2013 ARLA News Now Thread

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Moving this thread to here for 2013. More to follow.

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(OCC: I'm combining the Rookie Shootout and the Smash Beer 200 in one show.)

Episode #1 (1/3)

ARLA Fans, your #1 source for ARLA is back for 2013. Pull your belts tight and hold on cause ARLA News Now starts now.

(Intro Music plays while highlights from the 2012 ARLA Elite Series are shown.)

Welcome ARLA fans, I'm your host Pete Robinson and this ARLA News Now. It's that time of year once again as the ARLA Elite Series opened their 2013 season in Lakeland, Florida, with the Rookie Shootout followed by the Smash Beer 200, the following weekend.

So, without further adieu let's take a look at the hot topics from the Rookie Shootout/Smash Beer 200 speedweeks.

HOT TOPICS

1. TDR scores the Hat Trick - One of the big stories from 2012 was TMMCS driver, Tom Delgado's, restructuring of his ARLA Elite Series race team. With the financial support gone, some were unsure that renamed TDR could handle the challenge. Well, not only did handle it, they blew it away.

TDR and ARLA newcomer, Jim Hayes, blew away the field in the Rookie Shootout. Starting one pole, Hayes lead a majority of the event and never looked back once. Hayes then carried his momentum in the 2nd round of the Smash Beer 200. Starting 3rd, Hayes improved his ARLA 2013 record to 2-0. Hayes also became the first driver to follow up his Rookie Shootout win with a win in one of the 200 races since the Rookie Shootout was started in 2009. However, Joseph Howard was not to be outdone by his TDR teammate. Howard starting on pole in Race #1 of the Smash Beer 200, held off all challengers taking the victory. This makes the 2nd straight year, Howard has won one of the opening rounds of the ARLA Elite Series season.

If there was any doubt about the state of TDR, they were answered this weekend. If TDR can keep do consistently what they did this weekend, they are the current favorite for the championship without a doubt.

2.Race #2 is Crashtastic - Well, the old pattern has returned once again. Last year it was stated by many drivers, teams, and fans that the second round of the duel race weekend tended to be the more caution filled. The 2013 Smash Beer 200 continued that trend. 8 cautions flew in the 2nd race over twice as many as in 1st race. Will the trend continue throughout 2013? It is something to definitely keep an eye on.

3.Yellow means Go - One of the stranger events to take place over the Smash Beer 200 weekend was the two incidents that happened as the field slowed under the yellow flag. The first occurred during the 3rd and final caution of race #1 when race leader, Joseph Howard came to take the yellow. Lev Azarov, in his first season of ARLA competition, reared ended then 2nd place driver, Leslie Riggs. Riggs did manage to bring her damage car home in 2nd place. The other occurrence was during the 2nd race, as then race leader Laura Cyrus slowed to take the 7th yellow.

What are these drivers thinking? You need to be aware of what is going on at all times and here they are running into each other under the yellow flag. Jeez sounds like something you'd see in an ARLA Racer 2003 online multiplayer race.


Well, that does it for Hot Topics this week. Coming up on ARLA News Now, we get our first interview of the 2013 season and I'll take a look at the season opening race for the ARLA Tornado Alley Thunder Trucks (yes, I'm including these this time). You're watching ARLA News Now.

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(OCC: For this "show", I'm only doing the Daytona ARLA TATT race because of the timeline. This is how the format is going to be when a truck race takes place during or around an Elite Series weekend. () marks graphics that would normally be shown.)

Episode #1 (2/3)

(Highlights from last seasons Thunder Trucks season roll as the show comes back from commercial.)

Pete: Welcome back to your #1 source for the latest ARLA news, ARLA News Now. Daytona marked start of the Tornado Alley Thunder Trucks. After last year's action packed season, this year's season opener was filled with anticipation. Let's take a look now at the highlights from the Atlant-X 150.

(Highlights from the Daytona race are shown.)

Last year's championship runner-up, Lucy Barnton lead the field to the green flag, but it would be Last Row Autosport driver, Mike Howard, who'd be the headline of this event. Howard would lead 34 of the 60 laps en route to the victory.

(Graphic showing the finishing order appears.)

Samantha Spires finished 2nd with Jeremy Baker in 3rd. 2012 Rockford 200 runner-up Megan Driver finished 4th. Polesitter Barnton finishing 5th with her cousin Tammy, who takes over Lucy's former #13 ride, finishes 6th.

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For years, the Thunder Trucks series has been seen as the stepping stone to the Elite Series. With most former driver having gone on to the Elite Series, it's easy to see why the Thunder Trucks series is known as the 2nd terrier series in ARLA.

Lucy Barnton was the 2012 ARLA Thunder Trucks championship runner-up finishing 1 point behind champion Michael White. Because of this success, Barnton was signed by Eichholtz Atlantic Racing to a full-time Elite Series ride for 2013. Barnton finished in 9th in Lakeland and now looks to ride that momentum into Daytona.

Pete: And now joining us from Lakeland, Florida, following the Smash Beer 200, Lucy Barnton herself. Lucy good to have you on.

Lucy: Thanks, Pete, good to be on here.

P: You guys had a bit of a rough evening. But, you scored a 9th place finish. What is the biggest thing you think you and your team took from this weekend?

L: Well, we found that we're good at these short ovals, and with short ovals being dominant on the schedule, that's definitely good. Despite me being a bit of a pinball in the race, we still finished strong, and I can take some notes from this race and use them to get better in the future.

P: You made your ARLA Elite Series debut last season in the B.B. Wolf's House Special at Memphis in race #1 finishing 14th. Overall what was the experience like?

L: The Whiper-Ildest team were really good to me, and it made the experience really good. It felt good that my effort in Trucks got recognized by a big team and I proved to them what I got, with the two top 10s at Orange County and Talladega.

P: Of course, the ARLA Tornado Alley Thunder Trucks is where you started out last season. You won once at Grundy County Speedway and finished 2nd in the championship. How do you think that experience will help you going forward full-time in the Elite Series this year?

L: It should give me a big boost in confidence, because I was only one point off Michael White and he's done big things in the top tier before. I mean, I would have maybe liked to win a bit more, but winning a race was still great. The Trucks experience should help though.

P: Do you feel any extra pressure knowing that you are driving for Eichholtz Atlantic Racing, a team which has had success is ARLA and the Dash Cup series?

L: At the same time, yes and no. No, because it's a great organisation and I know I'm in capable hands, and yes because I want the performances to show it's a capable team. I mean, I need to perform well, so I think there's pressure from myself, really.

P: Ok, Lucy, I want to get away from racing for a moment. You recently had some changes in your personal life in the off-season with your marriage. How do balance the personal side of your life with the racing aspect considering that you and your husband both are competing in the Elite Series this year, and is there an added incentive to want to finish better than him?

L: I honestly try to keep our racing away from our relationship. If I wrecked him, or vice versa, I wouldn't let it affect our relationship. We'll let the happy aspects come into play, say if one of us won, or if a trucks race, or he did a Dash Cup race, we'll talk about that, but if it's not positive, I try to keep it away from us. We'll talk about his music, or an upcoming concert. Also, there isn't an added incentive to beat him in particular either. I aim to beat everyone with the same incentive. At the same time, I won't be easy on him. I'll race him the same as I race anyone else.

P: Well, thank you for talking with us Lucy and we wish you the best in your 2013 Elite Series campaign.

L: Thank you for having me, have a nice night.

Pete: Coming up next on ARLA News Now, with Lakeland in the books, it's on to Daytona Beach. I'll the Daytona Elite Series racing and point out who to watch this upcoming weekend. You're watching ARLA News Now at OEN.

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(Ok, final part of episode #1, yes, I saw that Daytona is up but I'm doing this before watching that so anything said here that happened there is complete coincidence.)

Episode #1 (3/3)

Pete: Welcome back ARLA fans. Daytona International Speedway has been a staple of the motorsports world. Hosting races for both the Elite Series and Thunder Trucks as well as the TMMCS and RROL Elite Series, Daytona tends to be a fan favorite.

(Video highlights of the 2012 Daytona races are shown.)

P: Last year, it was Joseph Howard and Kasie Campbell who ended up in victory lane. Who are the drivers to watch and who will end up in victory lane? It's time for Logical and Darkhorse Picks.


LOGICAL PICK: TDR

P: Ok, I'm going to do something different for the logical pick this time. TDR proved in Lakeland that there are going to challenge for the 2013 title. After their sweep of the weekend, it's hard not to pick a TDR driver to win one of the races this weekend if not both.

Joseph Howard won Race #1 of event last year so between the two TDR drivers I'm leaning toward Howard, but I'm just picking the team to be safe.

DARKHORSE PICK: ROBERT LECKLITER

Now for Darkhorse I'm going with Robert Leckliter. The older brother of ARLA and former TMMCS regular Daniel Leckliter showed in Lakeland that he can cut it as a driver in a bigger terrier series.

The reason I picked Robert is he not only has equipment capable of winning but it is because of his brother's ARLA experience and influence. So of that is bound to rub off on him.

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P: Well, that about does it for the first show of 2013. I'd like to thank Lucy Barnton once again for joining us as the first interviewee for the new season, and we hope you join us next week when we will review the Daytona Duels.

We leave you now with the sights and sounds from the races in Lakeland. Good night everyone.

(Various highlights from the USA Speedway are shown. Stuff from the garage area, pit road, and grandstands from the weekend as well as actual race footage as the end credit music plays underneath.)

END OF EPISODE #1

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Episode #2 (1/3)

Pete: It's time for the #1 source for ARLA news. ARLA News Now starts right now.

(Intro music plays {refer to first episode}.)

Pete: Welcome to ARLA News Now your best source for the ARLA's biggest stories. I'm Pete Robinson. This weekend the Elite Series took on the high banks of Daytona. Let's dive into it, this is Hot Topics.

HOT TOPICS

1. One Eye; No Problem - Japan native Kiriki Hetsuno scored the 1st win for Racing with Disabilities and the 2nd win of her ARLA career. The 26 year old driver started 2nd and held off a last lap charge by Scott Dalitz to take the victory. However, she wasn't able to do the victory burnouts as she ran out of fuel after the checked.

2. 1 for 1 - For Barry MacIntyre, Daytona marked his first start in an ARLA Elite Series car. But, he made the most of that start. Starting from the pole, MacIntyre led the most laps and captured his first ARLA Elite Series victory. Driving a car owned by Bobby Dollar, who drove in the TM Lights Series last year, MacIntyre now holds a 1.00 era. Granted that is because he has one just one race.

3. Brother, can you spare a gallon? - One of the biggest stories to come out of Daytona was the fuel gambles drivers took and who suffered because of them. The one that stood out the most to me was Jim Hayes. Hayes, who was so dominate in Lakeland, found himself finishing in 20th (1 lap down) after a failure to try and stretch the fuel mid-race in race #1. Hayes was apologetic to owner, Tom Delgado, on Twitter in these comments after the event.

Jim_Hayes: Sorry @RealTomDelgado I did what I could, thought I could make it on fuel there #fuelgamble #brainfade
RealTomDelgado: @Jim_Hayes Forget about it bro. We all swung and missed at the fuel strategy. Let's get it back at Montgomery.

What I'll give to Delgado is that fact he isn't blaming anyone else or firing engineers over this (laughs). And I give Hayes this, he is taking blame for something that is really not his fault. I say a number of teams try this and it had me scratching my head. Why would you take the risk of running out of fuel and lose track position that is difficult to get back? The last time I saw something like this was I believe Talladega last year.

4.Monroe's backache - 2013 has not had the best start for 2011 ARLA Elite Series champion, Kevin Monroe. Monroe finished 30th of 31 car in his race at Lakeland after a motor failure. At Daytona, Monroe was running with the lead pack when he tried to move in front of the #92 of Barton Sandy. Monroe though was not clear and was turned into the walk. The car then was hit by the #91 of Seiju Dejao as it slid back down the banking. Monroe appeared to be unhurt climbing from his totalled machine, but was later transported to the local hospital complaining of back pain. Monroe was later diagnosed with a back injury and will miss the next 3 races.

Pete: Well, that does it for Hot Topics this week. Coming up after the break we'll get our second driver interview of 2013. You're watching ARLA News Now.

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Episode #2 (2/3)

Pete: Welcome back to ARLA News Now. Ryan Matthews may not be a name known to a lot of ARLA fans, but the 37 year old Connecticut native had a great opportunity. Driving for Majestic Motorsports, Matthews ran a full season in the TM Master Cup Series. And while the results may not have been good, there is no doubt Matthews enjoyed the opportunity.

This year Matthews is running full-time in the ARLA Elite Series and is hoping his TMMCS experience will help him out.

Pete: And it's my pleasure to welcome Ryan Matthews to ARLA News Now. Ryan, thanks for joining us today.

Ryan: Hi, Pete. Glad to be here.

P: Ok, Ryan, let's get right to it. You are running the full ARLA Elite Series season this year as well as challenging for the Independent's Trophy in the TMMCS. Is there anything you can use from one and transfer to another despite the cars being different?

R: Not much. Because the cars are so different it's tough to take things you learn from, say, a Master Cup run, and apply it to ARLA. ARLA doesn't run a lot of the tracks Cup does either, so it's tough to use any notes you might have in one series and apply it to the other. At the end of the day, I think it's more about talent than anything else.

P: There was a lot of expectations put on you last year running full-time in the TMMCS with Majestic Motorsports. Do you think making that jump to a full-time TMMCS ride so quick hurt you or do you think that you guys were just not gelling together?

R: I don't think it did. My problem was more of having little experience at road courses than anything else. If you look at my stats from last year I did better on the ovals than the road courses. That's why I'm only running the ovals in the Independent's Trophy. Go with what you know.

P: Ryan, I know this is going to be a hard subject for you, but I want you to take us back to Texas last November. What do you remember about that afternoon?

R: Too much, sadly. I was in Indianapolis for my exit interview with Majestic Motorsports. About halfway through the meeting one of the staffers came in and told me, "You need to get to Fort Worth." When I asked why, he said, "Your wife's been in a bad crash." I couldn't get out of there fast enough. The flight took about an hour, and I think I got to the track right as the race was ending. I met up with our people who were there, and they got me to the care center pretty quick. I stayed with her the rest of the day, right to the end. It was about six hours after I got there that she was gone. I don't think I'll ever forget that day as long as I live.

P: Ok, moving to a happier topic, your sister-in-law, Kellan Rogers, has been turning heads as of recently. I want to ask you what did you see in her to put her in one of your cars?

R: You could call it a gut instinct, I guess. Kellan ran in the same late model series that my wife and I did, and she ended up earning Rookie of the Year there after almost hanging it up. So, on my wife's recommendation, I took a shot and put her in a Dash Cup car at Brno, and she did awesome. I couldn't have been prouder, and I think that effort gave me the confidence to enter her at Rockford. She was doing fantastic until Quiggles punted her. I'm happy to see that she's doing well over in Europe; Jacob and Ben have a heck of a driver on their hands!

P: Well, Ryan, one more question before what let you go here. It has been stated that you have an unhealthy addiction to the web game, Angry Birds. Do you use this game as more of a stress relief or just to kill time?

R: A little of both, actually. There's a lot of down time in a race weekend, so you need to have a diversion of some kind. Some guys play cards, some guys read, I pop pigs!

P: Thanks you for time Ryan and we wish you luck in your 2013 season.

R: Thanks, Pete.

P: Coming up next on ARLA News Now, I'll give my predictions for and we'll preview Montgomery Motor Speedway. You're watching ARLA News Now.

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(OCC: Been a while, but finally had time to finish this "show". Like the previous one, these predictions are done before I watch the next event.)

EPISODE #2 (3/3)

Pete: Welcome back to A.N.N. This weekend the ARLA Elite Series with take on a new venue. Opened in 1953, the Montgomery Motor Speedway is a half mile Alabama short track. So, who's going to lay claim to the victory in the track's maiden races? Here's this week's Logical and Darkhorse Picks.

LOGICAL PICK: JIM HAYES

P: This week I'm going with Jim Hayes. Hayes destroyed the field in the last short track event in Lakeland, Fl. And Hayes also was able to claim his only TM Lights win on a track less than 1 mile in length, so, Hayes is my pick this week.

DARKHORSE PICK: LAURA CYRUS

P: Like Hayes, Laura Cyrus was also strong in Lakeland. And while she didn't win her twin, she showed that she would be a force to be messed with on the short tracks. So, Cyrus should be one to watch for at Montgomery.

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P: Well, that's it for this edition of A.N.N. I would like to thank Ryan Matthews again for join us and I hope you'll join us right back here next week when we will review the Montgomery events. For A.N.N., I'm Pete Robinson.

END OF EPISODE #2

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