Toledo Gets Ready for Menards 200 Race Weekend
Toledo Gets Ready for Menards 200 Race Weekend
A tremendous variety of activities, promotions and appearances at and away from the track to hype the event have led to perhaps the biggest pre-race push in the history of the ½ mile Glass City oval. NASCAR drivers Ken Schrader and Matt Crafton will race against the ARCA stars, while David Ragan will sign autographs Sunday afternoon.
Two week-night events will get things moving at the Glass City oval with the Jazz Motorsports Bike Night in the track parking lot Wednesday, May 19 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. The Placer's Car Club Cruise-In is set for every Thursday night from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Admission to both of these events is free.
The ARCA Fan Fest will run all 3 days in the track's main parking lot. The interactive event features games, displays, exhibits and more! The event is free of charge and begins at 4 p.m. Friday. The Fan Fest will continue Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday from 10:30 to the start of the 200 lap contest.
Racing kicks off Friday, May 21 with Toledo's weekly Friday night show, but with a special flavor added. Open-wheel Sprint Car racing with the Buckeye 305 Sprint Cars hits Toledo, and will be joined by the track's weekly ARCA Sportsman and Factory Stock divisions. It's also Kid's Night, sponsored by Qualite Sports Lighting Systems. ALL kids to age 14 will be admitted FREE and receive a free hot dog, chips and a drink, courtesy of Bar S Hot dogs, Sherwood Foods, Seyfert's Snacks and the Dr. Pepper/Snapple Group. The May 21 event is part of the Valvoline Summer Racing Series presented by Cumulus Radio. A group of ARCA drivers from both the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards and RE/MAX and the ARCA Truck Series will conduct an autograph session from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the spectator concourse.
Next door to the track at the newly-renovated Speedway Bar and Grille, many of the ARCA teams will be gathering to watch the NASCAR Camping World Series truck race Friday night from Charlotte, NC. The event will be shown on big screen TV's, courtesy of Aaron's. Admission is free and the public is welcome.
Saturday's schedule has practice and Menards pole qualifying for the ARCA Racing Series and practice, qualifying and a 50 lap ARCA Truck race. The May 22 date has practice starting at 11:15 a.m., time trials at 2:15 and the ARCA Truck race will cap off the day with a 5 p.m. green flag. Aaron's will also host the NASCAR All Star race party at the Bar/Grille Saturday night. The race will be shown live on SPEED on the Aaron's big screen TV's. Admission to the bar/grille is free and the public is welcome.
Sunday's activities kick off with the Fan Fest opening at 10:30 a.m. The track ticket office and front gates will also open at that time, with an on-track autograph session for the ARCA drivers set for Noon. Pre-race festivities will begin at 1:30 and the green flag drops on the Menards 200 presented by Federated Car Care at 2 p.m.
The ARCA drivers will be making a host of appearances throughout the Toledo area leading up to the May 23 race. 9-time ARCA champ Frank Kimmel will be at the Menards Holland, OH store Thursday, May 20 from noon to 1:30, and at the Toledo North store (across from the speedway) from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Kimmel will also be at the Oregon, OH store Friday, May 21 from Noon to 1:30 p.m.
For the first time, ARCA drivers will take part in an autograph session at Cedar Point in Sandusky, OH., Thursday, May 20 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Scheduled to appear are Robb Brent, Joey Coulter, Will Kimmel, Justin Marks and Patrick Sheltra.
Fans can enter a chance to win the Messina Wild Life Management "Wave the Green Flag" contest at participating Menards stores up until Wednesday, May 19. The Toledo area Aaron's stores are also holding a contest for the "Best Seats in the House", which will be located atop the turn 1 suite at Toledo Speedway! Fans can enter at any of the 4 Toledo-area Aaron's stores through Wednesday, May 19.
A small amount of reserved seats still remain for the 200 lap contest. Please call the track office at 419-727-1100. Visa and Mastercard are accepted for phone orders. General admission tickets will go on sale race day at 11 a.m. at the track. Toledo Speedway is located on Benore Road at the I-75/Alexis Road exit on the Michigan-Ohio border.