By Vincent Delforge, Special to Kickin’ the Tires
The fifth race of the ARCA Menards West Series season, the General Tire 200, ended with a new first-time winner. This time it was NASCAR Cup Series driver Ryan Preece who offered himself the right to drink the glass of wine awarded to the winner of the Californian race. For his second career race, he won with style, dominating the race from pole position. It is also the first victory for Gene Haas as owner with his team Stewart-Haas Racing.
The race was marked by some spectacular accidents and very good battles between the regular drivers of the West Series and all those of the national series of NASCAR who came to do a freelance in order to prepare their races the following days in Xfinity Series or in Cup Series.
The only “loser” was championship leader Landen Lewis. More serious opponents of Preece, he was the collateral victim of an accident for which he was not responsible. Although… By missing the pitlane and being forced to change strategy, he found himself in the middle of the pack. A place that is always dangerous, especially during restarts… Which allows Sean Hingaroni and Bradley Erickson, both of whom finished in the top-10 of the race, to halve their deficit in the championship.
The top-five in the championship being the following: Landen Lewis (255 points), Sean Hingorani (243), Bradley Erickson (241), Tyler Reif (232) and Trevor Huddleston (217).
For a complete recap of the race, I invite you to read the article « Race review » available here: www.kickinthetires.net/nascar/arca-series/arca-west-portland-review/
Complete race results: www.racing-reference.info/race-results/2023-05/AW/
Driver & owner point standings: www.racing-reference.info/standings/2023/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
-70th season in history.
-Race number 1009 since the inception of the West Series in 1954.
-2023 race number 5 of 12.
-Race number 44 at Sonoma Raceway since 1969 including nine combined Cup / West races between 1989 and 1997 when the two series had the same technical regulations.
-Win number 17 for Ford at Sonoma. Ford leads with 17 wins ahead of Chevrolet with 12. Buick (5), Pontiac (5), Oldsmobile (2), Dodge (2) and Toyota (1) share the other victories.
-Win number one for owner Gene Haas and his team Stewart-Haas Racing. The all-time most successful owners in history are Bill McAnally (99), Fred Elder (45), Bob Bruncati (42) and Ernie Conn (41).
– First career win for Ryan Preece in 2 starts (and 1 DNQ).
-Ryan Preece is the 32nd different race winner at Sonoma. The most prolific drivers at Sonoma are Jimmy Insolo, Bill Schmitt and Hershel McGriff, three wins each.
-14th time in history that the driver starting on pole position wins the race at Sonoma in 44 races.
-Win No. 5 for crew chief Chad Johnston. The first at Sonoma and second on raod track after Portland in 2021.
-First career pole position for Ryan Preece.
-First career start for Stefan Rzesnowiecky (DNS).
-288th win for Ford in West Series, the all-time most successful manufacturer.
-Win No. 1 for Stewart-Haas Racing at Sonoma. The most successful team at Sonoma Bruncati Sunrise Ford Racing with five victories. Jerry Pitts Racing has three wins. Among the teams still in activity, only two have ever won here, Naake-Klauer Motorsports in 2012 and McGowan Motorsports With Cook Racing Technologies in 2015.
-15th pole position for Ford at Sonoma. Among the manufacturers, Ford and Chevrolet leads with 15 poles each ahead of Buick (5), Pontiac (4), Dodge (2), Toyota (2) and Oldsmobile (1).
-First career pole position for Ryan Preece in his second career start (and one DNQ).
-Ryan Preece is the 206th pole winner in history.
-First career pole for owner Gene Haas.
-First pole for Stewart-Haas Racing in West Series.
-Best career result in West Series for Ryan Preece (First), Stefan Rzesnowiecky (29th / DNS)
-First top-five in career in West Series for Ryan Preece.
-First top-10 in career in West Series for Ryan Preece.
-32nd win for the No. 9 in history.
-48th pole for the No. 9 in history.
-Second career pole for crew chief Chad Johnston.
-251st pole for Ford in West Series. The all-time most successful manufacturer is Chevrolet with 257.
-145th road track (including the four street course races) race in history.
The Drivers
No. 02 Parker Retzaff (Young’s Motorsports) Start: 7th – Fin: 25th Electrical
Well qualified, Retzlaff experienced the first warnings shortly before mid-race with engine cuts. This resulted from an electrical problem which forced him to permanently park his Chevrolet on the 37th lap.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Sonoma |
| 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3rd | 1 start, best result : 25th |
No. 05 Dave Smith (Shockwave Racing) Start: 26th – Fin: 15th
Sorely lacking in pace from the first lap, he lost a lap to the leader twice. Benefiting from a free pass during the fifth yellow flag, he will come back a lap down and will gain positions thanks to the retirements of several other drivers and a better pace on used tyres.
“Stick and stay and make it pay is our Motto! Good coaching had us running with the leaders at the end and although we qualified miserably we ran faster and faster all day. We missed a ton of wrecks like we planned. Except for tearing up a quarter panel that was taped together at Portland. When you get a Lucky Dog at Sonoma you have to drive your butt off to make up the lap and unfortunately sometimes others get in the way.” Smith said.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Sonoma |
| 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10th | 1 start, best result : 15th |
No. 2 Sebastian Arias (REV Racing) Start: 10th – Fin: 21st
Qualified 10th, the Colombian was unsuccessful in his return, quickly overwhelmed by mechanical problems. After losing many laps to solve the problem, he will finish the race for honor. Far from the goal he had set himself.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Sonoma |
| 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8th (1x) | 2 starts, best result: 21st |
No. 4 Eric Nascimento (Nascimento-Joiner Motorsports) Start: 4th – Fin: 23rd crash
What a disappointment for Bubba who had a very fast Toyota. He was a candidate for a top10 or top-five when he fell victim to Todd Souza’s impatience. Nascimento will hit the tire barrier head-on in Turn 8. A very violent shock which will also be the misfortune of Landen Lewis. The car is good for the breakage but fortunately he comes out unscathed.
“Suck to get drive thru by another driver who destroys your car. At the time, we just saving our tires waiting for the right time to make our move. My car is killed,” Eric Nascimento, Jr. said.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Sonoma |
| 13 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 5th (1x) | 3 starts, best result: 7th |
No. 5 Riley Herbst (Jerry Pitts Racing) Start: 6th – Fin: 3rd
Discreet but effective! That’s how to sum up Herbst’s race. Fast, constant but a tone below to be able to aim for victory. He tied his best career result for the fifth time with this third position. He had come above all to prepare for his Xfinity race in which he will finish 15th the next day. Goal achieved!
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Sonoma |
| 19 | 0 | 9 | 14 | 0 | 3rd (5x) | 2 starts, best result: 3rd |
No. 6 Jack Wood (REV Racing) Start: 8th – Fin: 4th
Increasingly faster at the end of the race, Wood believed he waited too long before upping the pace. That said, he finished fourth in Sonoma for the second consecutive year.
“Always fun racing at home! Saved tires a little to long and came home fourth. I love working with these REV Racing guys, Nashville can’t come sooner enough!” Wood said.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Sonoma |
| 17 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 4th (2x) | 2 starts, best result: 4th |
No. 7 Takuma Koga (Jerry Pitts Racing) Start: 24th – Fin: 24th rear axle
The years without success follow for Koga in Sonoma. Victim of a mechanical problem, he spent time with his team trying to repair but when they were already several laps behind, the rear axle gave up the ghost definitively, relegating the Japanese to a distant 24th position.
“Tonight race was DNF due to rear axle problems. Onto next race!” Koga said.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Sonoma |
| 106 | 0 | 4 | 22 | 0 | 5th (4x) | 8 starts, best result : 11th |
No. 8 Johnny Borneman III (Borneman Racing) Start: 15th – Fin: 9th
For its first race since the end of the 2021 season, Borneman III was not rusty and had a solid race. With a good pace, especially at the end of the race, he gained several positions and obtained his fourth top10 in 12 races at Sonoma. This will perhaps encourage him to do other races by the end of the year.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Sonoma |
| 113 | 3 | 28 | 62 | 1 | 1st (3x) | 12 starts, best result: 5th |
No. 9 Ryan Preece (Stewart-Haas Racing) Start: 1st – Fin: 1st
Penalized in 2019 and relegated to 20th position after having crossed the finish line first, Preece, this time, did not make the slightest mistake and signed his first pole and his first career victory. He wanted his revenge and he got it.
The car, which was prepared by Stewart-Haas Racing, was truly a step above all the others. He almost led from start to finish without really being worried. A little by Lewis at the start of the race and a little by Sammy Smith during the first two or three laps following the last restart.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Sonoma |
| 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1st | 2 starts, best result : 1st |
No. 13 Todd Souza (Central Coast Racing) Start: 14th – Fin: 8th
Souza still has the sacred fire, no doubt about it. But if the final result is good with the eighth position, the race was messy. With sometimes too manly driving, too much impatience. It costs him the opportunity to make a better result, which he was capable of. But in addition it also costs the same for some of his opponents. Brian Kamisky, Eric Nascimento, Jr. and Landen Lewis all frustrated after crossing paths with the No.13 Ford. That said, thanks to him, the fight for the championship is once again very open between several drivers.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Sonoma |
| 113 | 1 | 19 | 63 | 0 | 1st (1x) | 15 starts, best result: 5th |
No. 14 Davey Magras (Davey Magras Racing) Start: 25th – Fin: 16th
A few spuns to enhance his race, one of which cost him a rear bumper. The end of the race on the old tires becoming difficult lap after lap. However, he caused a single yellow flag and also benefited once from the free pass. But unlike those two previous races, he finished without a top10.
“Just got too aggressive on cooked tires! 64 laps on one set is a bunch..” Magras said. Hoping that he will make an oval race by the end of the season.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Sonoma |
| 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7th | 1 start, best result : 16th |
No. 15 Sean Hingorani (Venturini Motorsports) Start: 12th – Fin: 6th
Believe me or not, but this is Hingorani’s first top 10 that is anything other than a victory! Sixth for his first time in Sonoma is a good result. Yet he was in the top-five for many laps. As for many, the end of the race on the old tires was complicated. Nevertheless, he remains the best regular West Series driver and does the right job in the championship by recovering 12-points, or half of his deficit before the race, on the leader Lewis. The fight looks tough between them!
Hingorani says: “First time at Sonoma this weekend was a blast! What an incredible show Sonoma Raceway puts on for all the fans. This track is great for racing and we were able to pass cars and work our way thru the field to show our racecraft. Overall, a solid day for West Series championship points.”
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Sonoma |
| 10 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1st (2x) | 1 start, best result : 6th |
No. 16 Tanner Reif (Bill McAnally Racing) Start: 19th – Fin: 20th
Tanner is definitely unlucky in Sonoma. Accidented last year, it is this time the victim of a mechanical breakage on its right front suspension. It will then be a stabilizer bar that will break and so on. At BMR, we never give up and the team will make a repair allowing the driver of No. 16 to grab some positions despite his many laps behind the leader. And these few points will perhaps make the difference at the end of the year.
“Our NAPA Chevrolet was super fast. We were making our way through the field slowly, while saving tires when, unfortunately, the right front ball joint snapped. The BMR crew got it fixed, with being only eight laps down, and we tried to salvage as many points as possible. We also broke the sway bar and had to come back in to get it fixed.” Tanner Reif said.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Sonoma |
| 16 | 2 | 6 | 11 | 2 | 1st (2x) | 2 starts, best result 18th |
No. 17 Landen Lewis (McGowan Motorsports with Cook Racing Technologies) Start: 2nd – fin: 19th
The beautiful series of four top-two finishes stopped dead in Sonoma following an accident for which he was not responsible. Second for a long time, he took the lead of the race when Preece made his pit stop to refuel. But Lewis and his team messed up on lap 32 when the yellow flag was waved. Hesitating to enter the pitlane, he finally missed the entrance to it and lost five positions.
However, nothing was lost. But this change in strategy will have repercussions. Indeed when he finally went through his pit box on lap 43, he came back in the pack and was victim during the following restart of the collision between Souza and Eric Nascimento, Jr. The team will repair the car but Lewis will finally finish 19th. Losing half of his championship lead.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Sonoma |
| 13 | 2 | 7 | 10 | 2 | 1st (2x) | 2 start, best result: 14th |
No. 18 William Sawalich (Joe Gibbs Racing) Start: 9th – Fin: 5th
If in Portland he got noticed by crashing the front end of his Toyota into the back of Custer’s car. Here Sawalich was rather discreet. But discreet does not mean ineffective, quite the contrary. He had a solid race, most often in the top-five. He just lacked a bit of speed to aim higher at the end of the race.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Sonoma |
| 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4th | 1 start, best result : 5th |
No. 19 Eric Johnson, Jr. (Bill McAnally Racing) Start: 18th – Fin: 27th transmission
Johnson, Jr. was running a clean race after starting from the back of the pack. He had even gained a few positions thanks to a good refueling strategy and was closing in on the top-10 when the mechanical problems arose after the 25th lap. And his transmission ended up breaking permanently on the 31st lap, forcing him to stop in the esses.
“The game plan was to take care of our Chevy, so we would have a car at the end of the race. After stopping for fuel we made it back up to 12th, before a transmission failure ended our day early. We parked it, since we aren’t running for points. The team did a fantastic job all weekend. I couldn’t be more grateful for the opportunity. I’m hoping to find some funding so we can get back out here for another shot one day.” Johnson, Jr. said.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Sonoma |
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10th | 1 start, best result : 27th |
No. 21 Ethan Nascimento (Nascimento-Joiner Motorsports) Start: 22nd – Fin: 10th
For his 16th birthday, on the day of the race, Ethan offered himself a nice present and allowed the N-JM team to digest part of the disappointment suffered by Bubba with the other car. However, if the youngest of the Nascimento brothers had a good and intelligent race, patiently climbing up the pack, it is above all his excellent last lap of the race that should be mentioned. Indeed he managed in the last meters to steal the top-10 from the road ringer Dale Quarterley. And that alone is already a great success.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Sonoma |
| 4 (+ 1 DNS) | – | – | 2 | – | 8th | 1 start, best result : 10th |
No. 32 Dale Quarterley (Quarterley Racing) Start: 16th – Fin: 11th
You can’t finish on the podium all the time. Quarterley misses the hat trick on a track that usually does quite well for him. Candidate for the top-five, then the top-10 at the end of the race, he was even ejected from it on the very last lap by Ethan Nascimento. Last year Quarterley, 62, suffered from the heat, and this year, it’s a bit for the same reason that his pace dropped at the end of the race. The Californian sun beats down hard sometimes.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Sonoma |
| 13 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 2nd (1x) | 5 starts, best result: 3rd |
No. 41 Tyler Reif (Lowden Jackson Motorsports) Start: 17th – Fin: 17th fuel pump
Second big disappointment after Portland for Tyler Reif who could have taken advantage of the Lewis accident like Erickson or Hingorani to regain big points in the championship. However, the couldn’t because a lack of fuel prevented the fuel pump from feeding the engine. He stopped in Turn 5 without causing a yellow flag. Too bad because he had shown to be able to make a good top-10. He was seventh with three laps to go when his engine stopped for lack of fuel.
“With Tyler we decided to come in with the leader, we new it would be tight, but in the end we just simply mis-calculated this new engines fuel consumption. We struggled a bit in turn 7, but overall we’re very proud of the team’s and Tyler’s performance. This was our first time here, and we learned a lot for next time.” Chris Lowden (co-owner) said.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Sonoma |
| 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1st | 1 start, best result : 17th |
No. 46 Stefan Rzesnowiecky (Lowden Jackson Motorsports) Start: 26th – Fin: 29th DNS
Nicknamed “Bear,” Rzesnowiecky, 19, from Las Vegas, NV was called up by Chris Lowden to fill in at short notice for Kyle Sieg who had decided not to race in the West Series. The reason? He was replaced by Alex Labbé for the Xfinity Series race. But it wasn’t the debut Rzesnowiecky had hoped for. Engine problem during the practice, he will not be able to do the qualifying session or start the race. The engine being returned to Roush-Yates Engines to try to understand the problem.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Sonoma |
| 0 (1 DNS) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4th | 1 start, best result : 29th |
No. 50 Trevor Huddleston (High Point Racing) Start: 13th – Fin: 28th mechanical
A real ordeal! This is what Huddleston will have experienced in Sonoma. Multiple mechanical failure. He will stop twice on the track, causing two yellow flags. Each time his team tried everything to revive the Ford No. 50 but in vain in the end. He loses big points in the championship.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Sonoma |
| 58 | 2 | 21 | 48 | 1 | 1st (2x) | 4 starts, best result: 10th |
No. 52 Ryan Philpott (Philpott Racing) Start: 29th – Fin: 26th
After the engine in Portland, now it’s an axle that will ruin Philpott’s race in Sonoma. In practice, he had done the job and could hope like last year to fight for the top-10 if all went well. However, nothing went as it should… Very quickly monopolized by mechanical problems he could not participate in the qualifying session… and he quickly lost all hope from the start of the race. The car was not operating normally. He was forced to throw in the towel shortly after halfway.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Sonoma |
| 39 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 6th (2x) | 5 starts, best result: 9th |
No. 55 Cole Custer (High Point Racing) Start: 5th – Fin: 18th transmission
Fast as in Portland, even if he seemed a step below Preece and Lewis, Custer was going to experience a first setback from the start of the race when he had to go back to his pit box to reattach his window net on the seventh lap under green flag. Although he climbed back through the field to fourth position, all his efforts were wasted when his transmission broke on lap 56.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Sonoma |
| 9 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 1st | 4 starts, best result : 4th |
No. 70 Kyle Keller (Kyle Keller Racing with Last Chance Racing) Start: 23rd – Fin: 13th
Nice race from Keller who had to start from the back of the pack following a mechanical problem that disrupted his practice session. The engine having been refurbished after Portland by Rousch-Yates Engines, it experienced no problems this time during the race and gained 10 positions to finish in an honorable 13th place for its first time in Sonoma.
It is a satisfied Keller who tells us: “Solid points night on Friday for us! Thank you to the whole KKR team for there amazing work after breaking a axel in practice! Thank you to my awesome sponsors and crew!”
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Sonoma |
| 15 | 0 | 6 | 9 | 0 | 4th (3x) | 1 start, best result : 13th |
No. 77 Nick Joanides (Performance P-1 Motorsports) Start: 28th – Fin: 14th
With a short track car converted to road track and finished in the Sonoma garages, the 14th position under the checkered flag is a good result for Joanides and the PP1M team. That said, the car lacked pace and a top-10 was impossible to envisage without a hecatomb among the leaders. Benefiting from the free pass halfway through the race, he will do the last 30 laps avoiding problems to bring a car in good condition back into the hauler. This is where you can truly appreciate having an experienced driver behind the wheel.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Sonoma |
| 22 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 4th | 2 starts, best result: 14th |
No. 80 Brian Kamisky (Dereck Copeland Racing) Start: 21st – Fin: 22nd Axle
Not the result he was hoping for. Kamisky will console himself with the bounty offered to whoever receives the most votes for Reese’s Sweet Move of the Race Award. This was thanks to his incredible car control at full speed in the esses when he had to plow the sides of the track following contact with Todd Souza. It looked like a stunt worthy of a movie from the Fast and Furious! On the other hand, this aggressive “treatment” will cause the breakage of its axle about ten laps from the finish.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Sonoma |
| 7 (+1 DNS) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8th | 2 starts (+1 DNS), best result: 16th |
No. 81 Sammy Smith (Hattori Racing Enterprises) Start: 3rd – Fin: 2nd
Here is a driver who grew in power throughout the race until he saw a possibility of victory less than 15 laps from the finish. Yes, but it was without counting on an external element that he could not control, namely Ryan Preece. Smith was finally unable to do anything against the latter in the last laps of the race, losing up to a second per lap! But he was able to have a very useful seat time since the next day he finished ninth in the Xfinity Series race.
Smith says: “Had a really good run today in the Oakley Camry. Right off the bat this car had some really good speed which we showed in practice. Jon (Leonard, the crew chief) and the guys had this thing dialed in, and it was a really great opportunity to get some laps in before the Xfinity race. I don’t think we had anything for Preece today, he was the class of the field.”
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Sonoma |
| 4 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 1st | 1 start, best result : 2nd |
No. 86 Tim Spurgeon (David Racing) Start: 20th – Fin: 12th
Nothing to report for Tim Spurgeon who rode at his own pace and cleverly avoided problems. He finished close to the top-10 but above all in the leader’s lap, without ever having benefited from the free pass. Which given the pace displayed by Preece is the sign of a good race for a driver whose team has less financial means than that of the winner.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Sonoma |
| 18 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6th (1x) | 10 starts, best result: 9th |
No. 88 Bradley Erickson (Naake-Klauer Motorsports) Start: 11st – Fin: 7th
This young driver is incredible. He often discovers the tracks and each time his learning curve is linearly positive. And he increases his level of play as the laps go by. Admittedly, he has not yet won, but he is now the only one to have managed to break into the top 10 in the five races already contested this season. His worst result being an eighth place at Irwindale. He is fast and reliable. While being fast is common among many rookies, being reliable is less so. NKM may have found a golden nugget!
“First time racing at Sonoma Raceway and by far the most competitive field of drivers I’ve ever faced. Qualified 11th and finished 7th. Car was great all race long and was able to stay inside the top 10 for the entire race. Thank you to everyone who helped out this weekend. Excited to return to Irwindale Speedway for our next race on July 1st.” Erickson said.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Sonoma |
| 9 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 3rd | 1 start, best result : 7th |
Next race, the NAPA Nightvision 150, on July 1st at Irwindale Speedway, for the second race of the season on the Californian half-mile.