ARLA endurance races

The ARLA endurance races are a series of races sanctioned by the ARLA Elite Series that are usually longer in distance than any other race run in the series.

The endurance race is an event that is unique to ARLA, as neither the TM Master Cup Series, TM Lights, nor RROL Elite Series contest races in this format.

2010-11: Dwyer Speedpark
The history of the endurance race in ARLA began in 2010 as the Dwyer Speedpark in Minneapolis, Minnesota hosted the first event. The race, then known as the 120 Laps of Dwyer, was a 576-mile (926.982-km) event in which drivers would be relieved after the third pit-stop cycle. The team of Kevin Monroe and Lawrence Burr won that inaugural endurance event. (Ethan Everett won the first race at the track in 2009, but it was not an endurance event.)

The 2010 race was not without controversy, as Hawk Slider attempted to circumvent the substitute-driver rules and run the whole race himself, but the ruse was quickly discovered and became what is known as the Dwyergate scandal.

Dwyer would again host the Elite Series' endurance race in 2011, as the event was extended from 120 laps to 150 laps. The 720-mile (1,158.728-km) distance was particularly fitting; Dwyer family patriarch Benny Dwyer, himself a six-time TM Master Cup Series champion, drove cars carrying the number 72 throughout his career. As a result of the increased distance, the driver change window was changed from the third cycle of pit stops to the fourth.

That race would see its first female winner, as the team of Allie Riggs and Chris Johaanes took the checkers. Along with Riggs, three other female drivers – Laura Cyrus (Riggs' teammate), Rachel Rainsford (who, along with half-sister Alexis finished 14th the previous year), and Tiffany Matthews (in her ARLA debut) – also placed in the top 10 finishers, marking the first time that four women placed that high in the event.

2012: Indianapolis Raceway Park
The 2012 edition of the ARLA endurance race will switch venues to Indianapolis Raceway Park for an event dubbed the Mini Indy 500. Relief drivers will not be used in this race due to its shorter distance.

Race format
Unlike most of the other races on the calendar, no driver was locked into the main race (2011-). This meant that any driver, no matter their points position, was in jeopardy of not making the race if they couldn't either make the race on time or advance through the qualifying races.

Dwyer
To determine the front row for the race, all cars (120 in 2011) would be placed into groups of 40 and would each have 30-minute qualifying sessions. Once all three sessions were completed, the times would be pooled and the best time would claim the Smash Beer Pole Award for the race. This driver would avoid having to race his/her way into the event. The driver with the second-best time would earn the other front row spot, and thus would also avoid the qualifying races.

The remaining drivers would be placed into four pre-qualifying races, with the top 20 finishers in each race advancing to the main qualifying races. Those drivers that transferred to the main qualifiers would be placed according to their pre-qualifying race finish, with odd-numbered finishers in one race and even-numbered finishers in the other.

The top 20 finishers from the two main qualifying races would earn starting spots in the main race.

Indianapolis
The qualifying process was modified slightly in order to accomodate the lower car count (109). All cars still went through the pole qualifying process, and as before, only the top two cars on time would avoid the qualifying races.

In a change from previous endurance events, pre-qualifying races were deleted in favor of three qualifying races in which the top 13 drivers in each race advanced to the main event.

Firsts
First race: 2010 120 Laps of Dwyer First polesitter: Leigh Gruell (2010) First retirees: Bobby Porteau and Jeb Klinger (2010) First winner: Kevin Monroe (2010) First female winner: Allie Riggs (2011) First female finisher: Nami Mura (2010) First event on an oval: 2012 Mini Indy 500 (2012)