• Is there anyone you are keeping your eye on this season? Is there a driver you are impressed with after three races?
Chris Knight: Yeah, of course, I’ve been impressed with some drivers this season.
I think Mason Mingus in his first full-season of ARCA competition for Win-Tron Racing has done well to stay within the championship grasp with nine-time champion Frank Kimmel. Hopefully, he can stay in the mix.
Milka Duno has come into her own in the ARCA Racing Series. I think a lot of that has to do with her team with Venturini Motorsports, but I think she is also getting the confidence she needs to know that she can get the job done. I only expect bigger things from her this season.
Justin Boston, also driving for Venturini Motorsports has done a nice job. Let’s face it, the young-man hasn’t had a lot of experience in stock cars, but he’s showing that doesn’t matter. A pole at Salem Speedway, a place very hard to do opened a lot of eyes.
Other drivers who are showing some signs of life are Spencer Gallagher who’s showing some speed and Mason Mitchell driving for Roulo Bros. Racing, the defending championship team and Enfinger, who despite having a sour run at Daytona for Team BCR Racing is poised to run the full schedule and be a championship threat.
Oh, and if you’re wondering why I’m not saying anything about Frank Kimmel. Why should I? It’s not surprising!
Adam Niemeyer: As I said above, I don’t follow ARCA much but I have been impressed with how Milka Duno—the former IndyCar driver—has done in stock cars. She had a good finish in the last race at Salem and did well at Daytona from what I remember. I’d love to keep tabs on her progression this year.
AnnMarie Strawhand: I would have to say I am happy to see John Wes Townley getting his life together and doing well with his racing. He is a good looking and very marketable driver and I hope he can win more and show he can overcome his past and be successful. I am pulling for him.
• Talladega’s on deck as well for ARCA, Friday afternoon. What kind of race can we expect?
Erin Crocker Evernham: A wild one (speaking from experience) :) It’s ARCA at Talladega! It will be a fast and exciting race for sure!
Chris Knight: I hope they will play it safe until the last 15 laps or so. Usually, the Talladega ARCA race is a good show and I expect the same Friday afternoon.
If you have SPEED, I encourage you to watch the race live at 5:00 p.m. Eastern. Not only will you see a peak of some of the drivers to watch for the future, but also some classic restrictor plate racing.
Adam Niemeyer: I always enjoy watching the ARCA guys and girls take on the big tracks like Daytona and Talladega because you never know what you’re going to see. Did anyone expect John Wes Townley to win at Daytona? I certainly didn’t.
AnnMarie Strawhand: I get very concerned every time I see a big group inexperienced racers at over their head speeds for ARCA at Talladega. In which there are many inexperienced drivers that come in to race there with buy-a-ride situations.
I feel ARCA needs to get much stricter on who they allow to race on super-speedways and I find myself holding my breath for much of the race. This is not fair to the experienced racers who deserve to be there and can get taken out at any time by scary and dangerous mistakes of others.
NASCAR K&N Pro Series East:
• The NASCAR K&N Pro Series East is well known as a stomping ground for producing some of the future fixtures of the sport. In fact, Ryan Gifford, a diversity driver produced his first win this season on Thursday night at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway for Rev Racing. Your thoughts on the K&N Division and Gifford’s win?
Erin Crocker Evernham: I think the K&N Series has really become a great competitive series for up and coming drivers. I was really happy to see Ryan Gifford get to victory lane!
Chris Knight: Congratulations to Ryan Gifford. I know he’s been trying to win for a while now and has gone through some personal hardship, so it’s nice to see things work out for him.
I like the NASCAR K&N division, it’s another version of ARCA in my eyes, but you see a great stream of drivers and teams competing on the circuit, just not some of the national tracks that ARCA does. That being said though, I enjoy some K&N racing, especially on the short tracks, because you never know who will end up in victory lane.
AnnMarie Strawhand: I cannot say enough good about this division – it is producing great drivers and realistically preparing them for Nationwide and Trucks. I have to say that given the choice if a client comes to me with aspirations to go Nationwide / Truck I direct them to the K&N Series, first and foremost.
• Is there anyone you are keeping your eye on this season? Is there a driver you are impressed with after four races in 2013? For example, Brett Moffitt, Ryan Gifford, Gray Gaulding, Ben Kennedy or Kenzie Ruston?
Erin Crocker Evernham: I have been really impressed with a number of the young and up and coming drivers. Of course, being a woman driver, I have to say I have been really impressed with Kenzie Ruston so far!
Chris Knight: Not surprised to see Brett Moffitt doing a good job for Shigeaki Hattori and his bunch, but I’m liking what I’m seeing from Ben Kennedy and Kenzie Ruston so far in 2013.
Ben Kennedy finally after years of trying was able to win a race in dominating fashion at Five Flags (Fla.) Speedway and this won’t be the last time we hear from him or even see him in victory lane in 2013. I’m also anxious to see what he will do in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series later this year for Turner Scott Motorsports. He’s someone you cannot not cheer for.
You’re going to have to keep your eyes on Kenzie Ruston driving the No. 34 AccuDocs Chevrolet Impala for Turner Scott Motorsports. She’s been highly impressive this season and I think will be someone we’re going to have to watch not only this year, but for many years to come.
I believe if she’s able to win this year, she’ll be the first female to do so in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series. I’ve been saying it since Daytona and I don’t expect her to disappoint.
Also, have to give a shout-out to Gray Gaulding. He’s done a good job in his first season of NASCAR K&N Pro Series East competition. Being so young, he’s been quite strong and I look forward to seeing him do well the rest of the year.
AnnMarie Strawhand: Talk about sleepers, how about Brandon Gdovic? This is a quiet young man, but he is really impressing me with his smooth and heads-up driving style. He won at Greenville and you will see more wins this year – he is a smart, cool, calm and confident racer with a lot of maturity. He is like a young Matt Kenseth in many ways. Nice, down to earth kid and nice family too.
Thanks for reading! We’ll face-off again after Talladega!
