By Vincent Delforge, special to KickinTheTires.net
The sixth race of the season, second at Irwindale, was won unchallenged by championship leader Jake Drew. He led the 154 laps of the NAPA AUTO PARTS 150 PRESENTED BY WEST COAST STOCK CAR HALL OF FAME to earn his third straight win this season. The first on oval of his career. This 999th race in the history of the West Series also marks the 2022 mid-season. Next step, the 1000th race at Evergreen on August 20th. But before that let’s analyze the Irwindale race in more detail.
The Irwindale II race review is available here: www.kickinthetires.net/nascar/arca-series/arca-menards-west-series-irwindale-ii-race-review/
Complete race results: www.racing-reference.info/race-results/2022-06/AW/
Driver & owner standings: www.racing-reference.info/standings/2022/AW/
As after each race we are going to detail the statistics for each driver, embellished with the reactions collected from many of them, drivers, owners and crew chiefs.
ARCA West Quick stats
-Race number 999 since the inception of the West Series in 1954.
-2022 race number 6 of 11.
-Race number 32 at Irwindale Speedway since 1999.
-Win number eight for Ford at Irwindale. Chevrolet leads with 15. Other wins are split between Toyota (8) and Dodge (1).
-Win number 40 for owner Bob Bruncati and his team Bruncati Sunrise Ford Racing. The most successful owners in history are Bill McAnally (98), Fred Elder (45) and Ernie Conn (41) and Bob Bruncati (40).
-Win number six for Bruncati Racing at Irwindale (Jason Bowles (3 wins between 2008 and 2009) Trevor Huddleston 2019, Tanner Reif 2022 and Jake Drew 2022). The most successful team in history at Irwindale is Bill McAnally Racing with 16 wins.
-Jake Drew est le premier pilote de l’histoire à remporter trois courses consécutivement pour Bruncati Racing.
-First career owal win for Jake Drew (15th career start)
-Third career win for Jake Drew in 15 starts.
-Jake Drew is the 18th different race winner at Irwindale
-13th time in 32 races that the poleman wins at Irwindale.
-4th time the poleman wins the race having led all the laps at Irwindale.
-6th time in 32 races the race is extended by an overtime (formely green/white/checker) at Irwindale.
-Win No. 31 for crew chief Bill Sedgwick. The fourth at Irwindale after 2008 (2x) and 2009 with driver Jason Bowles.
-Fifth career pole position for Jake Drew, the first at Irwindale.
-First career start for Jake Finch, Bradley Erickson, Eric Rhead.
-Best career result tied for Cole Moore (2nd), Kyle Keller (4th), Sebastian Arias (8th)
-Best career result for Jake Finch (6th), Amber Slagle (9th), Chris Lowden (12th), Eric Rhead (15th), Bradley Erickson (20th).
-Jake Drew is the first to win three consecutive races in the same season since Todd Gilliland in 2017 (4 consecutive wins). The all time record is five consecutive wins in the same season by Jack McCoy in 1969 and Hershel McGriff in 1972. The all time record is six consecutive wins by Parnelli Jones but between 1958 (4 wins) and 1959 (2 wins).
The Drivers
No. 1 Jake Finch (Phoenix Racing) Start: 7th – Fin: 6th
Starting out in a series and on an unknown track is never easy for a rookie. But Jake did well with the expertise of Phoenix Racing. He made a smart race. He lost a lap on the leader on the 55th lap when he was tenth but after getting the free pass, the team will make good adjustments during the midway break. The second half of the race is better and he climbs back into the top-10. The problems of P.J. Pedroncelli, Iest and Joanides will allow him to reach the sixth position.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Irwindale |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6th | 1 start, best result: 6th |
No. 4 Sebastian Arias (Nascimento Racing) Start: 4th – Fin: 8th
Arias has made great progress. Certainly the result, eighth, is the same as in March, but this time he had an excellent qualifying session and remained throughout the race in the leader’s lap and in the top-10. As he says himself, it is on the restarts that he still loses time.
“It was a though one. Have to work harder on the restarts. Too many yellow flags and lapped cars fighting for spots with lead cars… but good. I feel happy with the speed that we have. We are going to keep attacking” says Arias.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Irwindale |
| 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8th (2x) | 2 starts, best result : 8th (2x) |
No. 6 Jake Drew (Bruncati Racing) Start: 1st – Fin: 1st
“Three in a row. It’s incredible. I feel on top of the world” said Drew.
What else to say ? Dominant throughout the weekend. From pole to Victory Lane having led all laps. He was in his own league. Third consecutive victory and the first on an oval. Drew is a solid leader in the championship and he does not intend to stop there. As proof he asked me what was the record for consecutive victory in the West Series. This shows that he wants to break a record. We were able to ask him a few questions:
Vincent Delforge: First oval victory and what a victory! You had to resist attacks from Huddleston and Moore throughout the race, including during overtime. Was it difficult?
Jake Drew: “Anytime there’s a restart especially late in the race it’s tricky because it becomes anyones game at that point. Thankfully our car was incredibly strong anywhere on the track and my restarts have improved a bit over the year. I try to not give the situation too much attention mentally and just stay focused.”
VD: Three consecutive wins. 45 points ahead in the championship, almost a race. There are five races left. The championship is at your fingertips. Do you think about it or by superstition you tell yourself that you should not sell the skin of the bear before having killed it?
JD: “Obviously there is tons of talk about championship already and I of course am looking to secure that at the end of the year but at this point I’m not changing my approach to races. I show up to each race to do the best I can and achieve the best result possible.”
VD: For each victory there is a banner which is added to the wall of the Bruncati Racing race shop. You enter the history of the team by being the first to win three races in a row. Extra pride?
JD: “It definitely feels good. There’s been some incredible drivers come through the team over the years so to achieve that stat feels amazing.”
VD: Next step Evergreen for the 1000th race. I know this is a race that you have circled on your calendar. You and Bill Sedgwick already have a plan for victory?
JD: “I feel that we both have high hopes for victory. I of course will have to come to grips with the track as quickly as possible since it will be my first visit but my team and Bill will make my job easy as possible and I’m looking forward to it!”
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Irwindale |
| 15 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 5 | 1st (3x) | 4 starts, best result :1st |
No. 7 Takuma Koga (Jerry Pitts Racing) Start: 9th – Fin: 18th crash
Koga’s race was promising in the top-10. At least at the beginning until a first accident with Burgess and Lewis. Was the car damaged there? Because the car was going to suffer from a damage increasing until breaking net. Losing oil entering Turn 3, he spun off and was hit by Rose and Joanides, victim of the oil spilled on the track. After a superb top-five in Portland, the first half of the season ended for the Japanese driver with two major accidents.
”Car was very competitive qualifying 9th but rear end broke down.. Onto Evergreen.” Koga said.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Irwindale |
| 96 | 0 | 3 | 18 | 0 | 5th (3x) | 14 starts, best result : 7th |
No. 9 Tanner Reif (Bruncati Racing) Start: 6th – Fin: 7th
Dazzling in March, solid in July. But a little bitter taste for Tanner. Why? Because he drove intelligently but without really being able to play for victory. He deserved the top-five but lost positions during the last restart. Still third in the championship, he now has the equivalent of a race behind (49 points) on his teammate Drew. If the championship will be difficult to win, the title of best rookie should be a formality for Reif.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Irwindale |
| 6 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1st (1x) | 2 starts, best result: 1st |
No. 11 Chris Lowden (Lowden Motorsports) Start: 18th – Fin: 12th
Lowden gets his best career result in a race where he showed real progress. Apart from a spun shortly after halfway, he rode at a good pace. Admittedly, the top-10 is still a difficult objective to achieve for the moment, but this 12th position is encouraging, especially with a car that is difficult to tame!
Lowden said: “Off the trailer the car was a plowing pig, especially in turns three and four. We made pretty big changes in practice, nothing changed. At the midway break we again made a big change, maybe too big… she got loose. The spin was me getting in too hard, after that took out some of what was put in during a yellow. Not the car we had at Kern, but also just third race in a 105 inches, from a 20 year hiatus. Picking up Hopkins a new 110 inches next week, will finish out season in that car. Still had fun ! »
As its car chief Christopher Jackson says: “Good weekend for racing. But we did struggle with a pushing car the whole day, then lose in the race but Chris brought it home in one piece. Big thanks to the team in working hard spotting with eyes in the sky for Chris. Dave (Jackson, the crew chief) using his brain and skills to get the car where Chris wanted it. Monica and Mike making the tires grip. Joe Clayton working the wrench’s making a great crew and working hard and together for a smooth operating weekend. Onto another!”
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Irwindale |
| 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12th (1x) | 2 starts, best result 12th |
No. 12 Kyle Keller (Jerry Pitts Racing) Start: 10th – Fin: 4th
This is one of the great stories of the weekend. Kyle Keller Racing was prepared to forfeit the rest of West Series this year due to budget concerns. Indeed, managing a team from A to Z costs a lot of money. Decision was made to sell their car and then make a deal with Jerry Pitts Racing. And their reunion is successful. Quickly in the top-five, Keller could have aimed for the podium but he lost a position in the last laps against Huddleston. Ultimately it doesn’t matter. Awarded best rookie in the race, he found his way to the top-five, which he had been missing since the start of the season.
“We started in 10th and after 150 laps, finished in fourth. We drove as high as third during the race but slipped back to fourthth with two laps to go. We had an excellent race spotter last with working with Dave Reed. A huge thank you to Jerry Pitts Racing and all the members of Kyle Keller Racing for their hard work and expertise.” Says Keller.
He tied his career-best result of fourth in his first race at Irwindale. Note that in four races with Jerry Pitts, he has never done worse than sixth.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Irwindale |
| 6 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 4th (2x) | 1 start, best result: 4th |
No. 13 Todd Souza (Central Coast Racing) Start: 8th – Fin: 10th
Race a bit messy for Souza. From the start, he gained a few positions to join the top-five. But his battle with P.J. Pedroncelli will end in the wall just before the halfway mark. Right front suspension bent, the rest of the race felt more like survival than anything else. Out of the top-10, probably frustrated, he was a little too aggressive at the end of the race and clung with the sixth Iest. Finally, it was thanks to this accident that he joined the top-10 but two laps behind the leader.
His crew chief Michael Munoz tells us: “The race was going good until contact that put us in the wall and bent the right front suspension. The Central Coast Racing team fixed the damage the best they could to rebound to a top 10 finish.”
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Irwindale |
| 103 | 1 | 15 | 56 | 0 | 1st (1x) | 12 starts, best result : 7th (3x) |
No. 16 Landen Lewis (Bill McAnally Racing) Start: 13th – Fin: 5th
For his debut with BMR, Lewis will have known everything. Frustration first with a big contact against the wall on turn 4 at the start of the qualifying session. Repairs will take time, causing him to lose practice time. Qualified in the second half of the field, he was going to have a difficult start to the race. An accident in lap 66 with Burgess and Koga complicated his race. Having reached ninth position, however, he lost a lap to the leader.
He was going to fight hard to stay in the lucky dog position. Once the free pass had been obtained, he was going to be able to gain a few positions during the last two restarts and obtain a good top-five.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Irwindale |
| 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1st (1x) | 1 start, best result : 5th |
No. 17 Amber Slagle (McGowan Motorsports with Cook Racing Technologies) Start: 15th – Fin: 9th
Unlike her debut here last year, the race was more complicated for Slagle. Bad qualifying session, she was however going to make her way to the top-10 not without having twice benefited from the free pass. However, she manages to obtain her best result of her career with the ninth position. It remains a beautiful birthday present, she who celebrated it three days after the race.
“P9. We had some adversity to over come from qualifying to getting just about wrecked on lap one. But we stuck with it all night as a team to come out with another top 10! I can’t thank my guys enough for their hard work all day long and for bringing me a fast car. I also can’t thank CRT and MMI Services enough for making this weekend possible for myself. I’m truly blessed to have the support and people behind me that I do. I’m looking forward to what’s next!” says Slagle.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Irwindale |
| 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 9th (1x) | 2 starts, best result: 9th |
No. 31 Paul Pedroncelli (P.J. Pedroncelli Racing) Start: 21st – Fin: 21st transmission
Another start and park. Really a pity but the race is above all a question of budget. Especially for a small family team.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Irwindale |
| 14 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9th | 4 starts, best result : 11th |
No. 33 P.J. Pedroncelli (P.J. Pedroncelli Racing) Start: 2nd – Fin: 11th
Great qualifying, great start to the race. Everything seemed to be going well for P.J. with a top-five in sight. But just before the halfway mark, a contact with Souza would derail everything. From there, despite the team’s efforts to give P.J. a good car, the lost time was never going to be made up and he ended up at the door of the top-10. Really unfortunate for him who had pinned a lot of hopes on this Irwindale track that he particularly likes.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Irwindale |
| 28 | 1 | 6 | 9 | 2 | 1st (1x) | 5 starts, best result : 3rd |
No. 39 Andrew Tuttle (Last Chance Racing) Start: 20th – Fin: 14th
At each race, at least one spun for Tuttle who knows how to put on a show! More seriously, Tuttle is progressing race after race. His lap times are more consistent. But the others are also progressing. The main problem being the handling of the car.
But Tuttle remains confident for the future: “The car ran good, it felt a little under powered but good. We were a little loose in the beginning but were able to get it manageable. We had a few close calls avoiding other wrecks on the track but came out clean.
“We hit something slick in the middle of turns three and four that sent us for a ride towards the end of the race that gave us a chance to do a smoke show on the front stretch for the fans. But for being our first time running Irwindale I am happy with our outcome. The Gearhead coffee Chevrolet is a good piece and we can’t wait to see what she can do on Evergreen.”
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Irwindale |
| 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12th (1x) | 1 start, best result : 14th |
No. 42 Christian Rose (Cook Racing Technologies) Start: 14th – Fin: 16th crash
Irwindale will not leave him with a good memory. For his first time here, Rose was on an anonymous run that would end by an accident. Koga having lost oil right in front of him, he spun off and couldn’t avoid contact with the wall. A big shock ending his race. Bad luck doesn’t seem to want to leave him alone this year. Because whether in ARCA East, in the national series or here in the West, Rose never has a single race without being the victim of a problem.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Irwindale |
| 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7th (1x) | 1 start, best result : 16th |
No. 50 Trevor Huddleston (High Point Racing) Start: 5th – Fin: 3rd
On his favorite track, Huddleston was once again a strong contender for victory. While he was second, he lost many positions during the yellow flag following the red flag to check for a problem with his right rear wheel. Once back on track, he quickly climbed back into the top-five. He will have fought until the finish with Moore for second position. This third place allows him to continue his series of seven top-10 finishes in seven races at Irwindale. A record in West Series.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Irwindale |
| 52 | 2 | 19 | 44 | 2 | 1st (2x) | 7 starts, best result : 1st |
No. 54 Joey Iest (Naake-Klauer Motorsports) Start: 12th – Fin: 13th crash
Very nice race from Iest who was a candidate for the top-five all day long. A slight contact during a restart with Tanner Reif will drop him to sixth position. Unfortunately, as he left the inside line to him, he was hit by Souza, yet one lap behind and out of the top-10 at that time, entering turn 1. The shock against the wall damaged the rear of the car first before being hit by Rhead who bent the front of the No. 54. Race over.
The owner Mike Naake stating: “We were just riding to the end with Joey, in 6th two laps to go and Souza crashed Joey. Joey was just running the top so Souza could go to the bottom to pass him but Souza just turned us and we backed in the wall. Big contact. Souza was a lap or more down need I mentioned!
“Then Souza came to our pits after the race and it went from bad to worse. After that he went to the 33 pits and had some situation with them. And Bradley (Erickson) broke a rear gear.. Joey’s car is bad. Front and rear clip. We won’t fix it, just part it out. Not a good night. That’s racing…”
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Irwindale |
| 19 | 1 | 7 | 9 | 0 | 1st (1x) | 4 starts, best result :3rd |
No. 66 Eric Rhead (66 Rhead Racing) Start: 19th – Fin: 15th crash
After the disappointment of Phoenix which disrupted the first half of the season, Rhead took part in his first race start in West. Driving at his own pace to get his bearings, he could hope for a 12th position when, to avoid an accident in front of him at the end of the race, he spun off and finally crashed into the immobilized car of Iest.
“Got a feel for the car and some good laps in. Unfortunately we got caught up in a wreck towards the end of the race. Thank you to everyone that makes this possible & to our hardworking crew! We couldn’t do this without them!” says Rhead.
Crew chief Roxi Gabbard said: « It was good to get some laps in and get a feel for the car. But unfortunately when he saw the car start rolling down in front of him,he locked up the brakes and it turned the car and unfortunately we hit the into that car. We are hoping just a little work and new body panels.”
And about the next race at Evergreen, Gabbard said: “we hope to make it to that one. Will just depend on how much damage and parts availability. We will know more once we have the car in the raceshop.”
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Irwindale |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15th | 1 start, best result : 15th |
No. 77 Nick Joanides (Performance P-1 Motorsports) Start:16th – Fin: 17th crash
Bad luck for Joanides. He was in 10th position when he rolled over the oil spilled by Koga on turn 3. Nowhere to go, he shoots straight into the wall and then crashes into Rose’s car which suffered the same mishap a few seconds before.
“Not the way we wanted to end the night. Plenty of time to react, unfortunately, the 7 (Koga) broke a rear end and dropped oil on the track and both the 42 (Rose) and myself hit the oil and became passengers at that point. Hate it for the team,” says Joanides.
It is a disillusioned owner (Joe Nava) who expresses his disappointment: “We thought we had a chance for a decent finish. Car started out loose, we came in and made some adjustments that helped but it put us deep into the field. After the break the car started off better but we got collected after a car in front of us lost it’s rear end and oiled the track. We had nowhere to go. »
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Irwindale |
| 17 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4th (1x) | 5 starts, best result : 9th |
No. 83 Jalen Mack (Mack Motorsports) Withdraw
Withdrew for an unknown reason.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Irwindale |
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a |
No. 84 Bradley Erickson (Naake-Klauer Motorsports) Start: 11th – Fin: 20th rear end
Excellent performance for his debut on a track he knows well. Very fast on the long runs in practice, he was unable to make a real run for pole at the end of the session following contact with the wall. For his first race, he quickly made it into the top-10 before unfortunately suffering a mechanical failure. He will continue in Late Models this weekend in Roseville with Naake-Klauer Motorsports. Will we see him again this year in West? It will depend on the budget. But he showed great qualities. To see again as soon as possible!
Erickson looks back on his race: “My ARCA Menards West Series debut didn’t end the way I had hoped. Qualified 11th, made my way through the field to 6th place until around lap 20 but a mechanical issue prevented us from finishing the race, ultimately ending our night with about 130 laps to go.”
And he continues: “Thank you to everyone who helps me including my Mom and Dad, my Grandma and Grandpa, L&S Framing, Fastline Motorsports, Erickson Development LLC, Mike Naake, my crew chief Tony Caputo, and the whole Naake-Klauer Motorsports Team. We’ll be back in the Pro Late Model at All American Speedway on July 9th!”
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Irwindale |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20th | 1 start, best result : 20th |
No. 88 Bridget Burgess (BMI Racing) Start: 17th – Fin: 19th steering
Really bad luck for Burgess. After two great races in Portland and Sonoma, technical problems complicated the whole day. In the race she was able to climb back into the top-15 but more than a lap behind the leader after an accident with Lewis and Koga in lap 66. Finally its race stops following a mechanical failure. Really a shame because it puts a stop to its beautiful start to summer.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Irwindale |
| 26 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7th (2x) | 5 starts, best result : 12th (2x) |
No. 99 Cole Moore (Bill McAnally Racing) Start: 3rd – Fin: 2nd
Very nice race from Moore after two tough road races. He will have tried everything on the inside line. He almost managed to pass Drew during the overtime restart.. He ties his best career result with second place like the one obtained in March here.
“It was a good race. The car was good. We struggled on the top side but we were making the bottom work. We were just digging out there every lap. It came down to the green-white-checkered at the end. Perfect opportunity and drove Drew as hard as I could without wrecking him. Looking forward to try to track him down in the championship.” says Moore. In the championship, he goes back to second position but 45 points behind the leader.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Irwindale |
| 23 | 0 | 7 | 13 | 0 | 2nd | 4 starts, best result: 2nd (2x) |
Next race August 20, 2022 at Evergreen Speedway, Monroe, WA for the 1000th race in the West Series history.
Featured Photo Credit: Photo Courtesy of Ethan Smith via Vincent Delforge.