2009 ARLA Round of Dwyer

The 2009 ARLA Round of Dwyer, also known as the 2009 Dwyer Memorial Grand Prix, was the 15th race of the 2009 ARLA Elite Series season. It was held at the newly-refurbished and renamed Dwyer Speedpark in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Ethan Everett made his debut in this race (see below).

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Pre-race storylines
National Racing developmental driver Ethan Everett took the pole for the race, filling for Kodi Richards, the usual driver of the No. 53 car. Everett's pole performance immediately raised eyebrows in the garage area, as he was a debutant driver at a track he'd never seen before. Rosebud Racing's other drivers drove Inglesby Flashbacks, while Everett took to the track in a Saar Tyrant. The cheating accusations began flying, with drivers like Dale Underwood, Allie Riggs, and Kevin Monroe each lodging allegations that the Saar Motor Company brought, in the words of Riggs, a "cheated-up" car to the track. Monroe alleged that Saar "probably just brought a TM Master Cup car over to blow everyone out of the water and make him look awesome, and they're in cahoots with the officials."

In his defense, Everett said, "I'm one of Saar's drivers, and since Rosebud Racing is not a factory backed team, they let me drive a Saar. I truly appreciate the effort all these guys did to get me in this car for the race. I'd like to thank Casargo, Rosebud Racing, and National Racing for getting this deal together."

Tony Durbin, who flew up from Talladega to watch practice and qualifying, noted, "I saw him jump in a late model that was destined for the scrapyard and he put it on the pole on a track he only saw on TV. The teams over here need to quit whining when someone is legitimately better than them. It's a disgrace to racing when grown adults act worse than my 6-year-old nephew."

For what it was worth, ARLA Elite Series Competition Director Abby McGee tried to debunk the rumors among the teams, stating that "Everett has passed all the tech inspections so far. There is nothing wrong with his car, and we don't appreciate all the criticism we're getting."

The race
Everett dominated the event, leading all but two of the 15 laps. (Alex Carson and Lance Andrews were the only other two drivers to lead a lap.)

The top 10

 * For the full results, click here.

Points
Akira Tsukari maintained the points lead by virtue of her fifth-place finish, leading Kurt Walker by 58 points.