It's already Beale Racing's third race of 2018. The ARCA Midwest Tour. Touring Stars John Beale and Casey Johnson raced in the Cabin Fever 100 at State Park Speedway. The pit gates opened at 10:00 AM with races scheduled for 6:00 PM. Some of the funnest times are in the line at the pit gate waiting for the teams to sign-in. The competitors have time to relax before the nonstop competition that starts once we enter the pits. The conversations range from discussing the last race's "incidents", "dumb" rules, "Do you want to buy my spare 5.3 engine?" and if we finish by 8 PM we could drive through the night and race at Bristol Motor Speedway tomorrow. ARCA Midwest Tour completion level The ARCA Midwest Tour is one of the top Super Late Model tours in the country. Since 2007 it has attracted elite race teams from across the Midwest who race together at every event. The Touring Starts are joined by some of the top teams in the country and the local track's Super Late teams who get some exceptions on rules to run with the big dogs. It's no surprise to see names like Bubba Pollard and Johnny Sauter, roll into the pits without much fanfare. The larger tour races are highlighted by some of ARCA Midwest Tours favorite Monster Energy Cup Drivers.Kyle Busch had an epic battle with Beale Racing's Casey Johnson during last years ARCA Midwest Tour Dixieland 250. Kyle crossed the line first but Casey Johnson took the $10,000 check home after technical inspection. Busch LightCabin Fever 100Confidence was high since Casey and John finished in the top 3 behind Chris Wimmer in last years Larry Detjens Memorial race last summer. But last years event was run with two cars which sat in the Beale Racing Shop. The ARCA Midwest Tour had revised rules to make the Wegner Automotive 5.3l engines illegal for Touring Stars. John Beale would be driving his red "Johnny" Chassis with the powerful Hamner Racing Engine. Casey Johnson would be driving his new Pathfinder Chassis with Wegner Automotive LST engine. Both drivers would have to race with delicate throttle response since the State Park Speedway is a small 1/4 mile oval with very little banking. Practice went well as the Beale Racing crew made small tweaks to the Casey Johnson setups in both cars. Qualifying went smooth with Casey qualifying p6 and John at p17 out of the field of twenty cars. John's time was only .15 of a second slower than Casey.The qualifying races would provide Beale Racing with it's 1st victory in 2018. John Beale won his qualifying race after a great battle with John DeAngelis Jr. Casey would finish p4 in his race after starting deep in the 10 lap qualifying race. BIG HORSEPOWER ON A SMALL SHORT TRACKThe Cabin Fever 100 would run 100 laps of green on the 1/4 mile track of State Park Speedway. John Beale would battle from the rear of the field to finish in 10th place. A solid performance that would make him the top rookie in 2018 points. Casey Johnson started p4 in a field of cars that were only separated by .4 of a second in qualifying speed. Casey worked his way through the laps smoothly passing Fast time qualifier Chris Weinkauf, Joe Shear Classic winner Austin Nason and two time Midwest Tour champion Dan Fredrickson. Andrew Morrissey had made his way into the lead and was lapping cars when two cars battling in front of him touched and he ran into the back of one. His front had a severely damaged nose and he could not see the track in the corners. Casey would battle with Andrew the final laps looking for a way to get around. Andrew kept in the tire tracks of the lapped cars since he couldn't see the track. Casey made one last shot on the outside with 5 to go but could get it done.
Andrew would cross the line sliding sideways in mirror of Casey's car since both had maxed out the horsepower to surface tension limit. TWO RACES THIS WEEK The next week will include two events for our Beale Racing's drivers.
• Casey Johnson will race in a brand new Chase Motorsports #47 on Thursday Night at Wisconsin International Raceway.
• Saturday Night is the return of the ARCA Midwest Tour to Jefferson Speedway. Casey will be the one to beat since he owns three track championships. John Beale will also be eager to improve on his 2nd place finish from last years TUNDRA Super Late Model event.