Tag: ARCA Menards Series

Ty Gibbs bounces back for Winchester victory
After finishing a frustrating second place at Bristol Motor Speedway Thursday night, Ty Gibbs and the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing team rebounded to a dominating victory at Winchester Speedway Saturday afternoon after starting on the pole.

“Yeah, that was fun,” Gibbs told MAVTV in his post-race interview about the Winchester victory. “I’m just trying to get as much experience as I can (in these cars). I think I led almost every single lap. It was a fun time. It was a dream come true to win here at Winchester. It’s a really cool track with a lot of history and it’s cool to win here. I’m just excited we can move on and win some more races after this.”

The Toyota 200 marked the 17th race of the 2020 ARCA Menards Series season and the second ARCA race of the week, just two days removed from previously competing at Bristol on Thursday night. There were three segments throughout the 200-lap event. The first segment ended on Lap 75, the second on Lap 150 and the final at Lap 200 when the checkered flag flew.

Before the event started there were a few notable changes. Eric Caudell in the No. 7 was added to the entry list and there were three driver changes. The No. 10 was originally supposed to be driven by Owen Smith but he was replaced by Rick Clifton. The No. 11 change took place when Mike Basham took over after Ed Pompa jumped out of the machine and Owen Smith took over the No. 12 after Basham went to the No. 11.

Segment 1: Lap 1 – Lap 75

When the green flag flew, it was all Ty Gibbs who led every single lap throughout the first segment. There was only one caution that flew on Lap 60 for the No. 4 of Hailie Deegan who spun around off Turn 2, but kept going without further incident. However, Deegan, along with her teammate, Taylor Gray, pitted right before the green flag flew for a right-rear tire flat.

The restart came at Lap 64 but no one proved to be a match for Gibbs as he led through the first segment. Self, Love, Holmes, Dollar, Gray, Deegan, Basham, Caudell, Smith, Nicolopoulos, and Clifton were the Top 10.

During the segment break, Deegan received the free pass and got back on the lead lap.

Segment 2: Lap 79 – Lap 150

Just one caution slowed the second segment. This time, Deegan was back in the wall and unfortunately, her day was done early, as the damage to the California native’s No. 4 machine was too catastrophic to repair. Deegan would be credited with a 12th place finish, out of the race.

Like the first segment, everyone found themselves riding behind the dominating No. 18 of Ty Gibbs who once again led through the first 150 laps until caution flags flew for the second break of the race. Completing the Top 10 were Self, Love, Holmes, Gray, Dollar, Basham, Caudell, Smith, and Nicolopoulos.

Segment 3: Lap 153 – Lap 200

During the remaining laps of the Toyota 200, no more yellows were flown for any other incidents, which allowed Ty Gibbs to run away for his fifth checkered flag of the 2020 ARCA Menards Series season.

Michael Self came home in the second position, earning his 11th top five of the season, and he still leads the championship points standings over Bret Holmes.

“This was fun, two fun racetracks,” Self said. “Bristol was a heart breaker for us the other night. We had a super fast car, and I thought we had a chance to win that one. The guys made some great changes and got caught up in a little bit of a wreck by hitting the right-rear but still was able to rebound.

“Here at Winchester, I’m really proud of the No. 25 SinClair Oil team and everyone at Venturini Motorsports. It’s no secret, we’ve struggled pretty bad as of recently. We’ve been frustrated. We’ve beaten ourselves up, myself up. Despite that, we’ve been thrashing, and the guys have been working hard on the cars and I think it showed. There was a time about five races ago, where we couldn’t keep the 18 (Ty Gibbs) in sight, and today, we were within a adjustment or two of running with him. I’m just really excited as we’re finding speed at the right time. We got good tracks in front of us, and hopefully we can keep our momentum up.”

While Gibbs celebrated with another victory, drivers such as Brad Smith, Eric Caudell, and Con Nicolopoulous enjoyed a career-high day as they all gained their first Top 10 finish in an ARCA Menards Series competition. Smith’s top 10 came in 363 starts at the age of 51, whereas Caudell’s came in just his 49th start at the age of 53, and Nicolopoulous in just 87 starts at the age of 58.

Smith’s thoughts about his Top 10 finish are below.

NINTH PLACE in the #Toyota200 presented by Crosley Brands at the @FastestHalfMile @ARCA_Racing event! Here's Brad: #RememberHarveyAndTweet #StrangeStrong #HenshawAutomation @BigelowBethany
@KEMMOCupSeries
@low_nascar@GeneralTire pic.twitter.com/WstFE2aqg7
— #DriverBradSmith #48Team #BradSmith (@DriverBradSmith) September 19, 2020

Official Results following the Toyota 200 at Winchester Speedway.
1. Ty Gibbs, led 199 laps
2. Michael Self, led one lap
3. Bret Holmes
4. Jesse Love
5. Taylor Gray
6. Drew Dollar, 1 lap down
7. Mike Basham, 6 laps down
8. Eric Caudell, 18 laps down
9. Brad Smith, 25 laps down
10. Con Nicolopoulos, 30 laps down
11. Rick Clifton, 32 laps down
12. Hailie Deegan, OUT, Crash
13. Owen Smith, OUT, Brakes
14. Wayne Peterson, OUT, Valve Spring
Up Next: The ARCA Menards Series will visit Memphis International Speedway for Round No. 18 of the 2020 season Sunday, Sept. 26, and will air live on NBC Sports Gold Trackpass.
September 19, 2020
Same song, second verse for Sam Mayer as he sweeps Thursday night at Bristol
Sam Mayer collected one checkered flag earlier in the night after winning the NASCAR Gander Outdoors & RV Truck Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway but he was looking for more. He strapped into the ARCA Menards Series car for double duty, though the GMS Racing driver had to work for his ARCA victory.

At one point, the Wisconsin native followed Ty Gibbs to pit road to pit for new adjustments. During the second segment Mayer picked up debris to his left-front which could have potentially caused handling issues but he escaped without further damage and won for the second consecutive time of the night.

Practice was canceled due to the remnants of Hurricane Sally that brought heavy rains to the North Carolina and Bristol areas. However, they were able to get the track dried in time for the ARCA Menards Series race. With practice canceled, the qualifying order was set by team owner points and that meant the No. 18 of Ty Gibbs sat on the pole with Mayer in the second position.

There were three segments taking place at Laps 75, 150 and 200.

Segment 1: Lap 1 – Lap 73 (Segment ended early due to late caution)

The first segment was a busy one for the ARCA drivers as six cautions flooded the segment with the first one coming as early as Lap 3 with the No. 53E of Max Gutierrez. The last caution of the segment took place on Lap 73 when debris came off Chandler Smith’s No. 20 due to the sway bar coming apart.

With the late segment yellow, ARCA officials decided to call the segment early and allow teams to change tires and add fuel to their cars. Gibbs, Mayer, Max McLaughlin, Michael Self, Drew Dollar, Mason Diaz, Parker Retzlaff, Hailie Deegan and Derek Griffith were the top 10 finishers for segment 1.

Segment 2: Lap 76 – Lap 150

As it has been happening all season long, Gibbs and Mayer found themselves battling for the lead off the restart. Though, Gibbs broke away this time, and checked out with the race lead and Mayer following in pursuit. The two actually would make contact at the halfway mark, when Mayer slightly touched the No. 18 of Gibbs left-rear. Gibbs and Mayer continued to soilder on despite the contact.

Four laps later, the first yellow of segment two flew on Lap 104 after the No. 11 of Owen Smith had oil leaking underneath his car. Meanwhile, two others cars ended up spinning in the process, those being the No. 97 of Justin S. Carroll and the No. 6 of Nick Sanchez.

During the caution flag, Gibbs made a pit stop for a left-rear flat, as did Mayer who pitted for adjustments on his No. 21 Chevy.

A few more incidents were seen throughout the rest of the segment. On Lap 124, Michael Self was sideways off Turn 4 while leading the race and hit the outside wall, which allowed the No. 1 of Max McLaughlin to assume the lead.

The final yellow would fly on Lap 132 after Parker Retzlaff went spinning on the fronstretch, as the No. 15 of Drew Dollar retaliated against Retzlaff from an earlier incident during the course of the summer.

Despite these incidents, Mayer found his way back into the lead, just before the second segment break on Lap 150. Following Mayer was McLaughlin, Gibbs, Diaz, Gray, Holmes, Griffith, Deegan, Dollar, and Dean the Top 10.

During the segment break, Bret Holmes played a different pit strategy and stayed out, taking the lead.

Segment 3: Lap 154 – Lap 200

When the green flag flew for the final segment, Holmes struggled to maintain the lead and Mayer took the lead back on Lap 156. Even though one more caution flew on Lap 160 for a Gus Dean spin, Mayer held on for the final 45 laps of the Toyota 200 to claim his fifth overall ARCA Menards Series victory of 2020 excluding his lone victory in the East Series at Dover.

There were 10 cautions for 61 laps and nine lead changes among five different leaders.

Mayer led four times for 116 laps en route to victory at Bristol.

Official Results following the Toyota 200 ARCA Menards at Bristol Motor Speedway.
1. Sam Mayer, led 116 laps
2. Ty Gibbs, led 53 laps
3. Max McLaughlin, led 19 laps
4. Mason Diaz
5. Michael Self, led nine laps
6. Hailie Deegan
7. Taylor Gray
8. Bret Holmes, led three laps
9. Derek Griffith
10. Justin S. Carroll, 2 laps down
11. Nick Sanchez, 2 laps down
12. Gus Dean, 5 laps down
13. Jason Kitzmiller, 8 laps down
14. Max Gutierrez, 11 laps down
15. Kris Wright, 17 laps down
16. Con Nicolopoulos, 18 laps down
17. Kyle Sieg, 20 laps down
18. Drew Dollar, 46 laps down
19. Parker Retzlaff, OUT, Crash
20. Dave Mader III, OUT, Overheating
21. Chase Cabre, OUT, Crash
22. Owen Smith, OUT, Engine
23. Chandler Smith, OUT, Sway Bar
24. Mike Basham, OUT, Brakes
25. Brad Smith, OUT, Electrical
26. Wayne Peterson, OUT, Electrical
Up Next: The ARCA Menards Series will continue their 2020 run to the championship by visiting Winchester Speedway Saturday September 19 live on NBC Sports Trackpass at 3 p.m./ET with a delayed telecast on MAVTV beginning at 6 p.m./ET.
September 18, 2020

Weekend schedule for Bristol

This week NASCAR heads to Bristol Motor Speedway. The Cup Series will compete Saturday night as they close out the first round of their playoffs to narrow the field from 16 drivers to 12.

Thursday evening will feature the opening round of the playoffs for the NASCAR Gander & RV Outdoors Truck Series. Friday night the Xfinity Series takes to the track for the last race of the regular season.

There will also be a doubleheader for the ARCA Menards Series at Bristol. They will race Thursday night following the Truck Series and again on Saturday afternoon prior to the Cup Series event.

All times are Eastern.

Thursday, Sept. 17

7:30 p.m.: Truck Series UNOH 200 presented by Ohio Logistics (Stages 55/110/200 Laps = 106.6 Miles) FS1/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Pole: Grant Enfinger

9:30 p.m.: ARCA Bush’s Beans 200 (200 Laps, 106.6 Miles) FS1/MRN

Friday, Sept. 18

7 p.m.: Xfinity Series Food City 300 (Stages 85/170/300 Laps = 159.9 Miles) NBCSN/PRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Pole: Justin Allgaier

Saturday, Sept. 19

3 p.m.: ARCA Toyota 200 presented by Crosley Brands (Winchester) Trackpass

7:30 p.m.: Cup Series Bass Pro Shops Night Race (Stages 125/250/500 Laps = 266.5 Miles) NBCSN/PRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Pole: Brad Keselowski

Cup Series Bubble Watch (Via NASCAR.com)
Rank	Driver	Points to cutoff
9	Kyle Busch	18
10	Aric Almirola	7
11	Kurt Busch	7
12	Clint Bowyer	3
——-	Cut-Off Line	———————
13	William Byron	-3
14	Cole Custer	-8
15	Matt DiBenedetto	-25
16	Ryan Blaney	-27

September 17, 2020

Sam Mayer gets hat trick at I-44 Speedway
When it was announced that I-44 Speedway would replace Elko Speedway in Minnesota on the schedule due to COVID restrictions, the speedway was fairly new to everyone in the field. Most drivers had never competed at the .375-mile race track located in Lebanon, Missouri.

But when the checkered flag flew at the end of Lap 200, the race winner wasn’t much of a surprise to anyone as GMS Racing Developmental driver Sam Mayer earned his third checkered flag of the 2020 ARCA Menards Series season.

As it has been since the ARCA Menards Series returned from the pandemic break, three segments made up the 200 lap race at I-44 Speedway. The first segment ended on Lap 75, the second segment at Lap 150 and the final at Lap 200. Bret Holmes was on the pole after setting the pace in practice earlier in the day.

The race was action-packed from the get-go when the green flag flew. Through the first 35 laps of the Zinnser Smart Coat 200, Holmes stretched his lead over second-place driver Ty Gibbs by nearly four seconds. However, the first yellow flew on Lap 36 when Venturini Motorsports driver Chandler Smith got turned sideways going into Turn 1, after contact with the No. 4 of Hailie Deegan. Right before the next restart, another Venturini driver suffered issues when the No. 15 of Drew Dollar came to pit road for battery issues under caution. By taking his No. 15 to pit road, the battery problem really took Dollar out of the race as he returned to the track numerous laps down.

More contact would come at Laps 48 and 70. At Lap 48, Gibbs’ No. 18 made slight contact with the No. 25 of Michael Self. The contact gave Self some right-side damage to his No. 25 Sinclair Lubricants Toyota. Meanwhile, the second caution flew at Lap 70, after pole-sitter Holmes got spun by Deegan going into Turn 1. The move sent Holmes up the track and caused more right-side damage to Deegan’s No. 4 Ford.

With the yellow coming so close to the first segment break, ARCA officials decided the break would come at Lap 71. Deegan, Mayer, Gibbs, Gray, Self, Wright, Holmes, Basham, Smith, and Richmond were the top 10.

The green flag flew for the second segment on Lap 71. Though just 20 laps later, another yellow came out as Holmes got into the No. 20 of Smith after Smith slightly came down when Holmes was already there.

Smith’s night continued to go downhill on Lap 120 when he made contact with the No. 22 of Kris Wright, bringing out the fourth caution of the night.

Prior to the segment ending on Lap 150, Wright again would end up in trouble, as he got into Self’s No. 25 Toyota in Turn 3. After the contact, Self’s car was severely damaged when he hit the wall. Once the cars were brought down for pit road due to the break, Deegan, Mayer, Holmes, Gibbs, Gray, Self, Wright, Smith, Basham, and Dollar made up the top 10 running order.

The turning point of the race occurred after the Lap 156 restart after Mayer shot to the lead when Deegan didn’t get going well enough to keep her lead. Mayer had a better restart and continued to check out with the race lead.

By the time the checkered flag flew, it was all Mayer as he grabbed his third ARCA Menards Series victory of the year with Holmes coming in second and Taylor Gray third to round out the top three.

Even though Holmes closed the championship points gap to one point behind Michael Self, the Alabaman was frustrated with how his race went.

“It’s really frustrating when you have the best car and you don’t win the race,” Holmes said. “We really did all we could. The last 15 to 20 laps, I kind of lost my cool there, with being so frustrated with the car. You know, it just sucks. People can’t race clean. I know for some people it doesn’t matter (racing clean) just because of who they are, but for people like me, it’s a lot tougher to have a good reputation and keep that fan base behind you. Just the lack of respect overall. I’ve never had to race the car that way, but they’ve got it coming.”

Despite Holmes being frustrated with a second place finish, one rookie Taylor Gray, enjoyed a career best night of placing third.

“We finished third by just being there at the end and racing everyone clean as much as I possibly could,” Gray said. “It’s really hard to pass here and not the greatest racing side-by-side. We came out with a good finish tonight. I can’t thank everyone at DGR-Crosley and Ford enough. They gave me a good Ford Fusion tonight and we’ll go on to Toledo next weekend.”

Mayer led one time for 46 laps en route to victory.

There were five cautions for 28 laps and two lead changes among three different leaders.

Official Results following the Zinsser Smart Coat 200 at I-44 Speedway.
1. Sam Mayer, led 46 laps
2. Bret Holmes, led 69 laps
3. Taylor Gray
4. Ty Gibbs
5. Hailie Deegan, led 85 laps
6. Michael Self, 1 lap down
7. Kris Wright, 2 laps down
8. Chandler Smith, 2 laps down
9. Drew Dollar, 6 laps down
10. Mike Basham, 7 laps down
11. Tim Richmond, 11 laps down
12. Owen Smith, OUT, Brakes
13. Brad Smith, OUT, Handling
14. Tim Monroe, OUT, Brakes
Up Next: The ARCA Menards Series is scheduled to compete at Toledo Speedway on Saturday, Sept. 12.
September 6, 2020
Sam Mayer victorious in ARCA Menards East Series race at Dover
Sam Mayer capitalized on Ty Gibbs’s misfortune to take home his second ARCA Menards East Series victory of the 2020 season. Gibbs’s misfortune came with 15 to go when he made hard contact with the wall off Turn 2 after what appeared to be a right-front tire go down. Despite Gibbs’ issue, Wisconsin native, Mayer, had already grabbed the lead with less than 25 to go and came home with the victory.

“I got a really, really good restart and I don’t think he (Ty Gibbs) expected me too,” Mayer said. “We got a really good restart and was able to get inside of him, and he took the air off my door. You know, if you’re the leader, you have the right to do that because you want to keep the lead obviously. You expect to get a good restart, but when you don’t, you have to fight for it.”

“I understand that and I ended up giving it right back to him. I packed his air under his spoiler and he (Gibbs) got a little bit loose, he was able to gather it up and I let him go because I got a little bit tight under him. So, it was pretty much a whole aerodynamic mess under that restart. It was a lot of fun though. That’s how I ended up getting by Ty (Gibbs) is packing the air under his spoiler and getting loose, side draft him and clear myself into (Turn) 1. It was a really good car, I can’t thank GMS Racing enough.”

The General Tire 125 from Dover International Speedway consisted of three segment breaks. The first came on Lap 35, the second on Lap 70, and the checkered flag on Lap 125.

Through the first two segments, there were some drivers who were off the pace. Rookie of the Year contender, Nick Sanchez, had his motor expire and he had to leave the race early. Sanchez was credited with a 16th place finish. One other competitor who was off the pace as well was Justin S. Carroll in the No. 91 Toyota. Carroll went behind the wall on Lap 26 and would not return. The Virginia native ended up placing 14th in the final results.

Meanwhile, with Gibbs out front and checking out, there was some intense action between Venturini Motorsports teammates, Drew Dollar and Mason Diaz. The two drivers were racing each other hard and both nearly crashed off Turn 4 at one point. Thankfully, both would keep on racing for position.

Loose continued to be the word of the day in the General Tire 125. Multiple drivers such as Taylor Gray and race winner Sam Mayer were loose early on. Unfortunately for Gray, he fought an ill-handling car and fell off the pace. Gray hit the wall a couple of times off Turn 4, ruining a good finish as the DGR-Crosley driver came home ninth, the last car on the lead lap.

After the two segments were completed through Lap 70, the action really picked up when the third and final segment got underway.

Mayer and Gibbs got loose on Lap 76 in Turns 1 and 2 which almost made them both wreck and take each other out of contention. During that moment, Mayer received some slight damage from contact with Gibbs’s left-rear quarter panel. Gibbs was able to keep on racing and so did Mayer, but Mayer regrouped and passed Gibbs for the lead with 20 to go.

Just a few laps later, Gibbs’s accident occurred which prompted ARCA Menards Series officials to display the red flag for clean up. Fortunately for Gibbs, he was unhurt after his hard hit with the wall.

An 11-lap dash to the finish ensued but no one proved to be a match for Mayer as he scored the checkered flag.

While Mayer enjoyed his victory, DGR-Crosley team owner David Gilliland, made a special cameo appearance driving in his own No. 54 Ford. Gilliland brought his car home to a second-place finish.

“We came up a little bit short,” Gilliland said. “Sam (Mayer) and those No. 21 guys had a heck of a race car. It was a lot of fun to get back in and race in the ARCA Menards Series. Obviously, I am a huge supporter of it (the series) on the ownership side. I watched my son (Todd Gilliland) raced in it. But, this is my first one (race). We had a fast Ford, just came up a little bit short.”

There were three cautions for 10 laps and one lead change among two different leaders.

Official Results following the General Tire 125.
1. Sam Mayer, led 21 laps
2. David Gilliland
3. Mason Diaz
4. Max McLaughlin
5. Drew Dollar
6. Corey Heim
7. Parker Retzlaff
8. Chase Cabre
9. Taylor Gray
10. Chuck Buchanan JR, 9 laps down
11. Kyle Sieg, 9 laps down
12. Ty Gibbs, OUT, Accident
13. Ed Pompa, 59 laps down
14. Justin S. Carroll, OUT, Mechanical
15. Tommy Vigh Jr, OUT, Electrical
16. Nick Sanchez, OUT, Mechanical
17. Joe Graf Jr, OUT, Mechanical
Sam Mayer leads Ty Gibbs by 13 points in the championship points standings.

Up Next: The ARCA Menards East Series will visit New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Saturday, September 12 for Round No. 4 of the 2020 season.
August 21, 2020
Michael Self takes historic Daytona Road Course victory
For the first time ever in ARCA Menards Series history, the series visited the Daytona International Speedway Road Course this weekend. The event was created due to the Watkins Glen International race being canceled due to COVID-19 restrictions.

While the road course upped the intensity, a familiar face was in victory lane again. Venturini Motorsports’ Michael Self swept the Daytona races, as he won the season opener back in February. The win wasn’t easy for the Salt Lake City, Utah native as he had to pass and fend off an aggressive Ty Gibbs late in the going. Self maneuvered his No. 25 Sinclair Lubricants Toyota past Gibbs with six laps to go coming out of Turn 6. From there, Self opened up a big gap, and won the General Tire 100 by almost seven seconds.

“No, this is so special to me,” Self said excitedly about the win. “Anytime you win at Daytona, it’s really cool and special. Obviously, to do this twice, winning on the big track earlier this year, and to come to this (road course), this is a little extra special for me. Road racing has just a special place in my heart. That’s where I come from. I spent a lot of time when I’m not in racing, coaching a lot of guys in the Trans Am Series with the Mike Cope Racing team.”

“To go out and justify that, and do what we did tonight makes me feel so good. I don’t get to road race all that often. So, this is extremely special for me.”

Before the event would get underway ARCA Menards Series officials brought the drivers down pit road in order for them to change from dry to wet tires. Self’s teammate Chandler Smith, was on the pole via a random draw based on owner points.

Speaking of Venturini Motorsports, Self’s day started out rocky well before the race began. He was never able to log any laps in his No. 25 machine in practice due to a faulty spark plug wire. Despite the issue, Self was still able to start alongside his teammate in the second position.

Once the green flag dropped, it was all Ty Gibbs and the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing machine. Self would lead for a brief period of time before Gibbs took the lead in Turns 9 and 10. On that same lap, Chandler Smith lost control of his No. 20 JBL Toyota in Turn 3 and lost several positions. That same turn would cause more incidents in the early laps, with Thad Moffitt in the No. 46, and Nick Igdalsky in the No. 12 spinning around and going off the circuit. But the race would stay green and no cautions flew for these minor incidents.

As the race got closer and closer to the halfway break scheduled for Lap 14, Michael Self closed the gap before the yellow and red flag was displayed. Self was able to grab the lead from Gibbs just one lap before the segment break. When the field came to a stop for adjustments on Lap 14, Self, Gibbs, Sam Mayer, Will Rodgers, Parker Chase, Taylor Gray, Hailie Deegan, Max McLaughlin, Chandler Smith, and Ayrton Ori were the top 10.

One of the more interesting stories coming into tonight’s historic race was Sam Mayer. Mayer’s wrist was injured during a TransAm T2 crash at Road America the week before. resulting in a hairline fracture. He had a backup driver just in case the pain started flaring up throughout the 28 lap race. That backup driver was none other than former NASCAR driver, now turned IMSA driver, Colin Braun. Braun would sub in for Mayer after 15 laps and completed the race for the GMS Racing team. He was able to pilot the No. 21 Chevrolet to a third-place finish.

After the restart came back out with 12 to go, Gibbs took the top spot from Self again in Turns 7 and 8. But, as the race wound down, so did his car and Self caught back up to Gibbs and made the pass. All Gibbs could do was watch as he came home in the second position after being dominant early. There were some hairy moments though for the leaders with three laps to go. Ayrton Ori had a flat left front tire and took the damaged No. 74 machine back to pit road.

However, no yellow flags flew in those remaining laps and Venturini Motorsports captured their fifth win of the 2020 ARCA Menards Series season.

There were four leaders among two lead changes and one caution for two laps.

Official Results following the General Tire 100 at Daytona Road Course
1. Michael Self, led nine laps
2. Ty Gibbs, led 19 laps
3. Sam Mayer-Colin Braun
4. Taylor Gray
5. Will Rodgers
6. Hailie Deegan
7. Max McLaughlin
8. Bret Holmes
9. Chandler Smith
10. Parker Chase
11. Thad Moffitt
12. Drew Dollar, 1 lap down
13. Will Kimmel, 1 lap down
14. Nick Igdalsky, 1 lap down
15. Mike Basham, 2 laps down
16. Russ Lane, 2 laps down
17. Ayrton Ori, 2 laps down
18. Con Nicolopoulos, OUT, Overheating
19. Brad Smith, OUT, Transmission
20. Tim Monroe, OUT, Electrical
21. Bryan Dauzat, OUT, Did Not Start
Up Next: The ARCA Menards Series takes a week off before returning Saturday, Aug. 29 at World Wide Technology Raceway.
August 15, 2020
Riley Herbst snaps ARCA winless streak at Michigan
Pocono Raceway, June of 2017. Three years marked the time since Joe Gibbs Racing driver Riley Herbst notched his first career ARCA Menards Series win. Now three years later, after many second-place finishes, Herbst continued Joe Gibbs Racing’s 2020 ARCA winning streak at Michigan International Speedway and scored the fourth checkered flag of the year under the JGR banner.

“Clean air is everything,” Herbst said about the victory. “Especially with these bigger tapered spacers on it. You can’t get any runs or anything like that. Veteran Tony Hirschman (Spotter) on the spotter stand for me. We walked it through and we had to get it done on the restart, if we wanted to win this race. Just because, it’s so tough to pass with big spoilers and low horsepower. So, we got it done on the restart, and was aggressive on the side drafting to get the victory.”

Two five minute segment breaks took place throughout the 100 lap event at Michigan.

Herbst, the Californian, made his name known early by leading the first four laps before Kansas winner Bret Holmes grabbed the lead on Lap four and led through the first segment break. Drew Dollar, Ryan Repko, and Michael Self were the top five.

Once the five minute red flag was completed, the restart came on Lap 35 and Herbst was back in the lead for one lap until Holmes prevailed on Lap 36 and led for 29 laps.

However, at Lap 53, seven laps before the second segment, the caution flag flew for the No. 21 GMS Racing machine of Kris Wright. Wright, the Pennsylvania native, who was making his ARCA Menards Series debut ahead of his NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series debut at Daytona Road Course next week, crashed hard in Turns 1 and 2. He was running solidly inside the top 10.

With the yellow, a three-lap dash to the break was seen. Even though Herbst had a great car, Holmes continued to fend him off and was the leader at the second red flag. Herbst, Dollar, Self, and Alfredo were the top five under the Lap 60 segment break.

The final restart came on Lap 64, right around 36 to go. Herbst, in the No. 18 Monster Energy Toyota, got around Holmes off the restart and began to check out over second place. There were a couple of moments when Holmes would get a draft and suck up right behind Herbst to try and get the lead. Despite Holmes’ best efforts, Herbst broke the draft and remained the leader.

As no other cautions flew, Herbst led the final 34 laps and kept Holmes at bay to win by 1.456 seconds for his second career ARCA Menards Series victory.

Meanwhile, Holmes had to settle for what he called a “disappointing second place” after leading the most laps of 61.

“It’s just frustrating,” Holmes said on his second-place finish. “I feel like on the intermediate stuff, we come to win races now. Not run second. I want to be happy about that, but it’s hard to. You come to these races to win. The side drafting was a lot of fun at the beginning, but I don’t think the outside lane on the restarts were too big of a difference. We would get a really good launch on the initial restart and then, he’d (Herbst) had a car behind him to push him and that’s what got him in front of me, cleared me. It’s just the way clean air works here.”

There were three cautions for 13 laps and six lead changes among two drivers.

Official Results following the VizCom 200 at Michigan International Speedway.
1. Riley Herbst, led 39 laps
2. Bret Holmes, led 61 laps
3. Michael Self
4. Drew Dollar
5. Anthony Alfredo
6. Hailie Deegan
7. Ryan Repko, 1 lap down
8. Jason Kitzmiller, 1 lap down
9. Thad Moffitt, 1 lap down
10. Armani Williams, 4 laps down
11. Tim Richmond, 7 laps down
12. Brad Smith, 14 laps down
13. Scott Melton, OUT, Mechanical
14. Kris Wright, OUT, Accident
15. Morgen Baird, OUT, Brakes
16. Con Nicolopoulos, OUT, Oil Leak
17. Mike Basham, OUT, Transmission
Up Next: The ARCA Menards Series visits the Daytona Road Course Friday, August 14 at 5 p.m. ET on MAVTV.
August 9, 2020
Bret Holmes achieves first ARCA win at Kansas
It took 69 starts, but Munford, Alabama native Bret Holmes notched his first career ARCA Menards Series victory Friday night at Kansas Speedway.

Holmes started fourth based on owner’s points but didn’t waste any time getting to the front. He took the lead after the segment two restart on Lap 19 and led the rest of the race for a total of 82 laps. No one proved a match for his No. 23 machine as Holmes easily took the checkered flag by 14.458 seconds over Venturini Motorsports driver Ryan Repko.

“We’ve been working so hard for this,” said Holmes. “I’ve been working my whole life for this. My team did this for me. It’s been a long tough road. I just thank my family and my friends. They believed in me when I didn’t.”

There were three segment breaks that made up the Dawn 150. The first segment break was on Lap 30, the second was on Lap 60 with the race ending on Lap 100.

The first segment was relatively caution free with just one incident slowing the field on Lap 13. Russ Lane in the No. 8 had a scary moment off Turn 2 when the Overland Park, Kansas native got loose and smashed the inside wall hard.

Besides the incident involving Lane, there were a couple of other close moments during the second segment as Drew Dollar and Hailie Deegan almost wrecked in Turns 3 and 4. However, both of them somehow saved their vehicles without incident.

The only driver that could battle for the lead was Corey Heim who was making his first ARCA Menards start of 2020. Helm ran in the second position, just two seconds back from Holmes. But, Holmes’ car was so dominant that he began to check out from the field and his lead continued to climb.

The victory was a long time coming for Holmes, as he would claim the first checkered flag of his ARCA career.

Holmes led 82 laps with Riley Herbst being the only other driver to lead laps with 18. There were three cautions for 10 laps. Two of those were for stage breaks and the other for the Russ Lane incident.

With the victory, Holmes has decreased Michael Self’s points lead down to nine.

Official Results following the Dawn 150 at Kansas Speedway.
1. Bret Holmes, led 82 laps
2. Ryan Repko
3. Riley Herbst, led 18 laps
4. Corey Heim
5. Tanner Gray
6. Michael Self
7. Drew Dollar
8. Derek Griffith
9. Hailie Deegan
10. Thad Moffitt, 1 lap down
11. Jason Kitzmiller, 2 laps down
12. Eric Caudell, 5 laps down
13. Ryan Huff, OUT, Overheating
14. Tyler Hill, 7 laps down
15. Con Nicolopoulos, OUT
16. Brad Smith, OUT
17. Mike Basham, OUT
18. Russ Lane, OUT, Crash
July 25, 2020
Ty Gibbs earns Kentucky ARCA win
The ARCA Menards Series returned to Kentucky Speedway Saturday afternoon for the first time in over three years as Joe Gibbs Racing driver Ty Gibbs grabbed the General Tire 150 checkered flag after a fierce battle with Michael Self and Bret Holmes. Gibbs picked up his second ARCA Menards Series victory of the season.

Last week’s winner Chandler Smith did not compete as he was focused on the Truck Series, which left the field wide open. Three segments broke up the 150-mile race. The segment breaks were at Lap 30, Lap 60 and Lap 100.

As the green flag flew, Self was able to lead Lap 1. A short green flag run was seen until Lap 17 when the first caution came out when Scott Melton in the No. 69 hit the wall to bring out the yellow.

After the restart on Lap 22, Gibbs took the lead from Self and led until the first segment break on Lap 30. Bret Holmes, Self, Hailie Deegan, Ryan Repko, Sam Mayer, Drew Dollar, Thad Moffitt, Tanner Gray, and Derek Griffith were the top 10 at the time of the break.

From Laps 35-60, the General Tire 150 was mainly caution-free. Self fell back on the initial restart for the second segment, but found his rhythm and continued to make a charge toward Ty Gibbs before the segment ended. However, Gibbs was able to fend off Self when the second break pursued.

Things started to look a little hairy for Gibbs and his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing team. As the restart flew, he and Michael Self got together and almost saw their day go up in smoke in Turn 4. A few moments later, Gibbs retaliated with payback to Self, causing Self to go up the track. With the contact, Gibbs fell back to seventh and allowed Mayer to take the lead. However, Mayer’s lead was short-lived, as Holmes wrestled the lead away on Lap 68.

Two cautions flew before the checkered flag. Thad Moffitt wound up hitting the wall hard in Turn 2 after getting loose. Moments later after a restart with 24 to go, Moffitt’s teammate Hailie Deegan, wrecked off the front nose of Dollar’s car on the backstretch causing the final caution of the event. Before the incident, Mayer was penalized for jumping the restart and had to serve a pass through penalty and start at the tail end of the field on the next restart with 18 to go.

On the final restart, Gibbs restarted in the second position and grabbed the lead aggressively from Holmes. After taking the lead, Gibbs checked out and took home the checkered flag by 1.247 seconds.

There were five cautions for 22 laps and four leaders among four different lead changes.

Official Results
1. Ty Gibbs, led 59 laps
2. Bret Holmes, led 17 laps
3. Michael Self, led 23 laps
4. Sam Mayer, led 1 lap
5. Drew Dollar
6. Ryan Repko
7. Derek Griffith
8. Ryan Huff
9. Tanner Gray
10. Jason Kitzmiller
11. Willie Mullins, 2 laps down
12. Brad Smith, 9 laps down
13. Dick Doheny, 19 laps down
14. Hailie Deegan, OUT, Accident
15. Thad Moffitt, OUT, Accident
16. Don Thompson, OUT
17. Scott Melton, OUT, Crash
Up Next: The ARCA Menards Series heads to Iowa Speedway on Saturday, July 18 live on MAVTV.
July 11, 2020
Chandler Smith drives to Victory Lane after a dominating performance
Under a hot steamy day in the Indianapolis region, Lucas Oil Raceway hosted the fifth race of the 2020 ARCA Menards Series season. With a limited capacity of spectators on site to watch drivers take on the famed race track, fans watched Chandler Smith, the Talking Rock, Georgia native go back to back at Lucas Oil Raceway with a dominating victory.

Smith started on the pole but didn’t really take the lead until 39 laps in as he beat and banged with Joe Gibbs Racing driver Ty Gibbs. Eventually, Smith never looked back and scored his second victory at Lucas Oil Raceway.

“Man, I was just running for all of us, to be honest,” Smith said about the victory when Sam Mayer closed in late to MAV TV. “It’s a hot night. This is my second or third ARCA race of the year. I feel like, I’m not in the best shape I need to be. Hats off to my JBL guys, who recovered from practice earlier, I’m proud of these guys. Thanks to General Tire for holding up on these tires, they’re really good. I’m just glad to be finally back in victory lane.”

Two halfway breaks on Lap 70 and Lap 140 made up the Calypso Lemonade 200.

Ty Gibbs led early on through the first 39 laps, but Smith sat back in the top three and idled to make the right move, at the right time. Smith leaned on the Gibbs car and took the top spot on Lap 39. From there, he kept the pace and managed the lead. He led the field to the first race break on Lap 70. Taylor Gray, who was making his ARCA debut, impressed early by running in the top five.

As the five-minute clock began for teams to work on the cars, Smith’s car could not refire on the first go. The Venturini Motorsports team had to then push start the No. 20 Toyota to get it going again. Though, there was an actual fire behind the dash. Despite the problem, the issue did not appear to affect Smith once the event restarted on lap 74.

Another team faced an issue and that was the No. 22 Chad Bryant Racing crew. Derek Griffith was penalized for having too many men over the wall.

Once the green flag flew again, Taylor Gray was once again being aggressive and trying to make his name known. Sam Mayer in the No. 21 GMS Racing entry accidentally made contact with Gray off Turn 4, which sent Gray sideways on the frontstretch. Impressively, the North Carolina native saved his car from any major damage and kept on going in the top five.

While Gray was able to save his car, Gibbs had to come down pit road on Lap 88 for a potential electrical issue, which took him out of a second-place running position. The electrical issue was later diagnosed as an alternator problem. This relegated Gibbs to a 15th place finishing position and he was unable to finish the race.

A few moments later on Lap 127, Gray pushed the DGR-Crosley car to its limits and spun in Turn 2 after battling Michael Self. With the yellow, this set up a five-lap dash to the final race break on Lap 140. Smith also led at that break as well. Mayer, Deegan, Self, Griffith, Thad Moffitt, Gray, Bret Holmes, Drew Dollar, and Mike McLaughlin were the top 10 at lap 140.

The restart came on Lap 144, but there was really no one who could challenge him throughout the long green-flag run until 15 to go. Mayer started to reel in the No. 20 for the race lead. In fact, he caught Smith and was side by side with him for a few laps. However, the Wisconsin native could have pushed too early, as Mayer started to slip back and Smith improved his lead once again.

Ultimately, Smith brought home his second ARCA victory of 2020, and the ninth of his career.

“Just running laps,” Smith told MAV TV. “Honestly, it was just like practice laps, logging laps.”

Smith led 162 of the scheduled 200 laps.

There were three cautions for 15 laps and two lead changes among two leaders.

Official Results
1. Chandler Smith
2. Sam Mayer
3. Hailie Deegan
4. Taylor Gray
5. Thad Moffitt
6. Max McLaughlin
7. Bret Holmes, 1 lap down
8. Michael Self, 2 laps down
9. Howie DiSavino III, 3 laps down
10. Kyle Sieg, 4 laps down
11. Brian Finney, 10 laps down
12. Derek Griffith, 12 laps down
13. Justin S. Carroll, 14 laps down
14. Drew Dollar, 15 laps down
15. Ty Gibbs, OUT, Engine
16. Ryan Huff, OUT, Drive Shaft
17. Brad Smith, OUT, Brakes
18. Dick Doheny, OUT, Brakes
19. Mike Basham, OUT, Overheating
20. Tim Richmond, Did Not Start, Electrical
Up Next: The ARCA Menards Series heads to Kentucky Speedway on Saturday, July 11.
July 4, 2020