A nine-time national champion, a Formula 1 veteran, a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series star, former Salem winners and a wave of new talent are preparing for the ARCA 200 race presented by Federated Auto Parts on Sunday April 13 at the Salem (IN) Speedway.
“ARCA offers some of the most competitive racing in the sport and Federated is pleased to be the presenting sponsor of the ARCA 200 in Salem,” said J.R. Bishop, Federated’s director of racing. “ARCA has become the true developmental series for NASCAR with many drivers moving from ARCA to the Sprint Cup Series.”
Federated will also be the presenting sponsor at two other ARCA races this season in Toledo, OH (May 18) and the DuQuoin, IL (September 1).
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series veteran and longtime Federated spokesperson Ken Schrader will be making his 47th career series attempt at Salem leading the parade of entrants which also includes nine-time ARCA RE/MAX Series national champion Frank Kimmel and Formula 1 veteran Scott Speed.
“Anyone who thinks they can just drop in on an ARCA race and clean up had better re-think that one,” said Schrader. “It’s flat tough to win over there, especially at Salem.”
"Salem will always be challenging," said Kimmel. "It’s rough; that’s all there is to it. And the amount of concentration it takes to stay with it all day long is what, I think, makes it so challenging."
Formula 1 veteran Scott Speed, who drives the Red Bull Toyota for Eddie Sharp Racing, will be making his career-first Salem appearance. "I’ve heard a lot about that little Salem short-track," said Speed. "I’ve heard it’s very demanding, radical, different and bumpy – that it’s a difficult track to master. I’ll just do what I always do – keep an open mind. I look forward to the challenge."
Speed’s career-best Formula 1 finishes are ninth in the Monaco Grand Prix in 2007 and ninth in the Australian Grand Prix in 2006, 10th in the Canadian Grand Prix and 10th in the French Grand Prix in 2006.
For more information, visit www.federatedautoparts.com.
