By Vincent Delforge, Special to Kickin’ the Tires.
The second and last road races of the season were held in Sonoma, CA at the Sonoma Raceway. It was Sam Mayer who won the General Tire 200. He did not have an easy task with William Sawalich and Noah Gragson in the first part of the race. And in the second part of the race Mayer managed to keep Tyler Reif behind him in the final laps despite his fears about his fuel consumption.
It offers Sigma Performance Services, the team led by Joe Farrè and created less than a year ago, its first victory in the ARCA Menards West Series. Chris Bray, his crew chief, also visited Victory Lane for the first time. And what could be better than drinking a good wine to celebrate with all the members of the team.
Tyler Reif is gaining strength race after race and the fight for the 2024 championship will be tough against 2023 champion Sean Hingorani as well as Jack Wood. Let’s not forget Trevor Huddleston, unlucky in Sonoma and Kyle Keller who has just passed the road races with flying colors, finishing twice in the top 10.
Whether it is Sigma Performance Services or Kennealy Keller Motorsports, the newcomers to the West Series are taking the championship to a very high level against teams that have been well established for years or even decades, such as Bill McAnally Racing, Central Coast Racing or High Point Racing. .
We were in California in the vineyards of Sonoma Valley and there is no coincidence in that. The comparison with the level of the West Series championship is easy to establish. We can already say, 2024 will be a great vintage!
For a complete recap of the race, I invite you to read the article « Race review » available here: www.kickinthetires.net/nascar/arca-west-2024-sonoma-race-review/
Complete race results: www.racing-reference.info/race-results/2024-04/AW/
The top-five in the championship being the following: Tyler Reif (159 points), Sean Hingorani (148), Jack Wood (140, William Sawalich (138) and Kyle Keller (133).
Driver & owner point standings: www.racing-reference.info/standings/2024/AW/
We will wait until July for two consecutive races on the 4th and 6th at Irwindale Speedway, Irwindale, CA with the NAPA AutoParts 150 (July 4th) and the West Coast Stock Car Motorsports Hall of Fame 150 (July 6th)
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
-71st season in history.
-Race No. 1020 since the inception of the West Series in 1954.
-2024 race No. 4 of 12.
-Race No. 45 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 No. 13 for Chevrolet at Sonoma. Amon the manufacturers Ford leads with 17 wins ahead of Chevrolet with 13. Buick (5), Pontiac (5), Oldsmobile (2), Dodge (2) and Toyota (1) share the other victories.
-250th win for Chevrolet in West Series. The all-time most successful manufacturer is Ford with 290 wins.
-First win for team owner Joe Farrè.
-Win No. 1 for Sigma Performance Services. The all-time most successful owners in history are Bill McAnally (99), Fred Elder (45), Bob Bruncati (42) and Ernie Conn (41). The all-time most successful teams in history are Bill McAnally Racing (99), McCoy Racing (54), The Racing Farmers (47), Bruncati Racing (42) and Gene Price Motorsports (26).
-First win for Sigma Performance Services at Sonoma. The most successful team at Sonoma is Bruncati Sunrise Ford Racing with five victories. Jerry Pitts Racing has three wins. Among the teams still in activity, only one have ever won here, Naake-Klauer Motorsports in 2012.
-Second career win for Sam Mayer (fifth career start), first on a road track and first at Sonoma. The most prolific drivers at Sonoma are Jimmy Insolo, Bill Schmitt and Hershel McGriff, three wins each.
-Sam Mayer is the 33rd different race winners at Sonoma.
-Third career pole position for Sam Mayer (fifth career start), first on a road track and first at Sonoma.
-15th times in history the driver starting on pole position wins the race at Sonoma in 45 races, including the last three races. The drivers who won the race from the worst starting position was Jimmy Insolo (1978).
-16th pole for Chevrolet at Sonoma. -Among the manufacturers, Chevrolet leads with 16 poles ahead of Ford (15), Buick (5), Pontiac (4), Dodge (2), Toyota (2) and Oldsmobile (1).
-First pole for owner Joe Farrè and Sigma Performance Services at Sonoma.
-First pole for Sigman Performance Services and owner Joe Farrè in West Series. The most successful team in history is Bill McAnally Racing with 79 poles. The most successful owner in history is Bill McAnally with 52 poles.
-New qualifying lap record for the 1.990 mile version (The Chute) by Sam Mayer at 92873 mph. Previous record by Kyle Larson in 2014 at 92.794 mph
-As far as yellow flags are concerned, the record is 12 (2008). The 2008 race holds the record for the number of yellow flag laps with 40.
-The record for the fewest caution is 1 (1969 race #2 and 1980). With just 5 laps behind the pace car, the 1969 (race #1) race holds the record for fewest laps under yellow flags.
-The most leader changes occurred in 1986 with 12. The fewest leader change is zero in 2014.
-The largest starting field was in 1990, 1996 and 1997 with 44 cars (combination race with the Cup Series).
-The smallest starting field was in 1984 and 1995 (race #2) with 19 cars.
-First career attempt in West Series for (1 driver): Brent Crews
-First career start in West Series for (1 driver): Brent Crews
-First career attempt at Sonoma in West Series for (9 drivers): Marco Andretti, Brent Crews, Tony Huffman, Brandon Jones, Robbie Kennealy, Sam Mayer, Isabella Robusto, Giovanni Ruggiero and Caleb Shrader.
-First career start at Sonoma in West Series for (9 drivers): Marco Andretti, Brent Crews, Tony Huffman, Brandon Jones, Robbie Kennealy, Sam Mayer, Isabella Robusto, Giovanni Ruggiero and Caleb Shrader.
-Best career result in West Series for Eric Johnson, Jr. (7th), Travis McCullough (10th), Brent Crews (23rd)
-First career Top-10 result in West Series for Travis McCullough (10th)
-First career Top-5 result in West Series for (none)
-7th win for the No. 23 in history. The first at Sonoma. The first since 2002 at Kansas Speedway with Brandon Ash.
-4th pole for the No. 23 in history. The first at Sonoma. First pole for the No. 23 since 2002 at Stockton with Brandon Ash.
-First career pole for crew chief Chris Bray.
-First career win for crew chief Chris Bray.
-260th pole for Chevrolet in West Series. The all-time most successful manufacturer is Chevrolet with 260.
-147th road track race (including the 4 street races) in history.
The Drivers
No. 0 Tony Huffman (Fierce Creature Racing) Start: 29th – Fin: 31st DNS / Brakes
Brake problem during the third pace lap for Huffman. He leaves his car before the green flag. He returns to his role behind the pit wall as crew chief for his teammate/owner Bobby Hillis, Jr.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Sonoma |
| 3 (3 DNS) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21st | 1 start (1 DNS), best result 31st |
No. 05 David Smith (Shockwave Racing) Start: 25th –Fin: 20th
A discreet race but the objective of bringing the car back to the finish line in one piece was achieved. The Canadian did not have the speed to hope for better unless there was a a big wreck in front of him. He lost five laps on the leaders.
“Well we didn’t go real fast but didn’t wreck or get into others. Went sideways faster than most people have been going straight. Back east teams are a tough crowd. Please don’t let the crew know that.” Smith said.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Sonoma |
| 20 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10th | 2 starts, best result : 15th |
No. 1 Robbie Kennealy (Kennealy Keller Motorsports) Start: 22nd – Fin: 17th
Clean race for the rookie who was discovering Sonoma but impossible to hope for a better result because he lacked speed. In addition there were more competitive cars than in Portland, which explains its decline in the final ranking. The objective was to learn and that is what he did by bringing a car in good condition to the checkered flag.
“Another solid road course finish to close out the right hand turns for the year! Sonoma Raceway is such a fun track. Ended up P17/31 cars. Got trapped lap down early and couldn’t recover from it. Definitely had the speed to finish a few more spots ahead but overall it was a really fun learning experience and I’ll be ready to come back here next year and run even better. Now our focus shifts to Irwindale in a few weeks and we will be on a mission to run up front. Thanks to the whole team and sponsors,” Kennealy said.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Sonoma |
| 9 (1 DNS) | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5th | 1 start, best result 17th |
No. 3 Todd Souza (Central Coast Racing) Start: 18th – Fin: 29th Mechanical
The road tracks in 2024 will not have brought Souza any luck. However, everyone knows the veteran’s driving qualities on this type of circuit. Engine problem in Portland and again a lot of mechanical problems in Sonoma. Let’s hope that the return to the short tracks in July finally brings him the results he deserves and to which he has accustomed us in recent years. But Souza is not the type to give up. On the contrary, he is never as strong as in adversity!
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Sonoma |
| 124 | 1 | 22 | 70 | 0 | 1st (1x) | 16 starts, best result 5th |
No. 4 Eric Nascimento, Jr. (Nascimento-Joiner Motorsports) Start: 9th – Fin: 22nd Mechanical
No luck once again for Bubba who had a fast car and he was logically a candidate for the top-10. His teammate, Travis McCullough, a little slower than him, finally finished in the top-10. But once again the driver of the No. 4 suffered a mechanical problem. If there is a driver who does not have the statistics he deserves given his driving qualities, it is him.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Sonoma |
| 22 | 0 | 5 | 10 | 1 | 2nd (1x) | 4 starts, best result: 7th |
No. 5 Sean Hingorani (Jerry Pitts Racing) Start: 12th – Fin: 3rd
As in Portland he had mechanical problems during practice and did few laps. Only 12th in the qualifying session, the 2023 champion quickly climbed back into the top-10 before settling definitively in the top-five before halfway through the race.
He offered spectators a great duel with Tyler Reif for second position. Finally Hingorani finished third and only lost one point to his rival in the championship where he remained more than ever a candidate for a second consecutive title.
“P3 at Sonoma . We fought hard all day. After a limited amount of practice due to mechanical issues, we were able to qualify 12th and then race our way up on to the podium. We learned a lot last weekend and now we’re ready to head back to my favorite track for back to back ARCA West Rounds at Irwindale. Thanks to my No. 5 guys for all the hard work and all the fans for your support. Looking forward to racing at home July 4th [and] 6th at Irwindale Speedway. I hope a lot of you will be able to make it out to the track. It’s going to be good,” Hingorani said.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Sonoma |
| 21 | 4 | 9 | 10 | 2 | 1st (4x) | 2 starts, best result 3rd |
No. 6 Caleb Shrader (Jerry Pitts Racing) Start: 16th – Fin: 27th Handling
Unlucky in Portland, Shrader was just as unlucky in Sonoma. However, even if he discovered the track with a West Series car, he quickly showed that he was comfortable and fast there. He was moving back towards the top-10 when he had to permanently park his car at the side of the track. This road track specialist was not rewarded for his driving skills.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Sonoma |
| 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7th | 1 start, best result 27th |
No. 7 Takuma Koga (Jerry Pitts Racing) Start: 26th – fin: 13th
Big problem in practice for the Japanese driver. His team had to change the engine and transmission. As a result, he was unable to do the qualifying session and started the race from the back. This did not prevent him from having a solid race, seeing him enter the top-10 after 35 laps. But his offbeat strategy will ultimately not pay off. He finished the race with more worn tires than most of the drivers who ultimately finished in the top-10. However, he scores big points for the championship. The road races will have done good for Koga who will return to Irwindale with newfound confidence.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Sonoma |
| 117 | 0 | 4 | 25 | 0 | 5th (4x) | 9 starts, best result 11th |
No. 12 Kyle Keller (Kennealy Keller Motorsports) Start: 11st – Fin : 9th
Ninth in Portland and ninth in Sonoma. Do you think Keller hasn’t improved? You are wrong! Indeed in Sonoma there were more cars (31 against 24) but above all the more cars were fast cars. Which means that this second consecutive top-10 demonstrates that Keller has reached the next level on road track and all this with a broken gearbox!
The driver is talented, we all know that. And he proves it as soon as he has a good car. KKM is a new team that still needs to learn. But it bodes well for the rest of the championship. Well established in the top-five of the rankings, the driver of the No. 12 will be one to watch closely at Irwindale.
“Sonoma Raceway was an awesome race. P9 at wine country. Lost third gear at the beginning of the race [on lap 13] so I had to adjust real quick with only using second and fourth. Man was that a challenge! By the end of the Race I was pacing the leaders. (Without problems) definitely had a top five car. I have learned so much the last couple of weeks with road course racing. Thank you to my spotters Jason and Aiden for pushing me to really dig in and go. To my Crew Chief Brian Kizer, thank you for working so hard to make sure my car and my technique is spot on.
“And to everyone else that supported me, thank you. I can’t wait to get to Irwindale Speedway in July. I want a checker flag!” Keller said.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Sonoma |
| 26 | 0 | 6 | 16 | 0 | 4th (3x) | 2 starts, best result : 9th |
No. 13 Tyler Reif (Central Coast Racing) Start: 10th – Fin: 2nd
Excellent race from the championship leader who entered the top-five on the 25th lap. He will then win position by position and reach the podium from the 29th lap. On the 33rd lap, he took advantage of Gragson’s error to take second position behind Sam Mayer. The two drivers will remain in this order until the finish. If at first Mayer manages to outrun Tyler.
The latter reverses the trend from the 58th lap and gets closer to the leader. In less than five laps he gained three seconds and is now only two seconds behind the leader. But a final yellow flag leads to overtime to finish the race.
Reif will have his work cut out to keep Hingorani behind him and let Mayer fly to victory. As far as the championship is concerned, he is doing the right operation since he is now 11-points ahead of his closest pursuer, the 2023 champion Sean Hingorani.
“That’s a wrap for the road courses! Finished off strong at Sonoma with a P.2. Thank you to Central Coast Racing for bringing me a rocket, struggled in qualifying and ended up 10th but raced tell the end and ended up with a second and adding a gap to the points lead! Excited to get back to the circle tracks Irwindale Speedway on July 4th!”Tyler Reif said.
Note: CCR and its crew chief Michael Munoz were penalized $1,000 and two suspended races from the ARCA platform. Fortunately this will not impact the next West Series races at Irwindale where Munoz will be reinstated.
It is the manufacturer Ford which is at the origin of the penalty. In fact, the latter did not appreciate the modification of the logo of his Mustang combined with the Toyota logo. The “Mustoyotang” being in violation of the ARCA car identification regulations. However, there are already so many precedents in the history of NASCAR/ARCA, past and recent, that it is surprising that this time a team is penalized for this type of infraction.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Sonoma |
| 18 | 1 | 8 | 10 | 3 | 1st | 2 starts, best result : 2nd |
No. 15 Brent Crews (Venturini Motorsports) Start: 4th – Fin: 23rd Suspension
The rookie had a superb race and took third position straight away. He even threatens the second Sawalich. Crews will stay in third position until the 25th lap where he takes advantage of the second yellow flag to go through his pit box. The following restart will be the final straw.
In fact he was mishandled in the pack and his suspension was broken and he even lost his left rear wheel, causing the third yellow. It was precisely on three wheels that he managed to return to the pitlane but upon observing the damage, his team had no other choice but to inform the young driver that he would not be able to restart.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Sonoma |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23rd | 1 start, best result 23rd |
No. 16 Jack Wood (Bill McAnally Racing) Start: 8th – Fin: 5th
Solid race from Jack Wood who gets his first top-five of the season and also his third consecutive top-five at Sonoma. Ended the hemorrhage of points in the championship, giving back hopes of titles to the BMR driver. No errors, good reliability and speed. He was fighting for the podium before the last yellow flag before falling slightly in the rankings during Overtime.
“It definitely feels good to get a top-five today. We had a real consistent NAPA Auto Care Chevrolet today and it’s nice to come out of here with a good finish. All these guys at BMR brought some good speed here. We were a little bit off of race winning speed, but proud of the effort and feel like we executed a solid day from start to finish.” Wood said.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Sonoma |
| 23 | 0 | 5 | 13 | 0 | 4th (3x) | 3 starts, best result 4th |
No. 17 Marco Andretti (MMI Racing) Start: 13th – Fin: 11th
Fast in some laps, messy in others… Not to mention that he was the victim of a flat right front tire on the 34th lap. He will benefit from the free pass once and will manage to gain a few positions at the end of the race, finishing just outside the top-10. If the final result is not glorious, Andretti nevertheless had his best race in the West Series. Knowing Sonoma well and being comfortable there, as evidenced by his victory here in IndyCar, certainly helped the driver of the No. 42.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Sonoma |
| 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7th | 1 start, best result 11th |
No. 18 William Sawalich (Joe Gibbs Racing) Start: 2nd – Fin: 4th
Sawalich is definitely a “clean air” pilot. When he leads the race, he is often impeccable in his management of trajectories, not to mention his incredible speed. But once in the pack… it’s another story. Indeed, close racing is not what the JGR driver knows how to do best.
Once again, in this type of situation, he made mistakes, including one that could have been the end of the race for his Toyota on the 32nd lap when he crashed the front of it into Robusto’s rear bumper. Having fallen back to 15th position, he will gradually climb towards the top-five. He manages to overtake Wood for fourth position during Overtime.
“My team brought me a great race car at Sonoma. We didn’t achieve the results we wanted, but it wasn’t due to a lack of effort. We will be prepared for Iowa. » Sawalich said.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Sonoma |
| 7 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 1st (3x) | 2 starts, best result 4th |
No. 19 Eric Johnson, Jr. (Bill McAnally Racing) Start: 27th – fin: 7th
Johnson, Jr. starts the race in the position he obtained last year, 27th. All due to the same problem, a failing transmission, this time during the practice session. But he’s going to have a great race. He is 17th on the seventh lap during the first yellow flag. On the 25th lap, he gained another 10 positions.
Once installed in the top-10, he will not move from it and crosses the finish line in seventh position, his best career result. A great race from the rookie and he intends to build on this result and continue to progress from Irwindale in July.
“Our guys faced one struggle after another today but truly never gave up till the very end. After some early transmission issues we knew I was going to have my work cut out for me as we’d have to start at the tail of the 30 plus car field. We made a point to stay aggressive all day long and smartly pick our way forward if the opportunity presented Itself. Luckily we were able to make some changes at the half way point that I think really kept us in the fight. I just need to thank all my guys for their hard work. A seventh-place finish hasn’t never felt more like a win than this one after all we battled today.” Johnson, Jr. said.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Sonoma |
| 8 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 7th | 2 starts, best result 7th |
No. 20 Giovanni Ruggiero (Venturini Motorsports) Start: 5th – fin: 25th Mechanical
No luck for Ruggiero who once again was fast on a road track he was discovering. Starting the race from the top-five, he was still eighth when he lost engine power on the 10th lap. His team will try to repair it but despite several visits to his pit box it will not change anything, especially since his transmission is also a problem. Finally the Toyota No. 20 is definitively parked on the 22nd lap.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Sonoma |
| 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2nd | 1 start, best result 25th |
No. 21 Travis McCullough (Nascimento-Joiner Motorsports) Start: 30th – Fin: 10th
What a great story for McCullough! He, who had not raced in the West Series since 2008, obtained his first top-10 in his career after an intelligent race. However, by starting last following the breakage of his transmission during practice, it was not won. But the team and the driver produced a top performance.
Depending on his strategy, McCullough took a leap forward in the hierarchy and entered the top-10 on the 40th lap. From there, thanks to good speed, he will stay between eighth and 13th position. 12th during the Overtime restart, he overtook Andretti and took advantage of Quarterley’s setbacks to finish in a convincing 10th position.
“I Like to Thank everyone involved that worked so hard back at the Nascimento-Joiner Motorsports to get the car ready and to the track. They all worked countless hours getting cars ready and then hard day at the track of work. Great group of guys and heck of a team to be a part of for NASCAR weekend at Sonoma Raceway. We broke a transmission at the tail end of practice which resulted in missing qualifying while Mike Nascimento and Matt Erickson went to work repairing it for the race. We started 30th in the race with the complete field in front of us so the 2 spotters had their work cut out.
“Jimmy Sloan and Tim Carr kept myself and the car out of trouble while I did my part inside. During the race we made huge progress and the car was getting faster and so was I getting more seat time. Made it up to 8th but lost 2 spot by end of race after I was pushing to hard and not conserving enough for last few laps. First race back out in the NASCAR ARCA Menards Series at Sonoma Raceway after 15 years and finished 10th. All I can do is get better with more seat time. Thank you to Randall McCullough and Ronda McCullough my parents for supporting this race weekend and can’t forget Chris “ Smokey Mayo “ for hanging around and chasing my stuff down when I’d forget.” McCullough said.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Sonoma |
| 3 (+ 1 DNS) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10th | 3 starts, best result 10th |
No. 23 Sam Mayer (Sigma Performance Services) Start: 1st – Fin: 1st
Excellent day for Sam Mayer who was first during the practice, the qualifying session and the race! He controlled the race and was able to maintain a high speed despite fears about his fuel consumption during Overtime. This victory is collective because Chris Bray, his crew chief, and all the members of SPS did a remarkable job in the garage and during the pit stops. First victory for Joe Farrè’s team and certainly not the last.
“I was mostly worried about the fuel,” said Mayer, who said he spent much of the closing stages of Friday’s race in gas-saving mode. “I didn’t know if it would last, or if it was going to stutter at all. But I’ve been practicing that a lot lately. We’ve been in that scenario a lot on the Xfinity side, so being able to use that over here and get a win is super cool.”
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Sonoma |
| 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1st (2x) | 1 start, best result 1st |
No. 27 Bobby Hillis, Jr. (Fierce Creature Racing) Start: 24th –Fin: 28th Suspension
The car was faster than in Portland but a break in the left rear suspension causing the Chevrolet to spun in lap 12 when braking at Turn 4a will spoil the celebration of Bobby Hillis, Jr.’s 100th career race. If the practice went well , on the first lap of the race, Hillis, Jr. signaled to his team that something was vibrating at the left rear. This vibration amplified until the complete breakdown. The debris, a piece of suspension arm, having caused the first yellow flag coming from his car.
“Started off the week before Sonoma with high hopes after our good run at Portland even though the finish didn’t show because we got taken out with two laps to go. Ed Ash and Tony Huffman worked hard on the car to fix damage and make it better. Was very confident of at least a top-10 going into it but it wasn’t to be. Was just starting to get my rhythm down and moving forward when we had a problem.
“One of the left rear shock mounts broke heading into Turn 4a at the bottom of the hill causing me to spin. Limped it back to the pits but our day was done. Also received an awesome plaque from NASCAR in the driver’s meeting which was great. Turns out that was the highlight of my day. Was hoping the race result would be but I guess not.” Hillis, Jr. said
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Sonoma |
| 100 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 8th (1x) | 3 starts, best result 10th |
No. 30 Noah Gragson (Rette-Jones Racing) Start: 6th – Fin: 16th
Very good first part of the race from Gragson who will fight for the podium. He clashes with Joanides, from whom he takes a lap, on Turn 10 in the 24th lap but without consequences. He took command of the race on lap 28 when Kamisky stopped at his pit box. He maintained the lead during the restart but on the 33rd lap he oversteered entering Turn 7a and was overtaken by Mayer.
He lost a few positions while he gets back into rhythm, his tires being dirty after rolling off the line. He went through his pit box on the 41st lap to adjust his Ford but came out of the top-10 and even lost a lap on the leaders. He was now in 20th position. The last restart was fatal to him when he was in 15th position since he spun after being pushed by Andretti in turn 3. He finished slowly in 16th position.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Sonoma |
| 29 | 5 | 15 | 24 | 1 | 1st (5x) | 4 starts, best result 1st |
No. 32 Dale Quarterley (Quarterley Racing) Start: 15th – Fin: 14th
Race with ups and downs for the veteran. In fact, he will quickly gain positions and enter the top-10 in less than 10 laps. He clashes in lap 38 with Huddleston on Turn 8 but comes out well unlike the driver of the No. 50 Ford who ends up in the tire barrier. He was fifth on lap 56 but lost a position on lap 62. During the last restart, he was jostled by several opponents and his fuel tank was almost dry, causing some engine cut out.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Sonoma |
| 15 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 2nd (1x) | 6 starts, best result: 3rd |
No. 41 Johnny Borneman III (Lowden Jackson Motorsports) Start: 17th – Fin: 24th Suspension
The yellow Ford of Borneman, III did not go unnoticed but very quickly it seemed to lean very hard in the right turns. He goes through his pit box at the first yellow flag and loses a lap because he leaves the pitlane when the green flag is waved and the whole pack passes in front of him. He is 28th and last at this time.
The lap times were not good with lap times of 83 seconds at best, five seconds slower than the bests. The suspension broke and the team had to resolve to retire on the 30th lap. The return to the ovals will do good for Borneman, III and the LJM team. Especially in Irwindale where they are fast.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Sonoma |
| 128 | 3 | 27 | 61 | 1 | 1st (3x) | 13 starts, best result 5th |
No. 42 Brandon Jones (MMI Racing) Start: 3rd – Fin: 8th
More complicated race for Jones compared to Portland. He showed that he was among the fastest but from the start he suffered damage to the rear of his Chevrolet following contact with Gragson and found himself dead last.
He managed to come back and was on the verge of the top-10 in eleventh position on the 18th lap. But he will lose a lap on the leaders a few laps later. On the 44th lap, he took advantage of the yellow flag and received the free pass to go to his pit box, he restarted in 16th position.
The adjustments are excellent because he will be very fast during the end of the race. 13th on the 50th lap and he entered the top-10 on the 56th. Ninth on the 61st lap, he was no longer able to gain positions. He wore his tires to the wire while making his comeback during the long run under the green flag between the 47th and the 62nd lap. He finally gained a position following Quarterley’s problems during the Overtime and finished the race in eighth position.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Sonoma |
| 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2nd | 1 start, best result 8th |
No. 50 Trevor Huddleston (High Point Racing) Start: 7th – Fin: 18th
What a frustrating race for Huddleston who had a good car and the right speed from the start. He spent the first 38 laps in the top-10 with ease. He was overtaking Quarterley for eighth position when the latter slid and hit the rear of Huddleston’s Ford which hit the tire barrier violently. He can get back on the track but the right rear of his car is smashed.
After repairs, he came back strong and was ninth on the 56th lap. But it was definitely not his day because on the 62nd lap he was pushed into a spun on the climb to Turn 1 while he was 10th. He lost two laps and finished in 18th position. Huddleston now looks forward to the Irwindale doubleheaders where he will be on his home track. Half a mile where it is extremely effective.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Sonoma |
| 69 | 3 | 25 | 55 | 2 | 1st (3x) | 5 starts, best result: 10th |
No. 52 Ryan Philpott (Philpott Racing) Start: 20th – Fin: 30th Axle
Big disappointment for Philpott who saw his race stop after only one lap following a broken axle. He who had skipped the Portland race by betting everything on Sonoma where he had already finished in the top-10 will not have had the opportunity to show what his car had in its stomach. We will perhaps see him again in one or another short track race during the season.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Sonoma |
| 43 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 6th (2x) | 6 starts, best result: 9th |
No. 55 Isabella Robusto (Venturini Motorsports) Start: 14th – fin: 6th
Robusto confirms race after race that she is one of the best female drivers of the moment. Three races and three times in the top six! She discovers Sonoma but as the race approaches the end she becomes more and more efficient. She entered the top five from mid-race and remained there until the 55th lap.
Coming down to seventh position, she managed to overtake Quarterley on the last lap to take sixth position. And yet she did not have an easy race. Everything could have ended on lap 20 when Sawalich hit her from behind on lap 32 during the restart. We will see her again in July in Irwindale.
“Second road course and fourth ever ARCA Menards Series race is complete. I brought my Yahoo Toyota Camry across the line in P6 in what proved to be an eventful race. I had to fight hard for this one but I’m incredibly thankful for Toyota Racing and Yahoo the opportunity. Next race with Venturini Motorsports is the doubleheader weekend Irwindale Speedway in the ARCA Menards West Series. I’m pushing harder than ever for that first ARCA win” Robusto said.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Sonoma |
| 3 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3rd | 1 start, best result 6th |
No. 68 Rodd Kneeland (Rodd Racing) Start: 23rd – Fin: 15th
A discreet race for Kneeland which ended in an honorable 15th position. Impossible to do better, however, as the car lacks performance. Kneeland’s best lap being just over 85 seconds, when the best were 78 or 79 seconds. Rodd benefits from the free pass during the third yellow but will not manage to stay on the leader’s lap during the long run under the green flag at the end of the race. He was overtaken on the 56th lap.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Sonoma |
| 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11th | 7 starts, best result 14th |
No. 71 Nick Joanides (Jan’s Racing) start: 21st – fin: 19th
The lack of engine power which had complicated the Portland race seemed to be resolved here. But Joanides has taken off-track excursions on several occasions during practice or the race. The final blow was given by Noah Gragson who pushed Joanides on lap 24 on Turn 10. The No. 71 Ford hit the tire barrier violently. The entire left side is wrinkled. Despite everything, by finishing the race in the top-20, Joanides pocketed important points. He will be much more competitive in the next races at Irwindale where the objective will be the top five like in Bakersfield.
“Not the day we hoped for after getting taken out on Lap 24. Car suffered some damage, but managed to still finish the race in 19th. On to our home track at Irwindale for back to back races!” Joanides said.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Sonoma |
| 32 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 4th | 3 starts, best result 14th |
No. 77 Dave Smith (Performance P1 Motorsports) Start: 28th – Fin: 26th Transmission
While fighting with Johnny Borneman, III, Nick Joanides and Travis McCullough, he was forced to retire following a broken transmission on lap 21. No luck for Smith and PP1M either in Portland or Sonoma. The superb Toyota No. 77 lacked reliability. A shame because he had good lap times, less than two seconds behind the bests. And all this while having had little practice driving and without a qualifying session due to technical problems.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Sonoma |
| 15 (1 DNS) | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 5th | 10 starts, best result 9th |
No. 80 Brian Kamisky (Dereck Copeland Racing) Start: 19th – Fin: 21st Mechanical
Without doubt the best race of Kamisky’s career in the West Series. He gained positions from the start of the race, entering the top-10 on the 14th lap by making a superb overtake on Andretti and Ruggiero in the hairpin. He will then stay on the track during the second yellow and take the lead in the race. He managed to resist Sawalich, Mayer and Gragson during the restart.
He stops at his pit box during the third yellow. A good strategy because at the start of the 43rd lap, he overtook Quarterley for sixth position and when he threatened Jack Wood for the top five, his Chevrolet lost all its power entering the esses. It’s abandonment. Motorsport is sometimes cruel when lack of reliability destroys a great race.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Sonoma |
| 8 (1 DNS) | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8th | 3 starts (+1 DNS), best result: 16th |
No. 86 Tim Spurgeon (David Racing) Start: 31st – Fin: 12th
As a Sonoma specialist, Spurgeon was able to move up in the race rankings even though he had to start from last position. The reason? He was unable to do the qualifying session due to technical problems during the practice that the team was able to resolve perfectly. Just like other drivers who started at the back, Spurgeon seemed to have the right strategy as he entered the top-10 just before the 40th lap. However, the end of the race with many cautions will see him oscillate between 14th and 12th position. This is where he finished the race. Note that he achieved his best time in the race on the 54th lap with used tires.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Sonoma |
| 20 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6th (1x) | 11 starts, best result: 9th |
No. 88 Tanner Reif (Naake-Klauer Motorsports) Withdrawn
For various reasons including a damaged car in Portland, the team decided not to come to Sonoma without the certainty of being competitive there. It’s sad because NKM is the only active team that has already won a race in Sonoma. It was in 2012 with David Gilliland.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Sonoma |
| 25 | 2 | 9 | 16 | 2 | 1st (2x) | 2 starts, best result 18th |
Next race on July 4 for the NAPA Auto Parts 150 at the Irwindale Speedway, a half-mile located in Irwindale, California.