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NASCAR acquires ARCA

TALLADEGA, Ala. — NASCAR has acquired the ARCA series, a launching pad for drivers looking to reach stock car racing’s top level.

NASCAR vice chairman and executive vice president Jim France called the announcement Friday “a big moment for stock car racing in America.”

Twelve of the 16 drivers in the Cup Series playoffs last year have logged starts in the Automobile Racing Club of America.

ARCA alums include Davey Allison and Kyle Petty and current drivers Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman, Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s replacement in the No. 88 Chevrolet.

ARCA will operate under its current structure through 2019, including nine events at NASCAR venues this year. Its stops include Talladega, Daytona International Speedway and Pocono.

“We’ve worked together closely for 70-plus years in one form or another,” France said. “(ARCA President Ron Drager) and I have worked together, known each other, through basically all of our motorsports careers.

“It’s fantastic that we’re going to be working together going off into the future here. Both organizations have a great history, great championships. We share a lot of teams and drivers over the years. That will continue in a major way.”

ARCA founder John Marcum once worked as a NASCAR official and raced against that series’ founder, Bill France Sr. ARCA officially began racing at Daytona International Speedway in 1964. But it’s roots date back more than a decade to 1953.

Canfield Speedway, which is still a horse track at the Canfield Fairgrounds, played a key role in the forming of ARCA.

Canfield hosted Marcum’s traveling Midwest Association for Race Cars (MARC) Circuit of Stars for 43 races from 1953 to 1964. Eventually MARC evolved into ARCA. Canfield Speedway was left behind as the series shifted from dirt to paved tracks.

“I think from an ARCA perspective, I liken it to we’re a small, independently owned company,” Drager said. “Our world continues to get more and more complicated and complex.

“There are times when I feel like I’m a little rowboat out in the middle of the ocean. The ocean liners go by, and they rock the boat. A big storm comes along, and it rocks the boat. So far, we haven’t turned over. I want to be on a bigger boat.”

Smith is latest winner

TALLADEGA, Ala. (AP) — Zane Smith edged Joseph Graf Jr. by inches on the second overtime lap to win a crash-filled ARCA Series race Friday night at Talladega Superspeedway.

Smith won for the second time in the past three races, with ARCA unable to determine the margin of victory because the cars were so close as they raced side by side throughout the overtime lap.

The 18-year-old Californian came in second in the championship standings. Before winning at Nashville, he had finished second three times.

“My spotter was like, ‘Ah, damn,'” Smith said. “I was like, ‘Are you kidding me? We just lost this?’ He said no actually we won it. At that point I was so pumped up my arms and legs were shaking.”

Crashes forced cautions after a re-start with two laps to go and again on the first overtime lap. They wound up running 11 laps more than the scheduled 76. Pole sitter Michael Self was third followed by Sheldon Creed, who came in as the points leader and led going into the first overtime restart.

Graf has driven the past three races with a broken left foot from playing basketball with his brother and was running in his first superspeedway race.

“I felt like we could have gotten it done at the end,” Graf said. “It came down to a photo finish.”

He was initially supposed to only run six short-track races, but nearly pulled out a win — and briefly thought he had.

“My spotter came over the radio and told me I did win it, so I thought I did for a minute,” Graf said. “It was so close there at the end, it was tough to tell.”

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