Series makes 2011 announcements 2010-12-04

SPEED Announces 10-Race ARCA Television Schedule for 2011 to Highlight Championship Awards Banquet Press Conference

(COVINGTON, Ky.) - As a preamble to the 58th annual ARCA Racing Series Championship Awards Banquet at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center, ARCA held its annual end-of-season press conference, during which the series released its 2011 television schedule, among other announcements.

Officials from ARCA and SPEED jointly announced the 2011 SPEED television schedule for the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards, comprised of 10 events to be televised live or same-day delayed on the popular network. SPEED pit reporter Jim Tretow was on hand for the announcement, as was Phil Parsons, an in-race analyst for the network and host for this evening's Championship Awards Banquet.

"Our relationship with ARCA dates back to the early days of the network," said Hunter Nickell, president of SPEED. "We look forward to our continued relationship and working together to deliver great racing to a very supportive group of fans."

SPEED will kick off its live flag-to-flag ARCA coverage at Daytona International Speedway with the 48th running of the Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 at 4 p.m. Eastern on Saturday, February 12.

"ARCA and SPEED have invested a great deal over time in this relationship," said Ron Drager, president of ARCA. "Despite the tremendous evolution in the racing and television industries in the past 15 years, our partnership has never wavered and, in fact, has grown stronger over time. We're very pleased that SPEED will continue to be the television home for the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards."

In addition to Daytona, other events scheduled for live and/or same-day coverage in 2010 include Talladega Superspeedway on April 15, Chicagoland Speedway on June 4, events at Pocono Raceway on June 11 and August 6, Michigan International Speedway on June 17, Iowa Speedway on July 16, Kansas Speedway on October 7, and the season finale at Toledo Speedway on October 16.

ARCA's relationship with SPEED dates back to April 20, 1997, when the network (then Speedvision) covered the ARCA race at Salem (Ind.) Speedway. Since then, SPEED has aired a total of 179 ARCA races, making the 2011 opener at Daytona the 180th.

Another special announcement at the press conference was the unveiling of the full radio broadcast schedule for the BAS Racing Network. Host D.C. Bash and BAS, based in Fremont, Ohio, will carry each of the series' 19 races to a growing network of affiliates nationwide after a five-race trial period in 2010.

Leading off a series of sponsorship renewals, the University of Northwestern Ohio (UNOH), located in Lima, was announced as the series' official high performance education university for the eighth consecutive year. Steve Farmer, vice president of corporate development for UNOH, represented the university at the press conference. Farmer announced that Ty Dillon, winner of the last two ARCA Racing Series races in 2010, will enter a UNOH-branded Richard Childress Racing Development Chevrolet in the 2011 season opener at Daytona International Speedway on February 12.

ARCA's relationship with Prestolite Performance and the Mallory Ignition system will extend into its seventh season in 2011. Scott Fox, vice president of marketing for Prestolite Performance, joined ARCA officials for the special announcement.

ARCA announced an agreement with JRi Development Group in which the Mooresville, N.C.-based JRi will become the Official Shock of ARCA. Along with the partnership will come a mandated shock program for the restrictor plate races at Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway.

Additionally, numerous special awards from other ARCA Racing Series performance partners were given out to drivers and owners in attendance. JE Pistons, Lincoln Electric, SW Scales by Intercomp, Performance Friction Brakes, Goodridge, Summit Racing Products, Holley, Staubli, and Fast Track High Performance Driving School were among the companies presenting awards to series champion Patrick Sheltra and announcing partnership renewals. Print Resources, S&S Volvo, G-Force Racing Gear, Hawk Performance, and CV Products were also represented with special awards or partnership announcements.

-source: arca