Sioux Chief Showdown Preview: Shore Lunch 150 at Iowa Speedway
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Sioux Chief Showdown Preview: Shore Lunch 150 at Iowa Speedway The Calypso Lemonade 200 at the Indianapolis-area Lucas Oil Raceway will mark the long-awaited second race of the for the 2020 ARCA Menards Series Sioux Chief Showdown. The Showdown, a revamped and reloaded version of the “Short Track Challenge” of years past, is open to teams from the ARCA Menards Series East & West as well and now featuring an increased overall payout with nearly $1 million in race purses, point fund money, and bonus programs available over the ten-race series-within-a-series. The Sioux Chief Showdown will bring together the best of the best from the ARCA Menards Series, the ARCA Menards Series East and ARCA Menards Series West (formerly known as the NASCAR K&N Pro Series). These ten events offer drivers who may not be able or eligible to run the full 20-race ARCA Menards Series schedule the opportunity to run for a title. Combined with the overall ARCA Menards Series crown as well as the ARCA Menards East and ARCA Menards West championships, drivers will have four unique titles to compete for in 2020. Formerly known as the Sioux Chief Short Track Challenge, an expanded partnership with Sioux Chief will increase the event purse and point fund significantly, as well as add prestige and a variety of venues to the in-season championship. New guidelines and common rule packages are aimed at drawing in teams and drivers from both the ARCA Menards East and ARCA Menards West series too, which were previously run as distinct separate entities from the ARCA Menards Series. Christian Eckes, now a challenger for rookie of the year honors in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series, won both the Sioux Chief Short Track Challenge and the ARCA Menards Series overall championship in 2019, clinching both titles in the final race of each championship. At Lucas Oil Raceway, 2019 winner Chandler Smith successfully defended his victory by taking the checkered flag once again at the Indianapolis-area short track. Smith has now swept the first two races of the Sioux Chief Showdown, having a win at Phoenix in March already to his credit this year. Smith faced tough competition from Ty Gibbs, who led 38 laps early on before experiencing an alternator issue that eventually sidelined him prior to the halfway mark. Sam Mayer stepped up to hunt down Smith in the late stages of the Calypso Lemonade 200, even pulling alongside Smith at points, but Mayer could never make the pass and had to settle for a close second. The Shore Lunch 150 presents a unique challenge for Sioux Chief Showdown competitors. The 7/8-mile Iowa Speedway is the quickest track on the 10-race Showdown schedule and is even billed as “The Fastest Short Track on the Planet” by the speedway. The multiple grooves and progressively banked turns offer drivers several options as they search for their preferred line. This race could be bad news to anyone off to a slow start in the Showdown: current point leader Chandler Smith won the Iowa race last year in thoroughly dominating fashion, leading 140 of 150 laps. The driver with the best chance at dethroning Smith could very well be Sam Mayer for a second race in a row. In the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East-West – now ARCA Menards Series East and West – combination race last year, Mayer turned in a carbon copy of the Smith’s statline, leading 142 of 150 laps himself. Michael Self has experience on his side at Iowa and will be out to spoil the teenage drivers’ party. Self has done quite well across his 11 total starts at Iowa Speedway, including two wins in ARCA Menards Series West races at the track. Last year, Self rallied to finish third at Iowa despite being hampered by a serious gearbox issue near the end of the race that made him a sitting duck on a restart inside of the final five laps. Self is currently locked in a tie for second in the Sioux Chief Showdown standings with rising star Hailie Deegan, making the pair the only two drivers within striking range of Smith in the standings at the moment. Unlike Self, Deegan has struggled in her two Iowa starts and will be looking for a reversal of fortune at the track as she sets out to improve upon her best result of 12th at the track. 2020 Sioux Chief Showdown Schedule & Current Top 25 Standings DRIVER TEAM CAR OWNER PHX LOR TOTAL Chandler Smith #20 JBL Audio Toyota Billy Venturini 43 43 86 Michael Self #25 Sinclair Lubricants Toyota Cathy Venturini 42 36 78 Hailie Deegan #4 Monster Energy Ford David Gilliland 37 41 78 Ty Gibbs #18 Monster Energy Toyota Coy Gibbs 41 29 70 Bret Holmes #23 Holmes II Excavation Chevrolet Stacy Holmes 29 37 66 Sam Mayer #21 Brogdon Family Foundation Chevrolet Maury Gallagher 24 42 66 Thad Moffitt #46 Richard Petty Signature Series Ford Bo LeMastus 26 39 65 Drew Dollar #15 Lynx Capital/Dollar Concrete Toyota Bill Venturini 30 30 60 Howie DiSavino III #32 Kees Travel Chevrolet Kevin Cywinski 23 35 58 Ryan Huff #10 Land & Coates Ford Andy Hillenburg 20 28 48 Tim Richmond #06 Great Railing Toyota Wayne Peterson 21 24 45 Tanner Gray #17 Ford Performance Ford David Gilliland 40 40 Taylor Gray #17 Ford Performance Ford David Gilliland 40 40 Zane Smith #17W MMI Services Chevrolet Steve McGowan 39 39 Nick Sanchez #6 Max Siegel Inc. Toyota Max Siegel 38 38 Max McLaughlin #1 Mohawk Northeast Toyota Shigeaki Hattori 38 38 Chase Cabre #4E Eibach Springs Toyota Max Siegel 36 36 Lawless Alan #12W AutoParkit Toyota Alex McAnally 35 35 Gio Scelzi #16 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota Mike Curb 34 34 Kyle Sieg #42 Bruce Cook Racing Chevrolet Bruce Cook 34 34 Dawson Cram #11 KMI Trucking Toyota Andy Hillenburg 33 33 Brian Finney #69 Finney Racing Chevrolet Bill Kimmel 33 33 Christian McGhee #22 Power Grade Inc. Ford Chad Bryant 32 32 Derek Griffith #22 Original Gourmet Lollipops Ford Chad Bryant 32 32 Takuma Koga #77W PP1M Toyota Joe Nava 31 31 March 6 Phoenix Raceway – Avondale, AZ Chandler Smith July 3 Lucas Oil Raceway – Brownsburg, IN Chandler Smith July 18 Iowa Speedway – Newton, IA .875 Mile Oval August 14 Daytona International Speedway Road Course – Daytona Beach, FL 3.56 Mile Road Course August 29 World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway – Madison, IL 1.25 Mile Oval September 17 Bristol Motor Speedway – Bristol, TN .533 Mile Oval September 26 Memphis International Raceway – Memphis, TN .750 Mile Oval TBA Salem Speedway – Salem, IN .555 Mile Oval TBA Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course – Lexington, OH 2.258 Mile Road Course TBA Elko Speedway – Elko New Market, MN .375 Mile Oval .