When using inserts, can i arm an audio track somehow so it will record itself in realtime? Meaning that the track will playback existing audiofiles and record onto itself?
No, that is not possible. And if it is, that’s an oversight.
It’s an oversight, then. You can simply route the track’s output to its own input and record it. If there’s an insert in between, the effect will be recorded as well, of course. I know because I’ve done this in the past. 
Just checked this in 9.8, and it’s still possible. Ardour correctly lights up the feedback indicator, but it doesn’t prevent the process.
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Cool, that works! There is some latency in the recorded file but it’s easy to put in place because of the overlapping original audiofiles. Thanks!
This is because LDC won’t work in this case. Ardour indicates this by displaying the “Ambiguous” warning. So, it does a pretty good job of warning the user that they might hurt themselves badly.