Two former ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards champions with deep ties to the state of Iowa will be a part of pre-race activities and sign autographs for fans prior to Saturday’s Fans with Benefits 150 at Iowa Speedway.
Ramo Stott and Ron Hutcherson, who both raced out of Keokuk, Iowa, accounted for every ARCA Racing Series national championship between 1970 and 1974. Both will join the pre-race autograph session in the Turn 4 “Fans with Benefits” zone from 5 to 5:30 pm CT, just after General Tire Pole Qualifying. The two ARCA legends will then join the dignitary line and greet all of the drivers as they are introduced to the fans prior to the start of the race.
“It’s really important for us to have Ramo and Ron at the Fans with Benefits 150 because they are a direct Iowa connection to our past,” said ARCA president Ron Drager. “Without guys like them, we wouldn’t be where we are today. It’s a great way for us to thank them for the contributions they’ve made to racing, and it’s a great way for today’s race fans to meet two of the greatest to have ever raced with us.”
Stott is seventh on the all-time ARCA win list with 27 victories, the last coming at the half-mile dirt Perry County Speedway in 1988. He won ARCA championships in 1970 and 1971.
Hutcherson is 25th on the all-time win list with 12 victories, and scored three consecutive titles between 1972 and 1974. He also won the 1975 ARCA race at Daytona, driving a car he borrowed from – of all people – Ramo Stott.
“I drove just a few ARCA races in ’75, and that’s when I won the ARCA race at Daytona in Jack Housby’s car,” Hutcherson said. It was actually one of Ramo’s (Stott) cars. Jack sponsored Ramo for years. Jack was a Mack truck dealer in Iowa.”
Hutcherson, who for years operated the legendary chassis building and racing parts company Hutcherson-Pagan with his brother Dick, is now retired. Stott, the pole sitter for the 1976 Daytona 500, is also retired; his son Corrie is a former ARCA Racing Series team owner and a former Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series crew chief.
A third ARCA champion from Iowa, Mason Mitchell from West Des Moines, has entered the Fans with Benefits 150. He will drive his own No. 98 Mason Mitchell Motorsports Chevrolet. Mitchell is the 2014 ARCA Racing Series champion.
The Fans with Benefits 150 at Iowa Speedway is a one-day show, with practice scheduled for 12:45 pm ET/11:45 am local. General Tire Pole Qualifying is scheduled for 4:45 pm ET/3:45 pm local, and the 150-lap race will go green shortly after 9 pm ET/8 pm local. ARCARacing.com will have live timing and scoring throughout all on-track activities, and the race will be broadcast tape-delayed on MAVTV at 10 pm ET on August 4.
ARCA PR
