatedly switching
positions. Some lead changes weren't even official as they couldn't hold it back to the line before the lead switched again! As this battle raged on, Brownell, Burcroff, and Poignonnec ran in a line an were catching the leaders little by little. Around the half way mark they had caught the leaders.

The racing got even harder when Brendan Burcroff, David Brownell, and William Poignonnec caught the lead pack

    This six truck pack lasted about seven laps before TJ and Blade started checking out on the rest of the drivers. By lap 30 TJ and Blade had two seconds back to third place Brendan Bucroff and then another two seconds back to what was left of the pack; David
Brownell, Daltyn England, and William Poignonnec. 

Ben Nile is the first driver to peel-off for green-flag pitstops

     Extremely hard racing was taking place throughout the field. On lap 31, green-flag pit stops were approaching as the race had been green since the start. Ben Nile was the first to take the daring move to bring it down to pit road for his stop.

Leaders TJ Thompson and Blade Whitt are some of the last to hit pit road on lap 34

    Over the next three laps the top six pitted, each with different strategies. Race leader TJ Thompson took only two tires on his stop. Blade Whitt, Brendan Burcroff, David Brownell, and William Poignonnec each took four tires on their money stop. Daltyn England had a great stop and was looking poised and ready to win the first race of his career when he was posted for too fast entering pit road. This ultimately left him with no shot for this win, as he needed to serve a stop and go penalty.

TJ Thompson pulls off a crazy save off Turn 2 with six laps to go, but loses two seconds to Blade Whitt in the process

    With around 10 laps to go, Blade Whitt was leading with TJ Thompson so close to his back bumper he couldn't see any day light
between the two. They were about 7 seconds ahead of third place Brendan Burcroff. With about 6 to go, TJ pulled out of formation with a daring but successful pass in Turn 3 to take the lead of the Brickyard 125. However, Whitt got right up the back of his bumper which got him extremely loose on the exit of Turn 2 the next lap. Thompson chased the truck all the way to the apron and was
able to save it, but lost about two seconds to Whitt in the process. TJ was driving hard to make a come-back, but it was ultimately too little-too late and Blade crossed the line .8 seconds in front of him for the win.

The difference from first place Blade Whitt to second place TJ Thompson at the checkered

    Close racing to the line took place throughout the field. Burcroff took home 3rd easily, sitting ten seconds behind the leaders and nine seconds ahead of fourth place, but behind that is was chaos. David Brownell and William Poignonnec raced it out
for fourth and fifth, and ultimately William would take fourth by .4 seconds. Daltyn England and Jason Rendell raced it out for sixth
and seventh in a drag race to the line, won by Rendell who took sixth by .039 seconds. Shawn Bailey and Ben Nile had an even closer drag race to the line for eighth with Shawn edging Nile out by .008 seconds! Jarrett Duncovich and David Schreck each went a lap down but still raced it out for 10th with very close racing!

The battles to the line between Jason Rendell and Daltyn England (Left) and Shawn Bailey and Ben Nile (Right)

    On the points side of things, Blade Whitt now has a 33-point lead over second place TJ Thompson and definitly looks like a lock
for the Chase. The battle for the Rookie of the Year has also tightened up with Jason Rendell gaining two spots in the points. This puts him in Chase contention and just eight points behind Ben Nile in the Rookie of the Year standings!

    Next week the ARC Truck Series heads closer to home to Rockingham Speedway for the running of the History 100.  Can Whitt extend his record any further? Will any driver be able to step up to the plate and knock Blade off the top spot? Will we finally have a third different winner this season? Check back next week to find out!

By the numbers: Facts and figures from Indianapolis

2 - Number of different winners in five races this season.
2 - Poles for TJ Thompson this season (leads all drivers).
5 - Races in January won by Revved Up Racing (The only other team to win was ECR, in the Bud Shootout).
33 - The biggest point lead since the induction of the new 43-point system.
1,000,000 - Dollars in winnings Blade has accumulated to this point in the season (most of any driver).

1.22.13 whitt pulls off the hat trick at charlotte

    The ARC Truck Series headed home on last Tuesday night for the annual ARC race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Damon Burnnette was quickest in practice and followed that up by grabbing the pole. The race went green with Burnnette, Blade Whitt, and TJ Thompson leading the 22 drivers down to the green for 90 laps of racing at the 1.5 mile oval.

    It didnt take long for the first caution to fall as that happened on lap 3. Marshall Gabell drove it hard into turn three and wound up 
pushing all the way up the track into TJ Thompson who was running fifth at the time. Thompson and Gabell both spun, but avoided any serious damage and were able to continue. Pole sitter Damon Burnnette spun and made significant impact with the wall. That ended his day.

    The race resumed with some two- and three-wide racing which led to a bigger incident on lap 19. It appeared Marshall Gabell got into the side of Jeff Ramsdell in turn one, starting the melee. Daltyn England, Christopher Shella, Danton Dressler, Trevor Perry and Shawn Bailey's races were ended by this wreck. Marshall Gabell was parked by ARC Official for his actions. The wreck also started an outrage from some drivers, particularly Trevor Perry, who's voice was full of emotion as he uttered, "You are not gonna ruin my race or season." Jeff Ramsdell, William Poignonnec, and Jason Rendell were also involved with some damage, but were able to continue.

    After that the race got into a green flag trend which saw Blade Whitt dominating once again at the front of the pack with TJ Thompson staying about six tenths back through out the next run. 

    A caution came out with about 20 to go which bunched the field up one more time. The first 10 laps of the run saw Blade Whitt and TJ Thompson check out from the rest of the pack and TJ Thompson was just stalking 2 car lengths behind. Behind that Ben Nile, David Brownell, Brendan Burcroff, Connor Cross, and David Schreck has a awesome battle going on for position's 3-7.

    With about 10 to go Blade Whitt started pulling away from TJ Thompson lap-by-lap, and little-by-little the gap grew between 1st and 2nd. Ben Nile also checked out from the pack and was securely in 3rd, about 6 seconds off the leader.

    As the race started to wind down Connor Cross's Silverado got unbelievably loose, allowing Brownell and Burcroff to drive by. It would cause Connor to fall back to eventually finish 6th. With around 5 to go the battle of the Davids (David Brownell and David Schreck) heated up as they got together coming off turn 2. Both kept the cars straight but Schreck lost a bunch of track position and had to settle for 7th.

    Blade Whitt crossed the line to win the ARC HOF @ CMS by 3.663 seconds over 2nd place TJ Thompson, claiming his 3rd consecutive win and 4th consecutive for his team RUR. Ben Nile Brought it home in a respectable 3rd giving him 2 top 3's in a row.

    Next week, the ARC Truck Series heads to Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the 3rd Annual Brickyard 125! You can feel the excitement building as Blade Whitt is looking for a record breaking 4th straight win, but others are lurking to get there hands on the Brickyard 125 trophy and claim there spot at the top with a win in the 2nd biggest race of the ARC Season! We will see you Tuesday night to find out who will come out victorious!

by the numbers: facts and figures from charlotte

3 - wins in a row for Blade Whitt.
4 - wins in a row for RUR.
4 - Points races this season with more than 15 drivers starting.
6 - races straight (dating back to last season) that the pole sitter didn't win.
22 - Drivers on the starting grid in Charlotte tying the record for the most drivers in a single event for the 3rd time.
40 - Different pole sitters in the ARC Truck Series.
186 - Laps led for Blade Whitt so far this season.

1.15.13 Martinsville Makes Two-In-A-Row for whitt

    Week three of the ARC Truck Series Season 8 sent us north to Martinsville, Virginia, the rough in tumble short track of the 
east. We had it all; green flag runs, bump and runs, a 6 car pile up, and even a 1 lap shootout. The day started off with TJ Thompson getting the pole with a fairly quick lap time. He edged out the pole with a 19.636 to Blade Whitt's 19.637. It was TJ's first pole of the season, and the 6th of his career.

    The race started with a wreck on lap one when David Schreck got into the back of Daltyn England and spun. A few other
drivers piled in. Drivers involved included Schreck, Jeff Ramsdell, Jason Rendell, and David Brownell. All would be able to continue.

    On lap 20 Daltyn spun Jarrett Duncovich, but said it was unintentional. That pretty much ended Jarrett's day as he limped around the track to finish 10th, 14 laps down. Others involved include Shawn Bailey, David Schreck, and Connor Cross.

    As race got back to green, the race saw Blade Whitt check out on the field. He pulled out to a 7 second lead during the next 50 lap green flag run. Ben Nile eventually lost it and spun, bringing out another caution on lap 65. After pit stops the top 3 was Blade Whitt, Jeff Ramsdell, and TJ Thompson.

    The next restart saw Blade start to check out again, Jeff Ramsdell try desperately to keep up with him, and David Brownell getting around TJ Thompson. Brownell's truck got extremely tight over the next 20 laps, causing him to lose ground. He was battling side by side with Daltyn England when England got a little loose, slid up the track, and spun Brownell around, bringing out the caution with just 30 laps to go. Neither car was damaged.

    The caution flew once again for a self spin on lap 110. Your leaders Blade Whitt, Jeff Ramsdell, and TJ Thompson pit for tires 
under this caution. Blade Whitt got caught speeding so he was forced to start at the rear of the field.  Daltyn England and David Brownell stayed out during the caution.

    When the race restarted on lap 113, with just 8 to go, England got a good jump and pulled a car length on the field. Exiting turn two, TJ Thompson and David Brownell both got extremely loose. Connor Cross barely got into the back of Brownell and lost control, ending his night. Brownell and Thompson had only cosmetic damage, and were able to continue.

    This set the race up for a 1 lap shootout. Daltyn England restarted 1st, Jeff Ramsdell on new tires 2nd, David Brownell 3rd, and 
Blade Whitt recovering from that speeding penalty rounded out your top 4. As soon as they got into turn one the melee broke out.
Jeff Ramsdell ran into the back of leader Daltyn England, which caused him to wreck, and in-turn Brownell slammed into the back of
Ramsdell and Burcroff. Rendell got into the back of Thompson, adding them to the list of cars involved.

    Blade Whitt was able to avoid it all and come out victorious! His 2nd win in a row came on a night that he dominated leading 77 of 
the 120 laps. Ben Nile (Mr. were did he come from!?) was the only other car that was able to avoid the wreck, putting him 2nd, his best career finish. Ramsdell, Rendell, and Thompson rounded out your top 5 respectively.

    Next week the ARC Truck Series heads home to the Charlotte Motor Speedway, a track known for it's multi-groove fast paced racing. Who will take it all in Charlotte? Will RUR win 4 consecutive races? Can anyone stop them? If yes who? Can DRC Racing win 4 consecutive Charlotte races? Will ECR, TSR, or SBM see their first victory? Find out next Tuesday night!

by the numbers: facts and figures from martinsville

2 - Wins Straight for Blade Whitt.
3 - Wins Straight for RUR.
3 - Consecutive wins for DRC Racing at Charlotte heading into next week's race
5 - Races straight (dating back to last season) that the pole sitter didn't win.
15 - ATLEAST 15 people in all 3 points races with season.
77 - Laps Led for Blade Whitt on the night.

1.8.13 Whitt Gambles and wins in vegas

    The ARC Truck Series invaded Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the Gambler's 90 last night and proving true to its name, it was a wild and risky race. The night started off with William McCawley grabbing the pole with a awesome lap time.

The green flag flew for 18 drivers at the start of the Gambler's 90 at Las Vegas

    The race opened up with a 15 lap green flag run before the first cautions came out. At the time you could tell who the major 
contenders were; Blade Whitt, Danton Dressler, and Christopher Shella all got to the Top 5 early. Plus if you asked anyone they would tell you TJ Thompson had a rocket, but had trouble staying up front. 

The first run saw William McCawley, TJ Thompson, Blade Whitt, and Chris Shella at the front

    The race had a lot of green flag hard racing but was plagued with 8 cautions due to many self spins.

    An incident occurred on lap 37 between Jeff Ramsdell and Scott Heath when Ramsdell apparently got into the back of Scott Heath, Heath then drove to the pits, got his truck repaired, then proceeded to drive back onto the track to retaliate. That ended both of their
days.

Jeff Ramsdell's bad luck in ARC hit him again on Tuesday. Retaliation for an earlier incident with Scott Heath sent him around and ended both drivers's days

    With around 20 to go Blade Whitt Danton Dressler and Christopher Shella (in his first race back for his limited schedule with ARC 
this season) were racing extremely hard for the lead. 

The Top 3 battled hard through the middle part of the race

    After someone lost control and spun out, the caution flag flew for the seventh time. With just nine laps to go on the restart, Blade Whitt stayed out under caution to restart first, with Joe Pisciotta Jr. lining up second and David Brownell restarting in third. Danton Dressler, Chris Shella, and TJ Thompson all gave up their spots in the Top 5 to come down for tires and fuel. As the race restarted,
 Pisciotta Jr. and Brownell quickly dropped to the back, and ended up finishing 9th and 10th respectively. During that Blade Whitt drove out to a .7 second lead while the DRC guys fought to get back to the front. Danton Dressler finally got up to second and was chasing Blade down about a tenth a lap. You could feel the emotion and tension building in TeamSpeak. Dressler had closed all the way down to two tenths off Blade with only two laps to go when the 8th and final caution flag flew, ending the race. Joe Pisciotta Jr had gotten together with Cody Bolinske to bring it out.

Blade Whitt crosses the finish line for the checkered under caution

    Blade Whitt grabbed the win for his third career victory and made it two in a row for his team Revved Up Racing. DRC Racing finished the race in positions two to four.

    Next the Series heads to The Paper Clip, Martinsville Speedway, for the third race of the season. It'll be 120 Laps of short track beatin' and bangin'!

30 second review: las vegas

Winner: Blade Whitt
Pole Sitter: William McCauley
Led Most Laps: Blade Whitt

by the numbers: facts and figures from las vegas

2 - Poles in a row for William McCauley
2 - Wins Straight for RUR
3 - Drivers that have gotten Top 10's in both races in the 2013 season.
6 - People who started their first ARC race at Las Vegas
7 - Races since Blade Whitt's last win (Race 11: Michigan, Season 7)
57 - Days since Blade Whitt's last win (November 13, 2012)

1.1.13 pisciotta with an emotional win in the Daytona 125

Joe Pisciotta celebrates his first ARC Truck Series Win

    The ARC Truck Series kicked off their 8th Season in a big way with the Daytona 125. The race had everything from a spread-out 17 lap green flag run to a big wreck, to 195 Grandpa making his first start in several seasons to a first-time winner in Joe Pisciotta. To make it even more special, Joe dedicated his win to his mom's best friend whom passed away from cancer just days before the event.
It was definitely a great and emotional start the new season!

The grid for the ARC Daytona 125

    20 drivers would be on the grid for the night. William McCawley grabbed the pole with a 47.756 second lap time. Connor Cross, Chris Demeritt, Shawn Bailey, and Jason Rendell would complete the Top 5 starting positions. When the race started, the pack spread out pretty quickly and had a 16 lap opening green flag run. The race saw its first caution when leaders Ben Nile, Trevor Perry, and TJ Thompson got together in the Tri-Oval.

Trevor Perry, Ben Nile, and TJ Thompson get together to bring out the first caution of the night, ending a 17 lap green flag run

    The race went back to green on lap 21. Nine laps would elapse before the next accident. Off Turn 4, Jeff Ramsdell got a tap from David Brownell which sent him down the track into Blade Whitt. Blade would then spin up the track and collect Ben Nile in this wreck.

David Brownell and Jeff Ramsdell get into Blade Whitt and Ben Nile to bring out the race's second caution

    After some pit strategy by a few drivers, we would resume green flag conditions on lap 34. You could tell business was starting to
pick up as the lead pack saw two-wide racing four rows deep. Another quick caution came out on lap 37 when Jeff Ramsdell got spun around by Jarrett Duncovich.

Jeff Ramsdell spins through the tri-oval after contact from Jarrett Duncovich

    And by the restart on lap 42, you could tell the drivers knew there were less than ten laps left in the race. Two and three wide racing was prevalent on this restart. Not surprisingly, a wreck in Turn 3 two laps later would turn into the big one. Brendan Burcroff, who was running in the middle lane of a three-wide two-deep situation, slid up into William McCawley and sent him spinning. Eleven cars (basically the entire lead pack) would end up in the wreck with some sort of damage.

On lap 44, the inevitable 'Big One' at Daytona broke out after accidental contact between Burcroff and McCawley

    This set up a Green-White-Checkered finish which saw Joe Pisciotta Jr. restarting with the lead. He and his Revved Up Racing teammate Blade Whitt got an awesome restart, and were able to pull well away from the rest of the field. This basically locked up the win for Joe. He and Blade would end up crossing the line 3.1 seconds ahead of the third place Connor Cross.

Blade Whitt pushes RUR teammate Joe Pisciotta to his first ARC victory

    And with that, the ARC Truck Series heads off to Las Vegas for our next event. Congratulations to Joe Pisciotta Jr. on his first ARC
race win, and to the entire RUR team on their Daytona victory! We’ll see everyone next Tuesday night for the Gambler’s 90 lapper in Vegas!

by the numbers: facts and figures from daytona

5 - Drivers whose first career ARC win came in the Daytona 125.
3 - Drivers who finished in the top 10 with the first name William.
4 - Seasons in a row the winner of the Daytona 125 has started 9th or worse.
4 - Drivers that made there first career starts in the 8th Annual Daytona 125.
10 - Laps led by the Revved Up Racing team en route to their 1-2 finish.
20 - Races it took for Joe Pisciotta Jr. to score his first career win.
34 - Different people have now won an ARC Truck Series race.
54 - Laps led by Joe Pisciotta Jr. in his career. (28th all time)

12.30.12 burcroff wins the shootout

The green flag flies on the 8th Season of the ARC Truck Series

    The ARC Truck Series season 8 dawned with the ARC Shootout non points event at Daytona. Connor Cross got the pole to start the
race. There was a quick yellow on the lap 2 that involved four of the top six drivers (Jeff Ramsdell, Mark Shaffer, TJ Thompson, and Connor Cross), as well as a few others. This left Shawn Bailey in the lead for the restart, with Jason Rendell to his outside. Shawn lead a few laps while Blade Whitt, Joe Pisciotta Jr, David Brownell, and Brendan Burcroff all lurked in the back of the lead pack.

Chaos unfolded early, taking 4 of the top 6 on merely the second lap

    On lap 12 the big one started with Shawn bailey getting spun around while a bunch of drivers piled into it. David Brownell barely squeaked by Shawn's spinning car. Some of the drivers involved were Shawn Bailey, TJ Thompson, Jason Rendell, Joe Piscotta Jr, and Connor Cross among others.

Shawn Bailey got spun on lap 12, which set off the biggest wreck of the night

    When the race restarted Brenden Queen took the lead in turn one of the restart on lap 18, however ECR Teammates Brendan Burcroff and David Brownell quickly got together in a tandem and broke away from the pack.

Blade Whitt and Brenden Queen get together to bring out the race-ending caution on lap 24

    With just two to go a caution came out ending the race, with a wrecking involving Blade Whitt and a few others. At the point of caution Brendan Bucrcroff was about 1.5 Seconds ahead of the 3rd place car. Brendan Bucroff got the win, followed by teammate David Brownell and Jarrett Duncovich grabbed a final spot on the podium.

Brendan Burcroff crosses the line under caution to take the Shootout victory

    Next the series gears up for a official practice on Monday night, culminating with the 8th Annual Daytona 125 on Tuesday!

12.18.12 Thompson Sweeps last two races, ramsdell champion

TJ Thompson took the checkered flag for the second week in a row at the Homestead season finale

  TJ Thompson wins back-to-back at Iowa and now Homestead-Miami. This race was a wild one from the start. Blade Whitt grabbed the pole for the event, which was his second this season. The race opened with a 15 lap green flag run in which Blade Whitt, TJ Thompson, and Jeff Ramsdell would show some strength. The three pulled away from the rest of the field by about 3 seconds. Unfortunately, the race would be plagued by 6 cautions, along with some beating and banging that lead to retaliation. Blade Whitt and Shawn Bailey were both parked for their on-track actions. 

Shawn Bailey went around after contact with race-long rival Blade Whitt

    A restart on lap 17 saw championship leader Jeff Ramsdell's engine blow-up. This caused a big crash which gave extensive damage to both David Brownell and Brendan Burcroff's trucks. Ramsdell was able to get his truck fixed up but went 2 laps down in the process. In the mean time TJ Thompson was leading with Jason Rendell following his every move.

Everyone thought Jeff Ramsdell's championship was gone after this wreck about halfway through the race

   At that point in the race it seemed like Thompson was going to easily win the championship. However, through a remarkable turn of events, along with cautions falling exactly when Jeff needed them most, he worked his way back up to finish 2nd in the event and win his first ARC Truck Series Championship! The difference in between the Top 2: one single point.

Despite a badly damaged truck, Jeff Ramsdell placed second, earning him the ARC Season 7 Championship by one point over TJ Thompson

 And with that, we look forward to a great 2013 season which starts January 1st!

12.11.2012 Thompson Takes Iowa

TJ Thompson was you winner at Iowa Speedway

   TJ Thompson won The Subway 100 at Iowa Speedway on Tuesday. The race opened with a 55 Lap green flag run in which Blade Whitt seemed to be the dominate truck, driving out to over a 3 second lead over Jeff Ramsdell and Thompson. That all changed when Jason Rendell spun on the back straight bringing out the race's first caution.

Jason Rendell brought out the first caution after a spin on the front straight-away.

    When Blade sped on pit road, Thompson took the lead. The race saw 2 more cautions on the night, along with a stunning 4 lap dash for the cash, which saw TJ Thompson holding off Blade Whitt along with a hard-charging Brendan Burcroff who had come in and gotten four tires under the last caution.

    On the championship side of things, Jeff Ramsdell seemed like a top 3 lock for the night, when Burcroff did a slide job on him on the final restart. This caused Ramsdell to lose some track position and his temper. David Brownell struggled with his car in the opening run. He had gotten is adjusted to his liking when he got into the wall and had to settle for 6th. TJ's win puts him right back in the thick of things with just one race remaining for the Championship!

Championship leader Jeff Ramsdell was fast all night, but struggled with bad luck. In this instance, an accidental tap from Blade Whitt sent him into the wall.

By the numbers: Facts and figures from iowa

3 - Cautions in the last two races
4 - Races this season in which Blade Whitt has led the most laps, but failed to win.
14 - Top 10's this season for TJ Thompson (leads all drivers)
21 - Race winless streak TJ Thompson broke with his win.
160 - Days since TJ's last win (Texas of Season 6, July 4th)
400 - laps led in Blade Whitt's career (4th all time)
1 - Races left in the 7th season of ARC
4 - Drivers still with a mathematic chance at the championship going into Homestead