As a preamble to the 54th annual ARCA RE/MAX Series national championship awards banquet at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center, several key announcements took center stage during the annual series press conference in Covington, Kentucky Saturday afternoon.

SPEED To Air 14 ARCA RE/MAX Series Events in 2007

SPEED, the worldwide leader in motorsports television coverage, has announced coverage of 14 ARCA RE/MAX Series races in 2007, each scheduled for live or same-day delayed broadcast to a national television audience.

2007 broadcast coverage of the ARCA RE/MAX Series will begin on Saturday afternoon, February 10 at Daytona Int'l Speedway, with live, flag to flag coverage of the 44th annual Daytona ARCA 200 season opener.

In addition to Daytona, events scheduled for coverage in '07 include both at Toledo Speedway on May 20 and October 14 and both at Pocono Raceway on June 9 and August 4. Kansas Speedway on April 27, Iowa Speedway on June 2, Michigan Int'l Speedway on June 15, Kentucky Speedway on July 13, Nashville Superspeedway on August 11, the Milwaukee Mile on August 26, Gateway Int'l Raceway on August 31, Chicagoland Speedway on September 8 and Talladega Superspeedway on October 5 will complete the coverage.

Team Announcements

ESR Announces Alliance with Michael Waltrip Racing

Eddie Sharp Racing announced full ARCA RE/MAX Series schedules in 2007 with two teams, one of which will be an alliance/development team with Michael Waltrip Racing. The ESR/MWR partnership will field a mix of Dodges and Toyotas with USAC open-wheel driver Josh Wise and rookie Ken Butler III in the driver's seat. Wise is slated to debut the new ESR/MWR Toyota Camry in the 2007, February 10 Daytona ARCA 200. Veteran ARCA RE/MAX Series crew chief Jeff McClure will serve as crew chief for the effort. The other team will be all Dodge with Phoenix, Arizona rookie Michael McDowell driving. McDowell, in five ARCA RE/MAX Series starts in 2006, earned two top-five finishes and three top-10s. Nextel Cup veteran crew chief Patrick Donahue will serve as crew chief for the effort.

Gerhart Announces Title Sponsors For 07 Championship Run

2006 championship runner-up driver Bobby Gerhart announced he would be returning to the ARCA RE/MAX Series tour in 2007 to contend for the championship. The Lebanon, Pennsylvania veteran, entering his 20th season of ARCA competition, also announced that Lucas Oil would return as title sponsor for 12 events. Gerhart also said the team would be soon announcing another sponsor that would serve as title sponsor for six events and associate sponsor for the entire tour. Gerhart will make that announcement at the Motorsports Race Car Show 2007 at the Atlantic City, New Jersey Convention Center January 12 through 14 where two of his Chevy Monte Carlos, each sporting a different sponsor, will be on display in the Pocono Raceway booth. In concluding, Gerhart announced he was taking six cars to the ARCA RE/MAX Series open test at Daytona Int'l Speedway December 15, 16 & 17. The drivers he named that will be testing under the Bobby Gerhart Racing banner include AJ Henriksen, 2006 NASCAR Grand National West champion Eric Holmes, Ohio late model racer Tony Marks and Brad Coleman. Coleman has recently been signed to a contract with Joe Gibbs Racing to compete in the Busch Series in 2007.

Clemons Racing Uncovers New Title Sponsor

New Albany, Indiana driver Josh Clemons announced that he would run the full ARCA RE/MAX Series schedule in 2007 with Premier Mortgage Funding, Inc. signed on as his primary sponsor on his No. 41 Clemons Racing Ford Fusion. Premier Mortgage Funding, Inc., headquartered in Clearwater, Florida, is a national mortgage lender with approximately 600 affiliate branch offices nationwide. Clemons uncovered the car at the press conference uncovering his new paint scheme. "This is an exciting day for everyone at Clemons Racing," said Clemons. "We have been working hard on this project for several months. To finally make it a reality is a dream come true for everyone involved. We're excited about the future with Premier Mortgage Funding and their commitment to the ARCA RE/MAX Series, and we plan to be a serious threat in ARCA competition next year."

Mark Gibson Racing and partner Kerry Scherer announced a two-car effort for 2007, the first of which will see Hueytown, Alabama driver Justin South driving their #59 Dodge Charger. The car, also announced, will carry title sponsorship from HD Supply. The team also announced a second car as a driver development alliance with Petty Enterprises and Chip Ganassi Racing with drivers yet to be named.

Carter-2-Motorsports officially announced that Roger Carter will run the full 2007 ARCA RE/MAX Series schedule, while the team will also field a second part-time entry for newcomer Nick Tucker next season. Carter, in his freshman year will take over the reins of the legendary No. 48 from James Hylton who has retired from ARCA RE/MAX Series competition. Carter will hoist the Dodge emblem while carrying primary sponsorship from FreeFeds.Org. In addition to FreeFeds.Org, Carter-2-Motorsports will also carry associate sponsorship from FedCURE.org, The Idaho Observer, RvRentToGo.com and 100Fold.net next season. "We're very excited about the platform we've created for the 2007 ARCA RE/MAX Series season," said owner Carter. "I am putting 150 percent into our effort to build a strong and winning foundation in ARCA and I'm looking forward to next season."

Series Announcements:

Toyota Motorsports has signed a three-year agreement to join Ford and Dodge as participating manufacturers in the ARCA RE/MAX Series contingency program offering cash bonuses of $3,750 per-race to Camry teams, and a $5,000 bonus to the champion if he or she is competing in a Camry.

Dodge Motorsports Program Manager Denise Berecz announced that Dodge will return as the Official Pace Car of the ARCA RE/MAX Series in 2007.

The National Pork Board announced it would return for the 8th year as the Official Meat Product of the ARCA RE/MAX Series.

Mr. Gasket/Mallory Ignition, whose ignition box is mandated on all ARCA RE/MAX Series cars limited engine RPM's to 8800, announced an extension of the program through the 2010 season. With over 251,000 laps, and 285,579 miles recorded since the Mallory CT Pro System was first initiated in 2005, the ARCA RE/MAX Series mandated Mallory ignition system has had 0 failures.

Main Event Merchandising Group, it was announced, joins ARCA as the new Official Corporate Apparel provider, and as the host and curator of the ARCA Fan Gear Store on the arcaracing.com website.

As an extension to ARCA's Performance Partners Program, Moroso Performance Products announced it's joining the ARCA team as a contingent product sponsor, and will provide a $1,000 Point Fund contribution and $2,500 Year End Award. In addition, Moroso will provide $300 cash and $300 Product in per event awards, as part of a 3 year agreement.

K&N Filters has renewed their program as an official product in the Performance Partners Program, providing $2,500 Point Fund Contribution, $250 cash per race in per-event awards, and a $3,000 Year End Cash Award. In addition, K&N also announced an additional $1,000 bonus to the winner of the 2007 Daytona ARCA 200 if he or she is using K&N Filters, and running the decals.

Event Sponsorship Announcements

USA Int'l Speedway: Construct Corps, the Tampa based staffing firm, and Palm Beach Grading Company will serve as Co-Sponsors of the inaugural Construct Corps/Palm Beach Grading 250 on Saturday Night, March 24 at USA Int'l Speedway.

Salem Speedway: For the 11th consecutive year, the Kentuckiana Ford Dealers will sponsor the April Kentuckiana Ford Dealers 200 at Salem Speedway while Eddie Gilstrap Motors returns as title sponsor of the September Eddie Gilstrap Motors ARCA Fall Classic for the 14th consecutive season.

Kansas Speedway: While the race date moves from summer to spring, the Kansas Lottery will return, for the fourth consecutive season, as title sponsor of the event at Kansas Speedway with the Kansas Lottery $150 grand.

Kentucky Speedway: Kentucky Speedway disclosed that both the May and July ARCA RE/MAX Series events are sponsored. The Saturday night, May 13 event will be known as the Buckle Up Kentucky 150, sponsored by the Kentucky State Police. The Friday night, July 7 event will once again be sponsored by WLWT Channel 5 as the Channel 5-150.

Iowa Speedway: Prairie Meadows, a suburban Des Moines, Iowa horse track and casino, has signed a 5-year contract to sponsor the ARCA RE/MAX Series events at Iowa Speedway.