The ARCA Menards Series returns to Elko Speedway on Saturday, June 24 for the annual Menards 250 Presented by Starkey, and fans can “Save Big Money” on their general admission tickets by purchasing them in advance at Minneapolis/St. Paul area Menards stores for just $20, a savings of $10 from the race day price at the gate.
Johnston, Iowa native Sammy Smith dominated last year’s race, leading 233 of the race’s 250 laps from the pole. Now a winner in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for Joe Gibbs Racing, Smith was the eighth different driver to win in eight ARCA Menards Series races at the tight 0.375-mile bullring, the smallest venue on the 20-race ARCA Menards Series circuit.
Smith has been replaced by Eden Prairie native William Sawalich, a 16-year-old prodigy who leads the ARCA Menards Series East standings with two wins already to his credit in 2023. Sawalich is running a partial schedule in the ARCA Menards Series and already has a pole to his credit earlier this season at Phoenix Raceway.
Other winners at Elko Speedway include Brennan Poole, now racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for JD Motorsports, ten-time series champion Frank Kimmel, 2013 series champion and current NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship contender Grant Enfinger, 2017 series champion Austin Theriault, two-time ARCA Menards Series winner Gus Dean, who won while driving for Minnesota-based team owner Kevin Cywinski, ten-time ARCA Menards Series winner and recent NASCAR Xfinity Series winner Chandler Smith, and 2021 ARCA Menards Series championship runner-up and two-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series winner Corey Heim.
The ARCA Menards Series will have a full day of on-track activity, including practice at 3 pm CT, General Tire Pole Qualifying at 5 pm CT, an on-track autograph session at 6:45 pm CT, and the headlining Menards 250 at 8 pm CT. Elko Speedway’s NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Power Stock and Super Late Model division will also join the card for feature events only.
Race fans can visit Menards stores in the follow locations to purchase advance discount tickets: Burnsville, Apple Valley, Dundas, Cottage Grove, Eden Prairie, Richfield, West St. Paul, Golden Valley, St. Paul Midway, Fridley, Oakdale, Brooklyn Park, Maple Grove, Red Wing, Mankato, Blaine, Stillwater, Coon Rapids, and Buffalo in Minnesota, and Hudson, Wisconsin.
Tickets can also be purchased online here.
For more information on the ARCA Menards Series, including live timing & scoring of all on-track activities, please visit ARCARacing.com; for up-to-the-minute updates follow @ARCA_racing on Twitter. For more information on the Menards 250, please visit TrackEnterprises.com.
About Elko Speedway:
Elko Speedway opened in the summer of 1965 and it has been regarded as one of the top short tracks in the Midwest ever since. The track, in 1987, became one of the few short tracks in the country to be NASCAR-sanctioned, a development that led to the construction of new grandstands among other upgrades. These days, Elko Speedway hosts a variety of divisions under the NASCAR banner in addition to the ARCA Menards Series. The Late Models are highly modified with fabricated frames and fiberglass or aluminum bodies with specialized power plants. Thunder Cars are stock cars with minor engine and suspension modifications allowed. Power Stocks are a low-cost entry level division that are nearly straight from the factory. Other common divisions that compete at Elko include the Great North Legends and Bandoleros. The 3/8-mile oval at Elko Speedway is accompanied by a drive-in theater located outside of Turn 1. The venue also features its famous Eve of Destruction nights.
About Starkey:
Starkey is a privately held, global hearing technology company headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. Founded by Bill Austin in 1967, Starkey is known for its innovative design, development and distribution of comprehensive digital hearing systems. Led today by President and CEO Brandon Sawalich, Starkey is the only American-owned provider of hearing technologies. The company has more than 5,000 employees, operates 29 facilities and does business in more than 100 markets worldwide. Learn more at starkey.com.