Toledo Speedway

In a uniquely national touring series, the ARCA Menards Series features drivers from all over the United States, as well as international stars. One of the names fans will meet on October 7th, however, is very close to home. 

Meet Brownstown-native Jeffrey Maczink, who finished ninth in the ARCA return to Flat Rock back in May, and is expected to compete in the ARCA Menards Series finale on October 7th.

Toledo Speedway spoke with Maczink at Michigan Speedway in advance of the final stretch of the ARCA Menards Series season. The local racer spent time talking about his experience in racing, love of Toledo, as well as what he looks forward to in the final ARCA Menards Series race of the season - the Toledo Speedway Shore Lunch 200 presented by CGS Imaging on October 7th.

Tickets for this event are available now, and can be picked up at a discount at select Menards locations.

What's the biggest difference going from Flat Rock to Toledo Speedway? 

Between Flat Rock and Toledo, you have a little more straightaway, a little more time to think about things.

The speed is double. Things happen in a hurry there [at Toledo]… I found that out last year [laughs]. 

We had something fail in the front end, and we slammed it in the wall in the right front. 

It's a lot of fun to drive, and you’ve got to have some discipline when you race [at Toledo]. It's not that easy. Both turns are actually a little different. It’s hard to tell from looking at it, but turn one and two is a little bit different than three and four. Three and four seems like it gets a little bit tighter coming off the corner.

I like both places. I started out at Flat Rock. but I raced a lot of years at Toledo also, and so I consider those two my home tracks. 

Tell me about your first time coming to Toledo. 

My first time going Toledo - I ran a Sportsman car there, and I ran Flat Rock in the street stock class for a couple of years. They started coming up with a brand new Sportsman series they wanted to develop. 

It was basically you take a street stock and add headers to it, there wasn't too many things we had to change. 

The engines were about the same, so we decided we wanted to try doing that. 

I was part of the inaugural group of drivers that went out there, and I won my first heat race. So it was a pretty special moment there. And like I said, after that, I was kind of hooked on that racetrack. I really liked it. 

That was with the old pavement too… It was pretty bumpy back then. You’d go in the corner and you could hear the tires screeching, intermediately going over the bumps, through the turns and stuff. And then they repaved it and they made it really fast. 

It's starting to get worn now where it's getting almost like that old track again. But, yeah, it was a lot of fun, and I liked going there. And then when I decided to move up again to an ARCA late model, I went back to Flat Rock! 

What's been your favorite moment from racing at Toledo Speedway? 

Probably my first win was a big moment there, even. It was a little heat race. I kind of, like, proved to myself that I could win at another racetrack somewhere, because before I just ran Flat Rock. So I was like, okay, this is all new. Different animal here. I just thought it'd be cool to go here. But I didn't really expect to win. That was pretty nice moment for us. 

I've had some other wins there, other heat races and things and good runs... I ran my first ARCA race there when I decided to move up to do this. I ran my first race and I finished it. Car was a little tore up, but I finished it. That was all a lot of fun too!

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About the Shore Lunch 200

The ARCA Menards Series crowns a champion on Saturday, October 7th with the Shore Lunch 200 at Toledo Speedway. This historic race has created many memorable moments over the years as a season finale, with big finishes and a high amount of action. Tickets for this event are available now at local Menards stores! You can click here to learn more about where to pick up your tickets for this championship event. You can also follow along with Toledo Speedway on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.