Michael Self (No. 25 Sinclair Oil Toyota) will make his fourteenth start of the ARCA Menards Series season when the tour returns to the Hawkeye State Friday night for the running of the Fans with Benefits 150 at Iowa Speedway.
Chasing a series championship title Self enters his next event with a 65-point advantage over fellow competitor Bret Holmes. The 28-year-old driver out of Salt Lake City is coming off his ninth top-five finish of the season with a fourth-place finish last week at Elko Speedway.
Already with three tour victories in 2019, Self looks to increase his lead going into the final stretch of the season. This weekend’s visit to Iowa’s 7/8-mile track will be Self’s 11th overall, and third ARCA Menard’s Series start on the ultra-fast short track. Self is credited with two wins at Iowa Speedway in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series, and a best finish of fourth in ARCA competition in 2017.
“Iowa is always a track a look forward to racing at,” Self says. “I’ve got a ton of experience there between K&N, ARCA and Xfinity, and have been fortunate to win there a couple of times and have some strong runs, so it’s nice going to a track that I’m comfortable at and know better than anywhere else we go on the schedule. Unfortunately I feel like I’ve shot myself in the foot two years in a row there in the ARCA races and cost myself a shot at a win both times, so I definitely want to go in and be smart this weekend and put a solid run together without any mistakes.”
Making his 33rd career ARCA start, Self has tallied six wins, 20 top-five, 20 top-10’s and five General Tire Pole Awards since making his first series start in 2014.
Self will join VMS teammates Christian Eckes, Chandler Smith and Gavin Harlien in Iowa. VMS has dominated series competition thus far winning eight of the first thirteen events in 2019. Fast to start each race, VMS has claimed an unprecedented 12 General Tire Pole Awards to start the season missing out on the honors during the third race of the season at Salem Speedway.
Practice at Iowa Speedway is scheduled for 12:45 pm ET/11:45 am CT with General Tire Pole Qualifying to follow at 4:45 pm ET/3:45 pm CT and the Fans with Benefits 150 to close the night at 9 pm ET/8 pm CT. The race will be televised live flag to flag on MAVTV.
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