Tyler Dippel Returns To ARCA Racing Series Competition At Springfield Mile
Story By: RETTE JONES RACING – SPRINGFIELD, IL – With a few weeks off from NASCAR K&N Pro Series East competition, officials from AMWinTron Racing in a collaborative effort with Rette Jones Racing (RJR) officially announced today that Wallkill, New York native Tyler Dippel will drive the No. 33 TYCAR Trenchless Technologies / D and A Concrete Contractor Toyota Camry for Sunday’s Herr’s Potato Chips 100 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds.
“I’m very excited about being able to return to ARCA and race on the dirt this weekend,” said Dippel, a former NASCAR Next alumnus.
“Since we have a couple weeks off in the K&N Series, I think it’s important for me to stay in the seat and this race on Sunday from Springfield is a good opportunity for me and our partners TYCAR and D and A Concrete.”
Of course, another good reason that Sunday’s 100-lap slugfest on the 1.0-mile dirt at Springfield is beneficial for the 17-year-old Dippel is his vast and successful experience in modifieds on dirt in his home state of New York.
This weekend with his K&N East owner Mark Rette set to call the shots as crew chief of the No. 33 Toyota, Dippel with the help of his normal crew is hoping that his dirt background will pay dividends and earn him an opportunity to get to Victory Lane.
“I have some prior experience at Springfield back in 2015 with Lira Motorsports, but we quite didn’t get the finish we were hoping for,” added Dippel. “The good news is that I learned a lot that day and I know what I can get away with and what I can’t. This is a race that can go by relatively quick, so it will be important to make sure we have a good balance and we keep the tread on the tires and hope when push comes to shove, we’re going to be in a good position for the finish.
“There’s a lot of people supporting this No. 33 team on Sunday, so a good finish will give us all a boost looking ahead.”
For Dippel, it’s more than just showcasing your ability on dirt, especially when it’s your forte. The teenager also wants to go to Springfield and rebound from his 2017 ARCA debut at Toledo Speedway where a top-10 performance was thwarted when he became involved in a Lap 76 accident while running in the top-five.
“I’ve been wanting another short at ARCA before the end of the year,” added Dippel. “I had a really good run at Toledo Speedway in May. Another driver got a little over anxious and spun us out and we couldn’t continue. This weekend, we just want to go to Springfield and do our thing and hope we can give TYCAR and D and A Concrete a great finish.
“Hopefully, it’s a good race for the fans and the crew.”
Rette expects Dippel to shine in the first of two dirt races this season.
“I really expect Tyler to be a contender on Sunday,” said Rette. “AMWinTron has some good equipment with a bunch of hard working guys. I think we can go to Springfield, play conservative for practice to scope out the track’s condition and then lay down some quick laps for qualifying and the race.
“Tyler is right, the race tends to go by quickly, so we need to do whatever we can to put us in a good position. With Tyler’s driver control and finesse, I expect our No. 33 TYCAR Trenchless Technologies / D and A Concrete Contractor Toyota to be near or at the front.”
The Herr’s Potato Chips 100 (100 laps / 100 miles) is the 14th of 20 races on the 2017 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards schedule. Practice begins Sun., Aug. 20 with an hour practice session planned from 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. General Tire pole qualifying is set for later that morning at 11:00 a.m. The race is set to take the green flag a few hours later shortly after 1:30 p.m. The event will be broadcasted live on MAVTV, while ARCARacing.com will stream live timing and scoring throughout the weekend’s activities. All times are local (CT).