For the inaugural running the Clash at Columbia, crew chiefs for the 12 participating drivers drew ping pong balls to decide where their team would start in the event.
Eric Van Arsdale got the pole position for the event as drawn by crew chief Chase Bert. "It's good to have Eric up front," Bert said. "We really wish we were running full-time this year, but I want him and our crew to enjoy this opportunity while we have it and hopefully we'll make the most of it." Stephen Willey, the first pole winner of the 2016 season, will start in the 12th and final starting spot. "Figures we'd get last," crew chief Mat Potter said. "Feels the same as our luck in the Chase last year, but we're not going to fret. This is a track that makes racing interesting and anything can happen in 30 laps. We just have to manage ourselves." Here is the starting order for the event, as drawn by the drivers' crew chiefs: 1) Eric Van Arsdale #27 2) Jonny Gardner #6 3) Reece Butcher #90 4) Rampage #1 5) Noah Kars #44 6) Tyler Markel #48 7) John Arndt #05 8) nascarfan19 #64 9) Nick Smith #18 10) Colin Lindsay #32 11) William Brock #23 12) Stephen Willey #62
In mid-Missouri in the middle of March, a mildly cool morning isn't a rarity in these parts. What was a rarity was the roar of 12 racing engines giving a wake-up call to the over 100 thousand residents living in the area.
Columbia International Speedway hasn't had racing quite like this in their area before. The city built the 2.5 mile course hoping to attract the biggest racing series in the country, and they got it in the form of a tripleheader weekend kicking off the NFRN's three racing series, two of them making their debut race. But before reaching that, veteran drivers took to the track in preparation for the first event of the NFRN Elite Cup Series, The Clash at Columbia. Eligibility included those who won a pole in 2016 and those who were Chasers in 2016. Future Clash events will feature additional criteria that weren't factors to the field this season, including winners of the event and drivers who win the first pole award of the season. Ironically, all drivers that returned, either through the Elite Cup Series or the NFRN Amateur Cup Series, had eligibility in one way or another. First season champion Rampage won the pole on the 2016 season's first race, which took place at Bumpdraftin' Superspeedway, and became the first eligible for the event. "It feels great to be back on the track," Rampage said. "We definitely enjoyed our offseason as champion, but we are now focused on this year and going back-to-back with our Rams number 1 Ford Fusion." Colin Lindsay, who came up just shy to Rampage for the championship in season 1, wasn't able to secure a ride in the NECS this season but is making the most of this guaranteed ride while he runs the No. 95 Chevrolet in the Amateur Cup Series. "I'm looking to try and get the best result I can from the Clash to prove that I still have a name in the series," Lindsay said. "It was unfortunate the team I was with shut down and left me without a ride, but I plan to make the most of my time in the NFRN Amateur Cup Series. Our number 32 Can-Am Ford has been quick in practice and I can't wait to see how we perform on the track." The first practice session of the season saw a mixture of drafting and single-car runs, leading to some fast times that won't necessarily translate into success on race day. Rampage took advantage of a new feature to the NFRN in season 2: teams. "I think the biggest advantage this year is the creation of the RamCo Motorsports team that includes myself and nascarfan19," Rampage said. "We will have a chance to race out there this weekend as teammates for the first time and get a feel for how to best prepare ourselves not only for this weekend but also for the upcoming season." Here are official practice times from the first session of 2017: 1) Reece Butcher - 43.855 (90 laps) 2) Jonny Gardner - 43.862 (93) 3) Noah Kars - 43.878 (91) 4) Stephen Willey - 43.931 (93) 5) Eric Van Arsdale - 43.941 (91) 6) nascarfan19 - 44.014 (87) 7) Tyler Markel - 44.110 (89) 8) William Brock - 44.134 (95) 9) Nick Smith - 44.211 (90) 10) Rampage - 44.242 (94) 11) John Arndt - 44.400 (87) 12) Colin Lindsay - 44.409 (90)
In a video finalizing the NFRN Amateur Cup Series driver lineup and the beginning of team registration, NFRN commissioner Collin Denton announced that the league would not run the final tier of racing series in season two. The affected series are the NFRN Open Modified Series, NFRN Australian Series, NFRN Canadian Series, and NFRN European Series.
Denton cited a lack of interest as well as little driver retention from season 1 of the league. Only 12 drivers who were signed up by the end of NACS registration were a part of the NFRN's first season. While schedules were finalized for the top three racing series planned for the NFRN in season 2, these four series did not have preliminary schedules on the table. Denton also said there is also a possibility the league could take another look at the state of the league next season and decide to re-incorporate the idea.
NFRN has announced that Nazareth Speedway will replace RCCRP as the penultimate race to the Chase races on the NFRN Elite Cup Series and NFRN Amateur Cup Series schedules after the latter was deemed unfit to host an event this season.
Nazareth has played host to NASCAR sanctioned events from 1988 until 2004 when it closed down. NFRN has been able to negotiate a deal to run a one-off race at the Pennsylvania track this season unless demand drives it to future seasons.
NFRN released the full schedules and revealed the point system for their top three series, the Elite Cup Series, Amateur Cup Series, and Truck Series.
The Elite Cup Series revamped 20 tracks on the schedule, leaving six on board, five through voting by twelve season 1 drivers and one through commissioner's choice. Remaining on the NECS schedule are Pikes Peak, Riki, Twin Ring Motegi, Bumpdraftin', Zen Joltis, and Ontario (commissioner's choice). Several of the remaining tracks will also be a part of the NACS and NTS schedules. NFRN also determined through the 12-driver panel that the league will maintain the same points system ran during the 2016 Elite Cup Series season. Schedules for the NFRN Open Modified Series, Canadian Series, European Series, and Australian Series are yet to be determined. Click here to view the 2017 schedule for the NFRN Elite Cup Series. |
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