MADISON, IL – The sound of race cars. The rapid speech could make your head spin, but it’s music to the ears of ARCA and NASCAR drivers.
“I’m a Midwest guy, I’m from Iowa,” Brett Moffitt said. “This is relatively close to home and it’s a lot of fun racing out here.”
The two-racing series are taking over Gateway Motorsports Park this weekend.
The excitement starts with ARCA Papa Nicholas 150 and headlines with NASCAR World Truck Series in the Eaton 200.
It’s in that main event where defending champ, John Hunter Nemechek, plans to maintain his dominance.
“This place has been very great to me over the past two years over the past few years so hopefully we can do the same this weekend,” Nemechek said.
Mother nature delayed practice runs, which could make a huge difference as this is the first time returning drivers are getting a feel for the repaved track.
“I hate that they repaved this place,” Nemecheck said. “I liked when it was a bit of an old surface, had a bunch of characteristic in it and had to make your truck handle. (16:39.27)
It would be wise if Nemecheck keeps his eyes off the pavement and in his rearview mirror as number 88 Matt Crafton plans to past him by after past mishaps.
“It’s been a thorn in my side,” Crafton said. “I’ve been leading late in the race. I’ve been leading and got wrecked. It owes me one, this place owes me one for sure.”
Regardless of new pavement or old pavement, rookie drivers at this track are coming for the number one spot.
“Look out, our team is hungrier than ever, so look out,” Canadian NASCAR racer Stewart Friesen said.
And we’ll just have to wait and see who drives away with bragging rights when the rubber meets the pavement.