By Vincent Delforge, Special to Kickin’ the Tires
The Irwindale doubleheader, fifth and sixth races of the 2024 ARCA Menards West Series season, saw Sean Hingorani return to victory for his return to Venturini Motorsports, the team with which he won the 2023 championship. , Hingorani made the sweep by winning the two races contested on July 4 and 6. At the same time, he took the lead in the championship against Tyler Reif.
A veteran and a young driver also demonstrated that talent knows no age. Indeed, Isabella Robusto finished second in the race on July 4 and was leading the race on July 6 when she suffered a puncture to her right front tire. At 19 years old she has the future ahead of her and is getting closer and closer to her first victory. A first victory that veteran Nick Joanides, 54, is getting closer and closer to obtaining. He obtained his first career pole position and literally flew around the track to return to fight for victory after having to start from last position on Saturday following an unapproved adjustment.
This doubleheader also made it possible to discover a new talent in the person of Jaron Giannini, respectively 6th then 5th in his first two career races. As for Jack Wood, favorite for the title at the start of the year, he still had his ups and downs. Only 14th in Thursday’s race, he obtained his best career result on Saturday with a convincing second position.
That was enough to give him confidence for the rest of the championship. Because we have just reached the halfway point of the season and everything is still possible for him as for Trevor Huddleston, Kyle Keller and Nick Joanides to turn the situation around in their favor and fight to the end for the 2024 ARCA Menards trophy West Series.
For a complete recap of the two races, I invite you to read the articles « Race review » available here: www.kickinthetires.net/nascar/arca-west-2024-irwindale-1-race-review/ and here: www.kickinthetires.net/nascar/arca-west-2024-irwindale-2-race-review/
Complete race results: www.racing-reference.info/race-results/2024-05/AW/
Complete race results: www.racing-reference.info/race-results/2024-06/AW/
The top-five in the championship being the following: Sean Hingorani (293), Tyler Reif (291), Jack Wood (262), Trevor Huddleston (259) and Kyle Keller (252).
Driver & owner point standings: www.racing-reference.info/standings/2024/AW/
Next race on July 27 at Shasta Speedway, Anderson, CA for the Shasta 150.
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. 1021 and 1022 since the inception of the West Series in 1954.
-2024 race No. 5 and 6 of 12.
-Race No. 35 and 36 at Irwindale Speedway since 1999.
-Win No. 10 and 11 for Toyota at Irwindale. Among the manufacturers Chevrolet leads the dance with 15 wins ahead of Toyota (11), Ford (9) and Dodge (1).
-84th and 85th win for Toyota in West Series. The all-time most successful manufacturer is Ford with 290 wins.
-Fifth and sixth win for owner Bill Venturini.
-Win No. 5 and 6 for Venturini Motorsports team. 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).
-Third win for Venturini Motorsports at Irwindale (all with Sean Hingorani). The most successful team at Irwindale is Bill McAnally Racing with 16 wins. Bruncati Sunrise Ford Racing follows with six wins.
-Fifth and sixth career win for Sean Hingorani (22nd and 23th career start) and the second and third at Irwindale. Austin Cameron is the most successful driver at Irwindale with five wins. In all, 19 different drivers have won at least one race.
-Fourth career pole position for Tyler Reif (19th career start) and first at Irwindale.
-First career pole position for Nick Joanides (34th career start) and first at Irwindale.
-Ninth pole position for Toyota and twelfth pole position for Ford at Irwindale. Among the manufacturers, Chevrolet and Ford leads with 12 poles each ahead of Toyota (9), Dodge (2) and Pontiac (1).
-Sixth time in 36 races the driver who started in 2nd position wins at Irwindale. Brendan Gaughan (2001 x2), Brian Ickler (2007), Chris Eggleston (2015), Jesse Love (2021) and Sean Hingorani this year.
-Fourth time in 36 races the driver who started in 4th position wins at Irwindale. Brendan Gaughan in 2001, Trevor Huddleston in 2019 and Sean Hingorani this year.
-Bill McAnally Racing is the most successful teams with nine poles. Bruncati Sunrise Ford Racing follows with six.
-The track record is owned by Butch Gilliland at 100.722 mph achieved in 1999 (June race).
-The poleman has won the race 13 times.
-Austin Cameron won the race in 1999 (August race) from 17th position on the starting grid, which is a record.
-First pole for owner Kelly Souza and Central Coast Racing at Irwindale.
-First pole for owner Jan Qualkenbush and Jan’s Racing at Irwindale.
-First pole for Jan’s Racing and owner Jan Qualkenbush in West Series.
-Fourth pole for Central Coast Racing and Kelly Souza in West Series (all with driver Tyler Reif)
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.
-As far as yellow flags are concerned, the record is 9 in 2000 (June race). The 1999 August race holds the record for the number of yellow flag laps with 79.
– The July 2023 race holds the record for the fewest caution with just one and only seven laps spent behind the pace car.
-The most leader changes occurred in June 1999 with 26. The fewest leader change is zero, four times in August 2008, March 2017 and during the two races of 2022.
-The largest starting field was in July 2008 with 31 cars.
-The smallest starting field was in 2022 (March) and 2023 (July) with 15 cars.
-First career attempt in West Series for (4 drivers): Jaron Giannini, Rick Goodale, Tim Goulet and Michael Killen
-First career start in West Series for (3 drivers): Jaron Giannini, Rick Goodale and Michael Killen
-First career attempt at Irwindale in West Series for (10 drivers): Danica Dart, Jaron Giannini, Rick Goodale, Tim Goulet, Tony Huffman, Eric Johnson, Jr., Michael Killen, Kole Raz Isabella Robusto and Garrett Zacharias.
-First career start at Irwindale in West Series for (8 drivers): Danica Dart, Jaron Giannini, Rick Goodale, Eric Johnson, Jr., Michael Killen, Kole Raz Isabella Robusto and Garrett Zacharias.
-Best career result in West Series for Isabella Robusto (2nd), Jack Wood (2nd), Jake Finch (3rd), Jaron Giannini (6th then 5th), Michael Killen (13th then 12th), Garrett Zacharias (12th), Danica Dart (14th) and Rick Goodale (19th then 16th)
-First career Top-10 result in West Series for Jaron Giannini (6th then 5th),
-First career Top-5 result in West Series for Jake Finch (3rd), Jaron Giannini (5th)
-Eighth and ninth win for the No. 15 in history. The second and third at Irwindale (all with driver Sean Hingorani).
-4th pole for the No. 13 in history. The first at Irwindale.
-4th pole for the No. 71 in history. The first at Irwindale.
-Fifth career pole for crew chief Michael Munoz.
-First career pole for crew chief Rip Michels.
-First and second career win for crew chief Tab Smith.
-76th pole for Toyota in West Series and 255th pole for Ford in West Series. The all-time most successful manufacturer is Chevrolet with 260.
-Eight times the race has been extended by an overtime (2000, 2001, 2004 (x2), 2021, 2022 (x2) and 2024).
-684th and 685th paved oval race in history.
The Drivers
No. 0 Tony Huffman (Fierce Creature Racing) WITHDRAW
Following a leg injury, he was absent for both races.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Irwindale |
| 3 (3 DNS) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21st | n/a |
No. 05 David Smith (Shockwave Racing) Race #1: Start: 15th – Fin: 15th / Race #2: Start: 17th – Fin: 15th
Two races and twice the same result for the Canadian veteran with 15th positions. Clean car without technical problems but the long runs under green flags cost it dearly because it lacked pace regularly running beyond 21 seconds per lap when the drivers running in the top-10 were two seconds faster on average. However, he suffered from fatigue during the July 4 race, explaining the nine laps behind the leader. In better shape on Saturday, he was more consistent and only lost seven laps.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Irwindale |
| 22 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10th | 4 starts, best result : 10th |
No. 1 Robbie Kennealy (Kennealy Keller Motorsports) Race #1: Start: 18th – Fin: 18th DNS / Race #2: Withdraw
What a huge disappointment for Kennealy, flamboyant here for his debut last year and who was unable to start the first race following his engine breaking during practice. Unfortunately the KKM team is new and still under construction and did not have a backup engine for the driver of the No. 1. Note that on Saturday, Robbie did a few practice laps at the wheel of the No. 11 to check the setup from his teammate Danica Dart. He will also join the team’s crew. Superb team spirit at KKM and I say well done because despite the disappointment of not being able to race, Robbie put himself at the service of his team with class and determination.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Irwindale |
| 10 (2 DNS) | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5th | 2 starts (1 DNS), best result 5th |
No. 3 Todd Souza (Central Coast Racing) Race #1: Start: 11th – Fin: 10th / Race #2: Start: 10th – Fin: 7th
FINALLY! Here are finally some trouble-free races for Souza and this is rewarded with two top-10s. With an improvement in performance between the races on Thursday and Saturday. Believe me or not, this seventh position on Saturday is the best result of the season for Todd Souza. Unimaginable for such a racer to have had to wait until the sixth race of the season to get closer to the top-five. Let’s hope that the machine is launched and that the veteran will find for the rest of the season the bite that characterizes him and that we love so much about him.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Irwindale |
| 126 | 1 | 22 | 72 | 0 | 1st (1x) | 12 starts, best result 4th |
No. 5 Kole Raz (Jerry Pitts Racing) Race #1: Start: 7th – Fin: 17th Rear end / Race #2: Start: 7th – Fin: 6th
First time that Kole Raz has not finished on the podium since the start of his career. Of course it was his first time in the West Series at Irwindale but he was slower than usual. Victim of a mechanical breakdown on Thursday while he was in the top-10, he will be rewarded for his consistency in the top-10 on Saturday with sixth position. He now hopes to find the budget to be in Shasta at the end of the month.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Irwindale |
| 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 1st | 2 starts, best result 6th |
No. 7 Takuma Koga (Jerry Pitts Racing) Race #1: Start: 12th – Fin: 9th / Race #2: Start: 14th – Fin: 13th
Top-10 on Thursday and only 13th on Saturday. Yet Koga had the same speed in both races and finished both times three laps behind the winner. And maybe that’s the problem. Indeed, several drivers found more speed and consistency during the second race by degrading their tires less during the long run under green. That said, with the car in good condition, the results are positive for Jerry Pitts Racing because the No. 7 has often been involved in collisions since the start of the season. Note that ninth position on Thursday is the Japanese driver’s best result of the season.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Irwindale |
| 112 | 0 | 4 | 26 | 0 | 5th (4x) | 18 starts, best result 7th (2x) |
No. 9 Mikey Killen (Jan’s Racing) Race #1: Start: 16th – Fin: 13th / Race #2: Start: 15th – Fin: 12th
A complicated start for Killen who experienced mechanical problems during practice on Thursday. With little seat time, he will have a wise and clean race finishing in 13th position. On Saturday he was much more convincing and his 12th position did not reward his good race. Because he finished in the leader’s lap, without having benefited from the free pass, despite a run under green of 110 laps, the second longest in history at Irwindale! He drove faster on Saturday and was consistent despite the tire wear. Hoping to see him again this year.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Irwindale |
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12th | 2 starts, best result 12th |
No. 11 Danica Dart (Kennealy Keller Motorsports) Race #1: did not participate / Race #2: Start: 16th – Fin: 14th
Accident during the start in Phoenix, then DNS in Bakersfield following the breakage of her engine in practice, this race of July 6 can be considered as Danica Dart’s real debut in the West Series. During practice, she received help from her teammate Robbie Kennealy to validate the setup. In the race she lacked a bit of speed, driving too often around 21 seconds per lap. But she brought the car back in one piece and learned a lot. She made no mistakes and held her place in the pack.
“Well, I got my “first” ARCA race under my belt. It was a decent day. We were able to get a top-15 in the ARCA Menards Series west finishing 14th. This will give us a place to build from. I am so appreciative of every business and every person that allows this all to happen, I understand all of the sacrifices from everyone.” Dart says.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Irwindale |
| 3 (1 DNS) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14th | 1 start, best result 14th |
No. 12 Kyle Keller (Kennealy Keller Motorsports) Race #1: Start: 6th – Fin: 8th / Race #2: Start: 11th – Fin: 11th
Solid race in the top-10 on Thursday with a nice qualifying session. But he lost a lap to the leaders during the two runs under green flags of almost 60 laps.
Saturday was much more difficult. He climbed from the start to 10th position but fell out of the top-10 on the seventh lap. The reason, the breakage of his left shock. And even though he barely managed to re-enter the top-10 on the 123rd lap, he was ejected for good on the 134th, finishing in a disappointing 11th position despite having a fast car early in the race. As proof, his 19.381 sec achieved in the third lap. The only satisfaction was that he finished on the leader’s lap with a car in one piece. He lost points but retained his fifth position in the championship.
“P:8 and P:11 at Irwindale Speedway this past weekend! We struggled with the car all weekend but my team never gave up. We are ready for the next one and we will be stronger! Thank you to my whole crew and sponsors! For everything!” Keller says.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Irwindale |
| 28 | 0 | 6 | 17 | 0 | 4th (3x) | 5 starts, best result : 4th |
No. 13 Tyler Reif (Central Coast Racing) Race #1: Start: 1st – Fin: 5th / Race #2: Start: 2nd – Fin: 3rd
Very fast on Thursday, Tyler Reif obtained his second pole of the season but did not enjoy it for long. Overwhelmed from the start by Hingorani. The driver of the No. 13 gradually lost positions and finished the race fifth, maintaining the championship lead at that time.
On Saturday, he started from the “first” position following the penalty from polesitter Joanides. He led the first lap but could do nothing against Robusto and Huddleston. Once these two were out of the race, he showed himself to be a candidate for victory at the end of the race against Hingorani. But Tyler was overtaken during overtime by Jack Wood and finished third. He lost first position in the championship but is only two small points behind first. The battle for the championship starts all over again for the second half of the season. We’re going to have fun during the next races!
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Irwindale |
| 20 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 4 | 1st | 4 starts, best result : 3rd (2x) |
No. 15 Sean Hingorani (Venturini Motorsports) Race #1: Start: 2nd – Fin: 1st / Race #2: Start: 4th – Fin: 1st
The reunion between Hingorani and Venturini Motorsports in the West Series was crowned with success. Sean performing the sweep. This allows him to take the lead in the championship with two small points ahead of Tyler Reif. If on Thursday the driver of the No. 15 ran the perfect race by leading wire-to-wire, Saturday was more complicated. But that’s where we recognize the champions.
Indeed, although Hingorani managed to gain two positions to find himself second, he did not seem to have sufficient speed to catch up with his teammate Robusto to challenge for victory. But he benefited from an unexpected boost when with 30 laps to go he found himself first following Robusto’s accident. He would then have to fight against Joanides, Reif and Wood during the last two restarts to win the race and climb the fence a second time to greet the public.
“Swept the weekend! Back to back trips to Victory Lane this week at Irwindale Speedway in the 15 feels pretty incredible! It was awesome to be back with the old crew this week and I want to thank everyone at VMS for the tremendous effort and all the hard work. I’m extremely thankful to have the opportunity to work with teams this year that know how to get it done and win races. Thank you, again to all the fans and my friends and family for coming back out last night.” Hingorani says.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Irwindale |
| 23 | 6 | 12 | 13 | 2 | 1st (6x) | 4 starts, best result 1st (3x) |
No. 16 Jack Wood (Bill McAnally Racing) Race #1: Start: 4th – Fin: 14th / Race #2: Start: 8th – Fin: 2nd
The driver of the No. 16 will have fought during the two races with a very tight car in the center of both Turns 1-2 and 3-4. Benefiting from the free pass on the 60th lap during the first race, he was going to make adjustments but that did not allow him to have a better car. Worse, he finally spun on Turn 3 on the 84th lap and hit the wall with the rear of his car. He finished in a disappointing 14th position.
On Saturday, he will use his backup car and the choice was good. If at the start of the race he will complain again about an unwieldy car, the adjustments he makes with crew chief Kevin Bellicourt during the first yellow flag on the 11th lap will prove effective. He will then move back towards the top-five. During overtime, he made a superb restart passing through the outside line two cars and getting into the rear bumper of the leader. This second position, his best career result, is good for the driver and revives him for the championship at mid-season.
“The cautions fell and some of the guys in front of us got knocked out. We just managed the night the right way. We still have some work to do to have the race-winning speed, but just came up one spot short. Happy with the result and really proud of these guys on our BlueDEF, NAPA Nightvision team to work as hard as they did to get us in this position tonight.” Wood says.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Irwindale |
| 25 | 0 | 6 | 14 | 0 | 2nd | 4 starts, best result 2nd |
No. 19 Eric Johnson, Jr. (Bill McAnally Racing) Race #1: Start: 9th – Fin: 11th / Race #2: Start: 12th – Fin: 10th
Life as a rookie is not easy when you still lack reference on ovals. On Thursday he had to compensate like his teammate with a very tight car in the center. Although he briefly reached eighth position in the first few laps, he couldn’t do anything after that and slipped out of the top-10 due to contact with the Turn 4 wall. On Saturday, he will be momentarily ninth at the start of the race but will once again have to deal with an unwieldy car. If his teammate manages to correct the setup and finish second in the race, Johnson, Jr. will have to wait until the end of the race to settle definitively in 10th position.
“We were fairly consistent this entire weekend. Our Pacific Office Automation, Key Property Services Chevrolet was a little tight in both races, but I think we were a little closer on Saturday. Any time you can come out with a top-10 in your first race at a track is positive, so we’ll try to build on this for Shasta later this month. It was a long, hot weekend, so huge thanks to all the guys at BMR for the effort.” Johnson, Jr. says.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Irwindale |
| 10 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 7th | 2 starts, best result : 10th |
No. 20 Jake Finch (Venturini Motorsports) Race #1: Start: 8th – Fin: 3rd / Race #2: Start: 6th – Fin: 8th
Jake Finch had already obtained his best result in the West Series here with a sixth position in 2022 for his debut. He will do better with a good third position during the Independence Day race with a third position. Completing his team’s triumph with a 100% Venturini Motorsports podium. On Saturday he was in the top-five throughout the race but was the victim of an accident on the 146th lap when he hit the wall at Turn 4 following a push from Joanides. He was third. Starting eighth again, he finished last in the leader’s lap in the same position. Unable to hope for anything more given the damage suffered by his Toyota No. 20.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Irwindale |
| 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 3rd | 3 starts, best result 3rd |
No. 23 Jaron Giannini (Sigma Performance Services) Race #1: Start: 13th – Fin: 6th / Race #2: Start: 9th – Fin: 5th
Here is a rookie who made an excellent debut in the West Series. Thursday was a learning experience. He still lacked consistency and was able to benefit from the free pass during the second yellow flag and take the checkered flag in a convincing sixth position.
On Saturday, once again qualified in the middle of the starting grid, he returned a copy free of mistakes and obtained a fine first top 5 in his career. Also demonstrating the know-how of the SPS team. Indeed, whether with stars of the national series like Grant Enfinger or Sam Mayer, former ARCA and ARCA West champions or beginners, the team manages each time to play in the big leagues to the greatest satisfaction of Joe Farrè , its owner. Remember that this team was created less than a year ago. Let’s hope to see Jaron back behind the wheel in the West Series soon.
“It was a lot of fun and a great learning experience. Looking back now, there were a few things I could’ve done differently, but that’s all part of the learning process. The entire SPS crew did an incredible job over the three days, making me comfortable with the car and helping me adjust to its differences from what I’m used to. Thanks to Joe for the opportunity and the team for all of their hard work and support!” Giannini says.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Irwindale |
| 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5th | 2 starts, best result 5th |
No. 27 Bobby Hillis, Jr. (Fierce Creature Racing) Race #1: Start: 17th – Fin: 16th Handling / Race #2: Start: 18th – Fin: 19th Electrical
A complicated week for the veteran in Irwindale. Tony Huffman, his crew chief, injured, it was veteran Ed Ash who came to lend a helping hand. The car seemed to be running well on Thursday before electrical issues caused the engine to sputter in corners. As the problem got worse, with the car getting slower and slower, the officials asked the team to resolve the problem. But impossible since the cause was not known. DNF result.
On Saturday, despite all efforts, the problem persisted and Hillis preferred to stop rather than take the risk of breaking the engine. The rest of the season is currently compromised. Hillis, Jr. explains in detail the problems encountered and the bleak future of FCR for the remainder of the season on the bullrings.
“Extremely hot weather for the weekend to start things off. Ed Ash flew to me for a couple of days to get the car ready to race and the car seemed to handle well but it didn’t really matter. When the race started the engine started miss firing and running poorly but only through the corners. It progressively got worse as the race went on until I finally pulled off with about 27 to go. Thought it was the pick up in the fuel cell so on Saturday we addressed that immediately.
“Went out to practice and it was still doing it. Came in off the track several times during practice to wonk on it. Started with adjusting the carburetor and Ed Ash said it was in left field. Back out but still the same thing. Back in and now he completely rebuilt the carburetor. Back out and it was still doing it. Practice ended but we still hadn’t figured it out. Ed asked when was the last time I changed spark plugs and I said never since I owned the car (about 4 years) which is not good. He said engines do weird electrical things when spark plugs haven’t been changed.
“Took them out and the electrode was pretty much gone. Completely burned away. Ed said here’s the problem and go get me a set of plugs. Changed them and went to qualify. Seemed fine but it was only a couple of laps. Started the race and same thing again so I just pulled off. Wasn’t going to run another complete race that way. Thinking we’re done for the year because we don’t have a good running car and can’t figure out what’s wrong with this one. Goldilocks is a piece of crap. The white car is wrecked and the orange car is a road course car only. That leaves nothing for short track races.”
Ryan Hale, the team spotter, explains: “We struggled all day with issues. Same issue as Thursday, we thought it was a fuel pickup problem, not the case. Ed [Ash] and the guys changed everything they could think of to fix it but to no avail. Car wouldn’t start at the command so we had to have a push start. We decided to pull the car in after some laps to prevent further damage to the engine and stay out of everyone’s way. It’s been a very taxing season, mentally. 4 DNF’s in first 6 races.”
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Irwindale |
| 102 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 8th (1x) | 15 starts, best result 9th |
No. 31 Rick Goodale (Rise Motorsports)Race #1: Start: 19th – Fin: 19th DNS / Race #2: Start: 19th – Fin: 16th
Unable to start the race on Thursday following an accident during practice, Rick Goodale was offered a second chance on Saturday. His owner/crew chief Tim Goulet, letting him take the wheel of the No. 31 in his place. But it’s difficult to work miracles with a team lacking budget, with a car lacking performance and a driver lacking experience. Saturday’s race was a long journey for Goodale who already benefited from the free pass after 10 laps of the race. He finished last of the drivers still on the track when the checkered flag was lowered, 14 laps behind. If in the East Series, this can offer a top-10, in the West Series this is impossible.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Irwindale |
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16th | 2 starts (1 DNS), best result 16th |
No. 31 Tim Goulet (Rise Motorsports) Race #1: did not participate / Race #2: Driver change, did not participate
Tim was due to race on Saturday but following his accident on Thursday, Goodale was offered a second chance by his owner and crew chief to drive the No. 31 in the race.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Irwindale |
| – | – | – | – | – | – | n/a |
No. 41 Johnny Borneman III (Lowden Jackson Motorsports) WITHDRAW
Due to lack of budget, the team did not travel from Las Vegas contrary to what had been planned at the start of the season. Too bad because Borneman III has always been very fast at Irwindale.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Irwindale |
| 128 | 3 | 27 | 61 | 1 | 1st (3x) | 23 starts, best result 2nd |
No. 50 Trevor Huddleston (High Point Racing) Race #1: Start: 3rd – Fin: 4th / Race #2: Start: 5thj – Fin: 9th
Fast as always on his home track, Huddleston found stronger opponents than him on Thursday with the Venturini Motorsports trio even if he only lost third position on the 137th of the 150 lap. On Saturday he was Isabella Robusto’s main competitor for victory. Huddleston leading until lap 64. But he did not take advantage of Robusto’s accident on the 121st lap because he had just been overtaken by Hingorani for second position.
Worse still, Trevor, like Robusto, suffered a puncture of his right front tire at the end of the frontstretch at full speed. Although he managed to avoid hitting the wall, the time lost changing tires relegated him one lap down to ninth position. He will console himself with the check offered to the driver who achieved the fastest lap in the race.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Irwindale |
| 71 | 3 | 26 | 57 | 2 | 1st (3x) | 11 starts, best result: 1st (2x) |
No. 55 Isabella Robusto (Venturini Motorsports) Race #1: Start: 5th – Fin: 2nd / Race #2: Start: 3rd – Fin: 17th Flat tire / crash
Impressive! Robusto is! She finished Thursday’s race like a cannonball by being the fastest on the track and coming back strongly on the leader, her teammate Hingorani. There will have been one more lap and she will clearly have been able to claim victory. After this superb performance, she will do even better on Saturday.
Starting from second position, she would quickly overtake leader Reif and lead her first career lap during the second lap. If she was overtaken by Huddleston the following lap, she would huddle in her rear bumper and during the long green flag run she managed to take back first position on the 65th lap. She will be dazzling and will lead the race without contest until her right front tire bursts at the exit of Turn 2. The impact with the wall being crippling. Robusto directly parks her injured car in the infield. Abandonment, death in the soul. Looking forward to the next race because her first victory is getting closer and closer.
“A lot to process from this weekend – 29 laps [31 laps] away from my first ARCA Menards Series West win. Started 3rd and was able to work my way up to 1st by lap 50 [65], stretching my lead over the next 71 laps [57] until my RF tire got cut putting me into the wall and ending my night early. This one hurt, a lot. To be that close to my first victory. To lead laps and to have a very fast race car and not get the win – it hurts. I want to win more than anything. That’s why we race. I won’t ever settle for less.” Robusto says.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Irwindale |
| 5 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2nd | 2 starts, best result 2nd |
No. 71 Nick Joanides (Jan’s Racing) Race #1: Start: 10th – Fin: 7th / Race #2: Start: 1st – Fin: 4th
In the top three in practice on Thursday, he spun during his first lap in the qualifying session but managed to set the 10th time. In the race, he was one of the fastest and entered the top-five on the 95th lap. Unfortunately his sway bar broke and he lost a few positions at the end of the race. On Saturday he set the best time in practice and at the same time obtained his first career pole position. The first also for its owner Jan Qualkenbush and his new team Jan’s Racing.
Unfortunately an error in managing the post qualifying session timing to make adjustments saw him penalized by the officials. It was therefore dead last that he started the race. As explained in the race review, he was going to fly around the track and climb up to second position. Unfortunately during the penultimate restart, he spun his tires and lost three positions. He managed to finish fourth, equaling his career best result. A fourth position obtained in 2018 in Roseville. The team is brand new and is progressing by leaps and bounds. Victory is possible by the end of the season.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Irwindale |
| 34 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 1 | 4th (2x) | 9 starts, best result 4th |
No. 77 Garrett Zacharias (Performance P1 Motorsports) Race #1: Start: 14th – Fin: 12th / Race #2: Start: 13th – Fin: 18th crash
For his first races in the West Series, Zacharias will have experienced ups and downs. On Thursday he learned and finished 12th in a group made up of Souza, Koga and Johnson, Jr. On Saturday he lost control of his Toyota No. 77 on Turn 2 in lap 9 and hit the outside wall violently.
The driver fortunately escaped unscathed but not the car which was towed to the infield next to the boats which would be used a few hours later in the Night of Destruction.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Irwindale |
| 2 (1 DNQ) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12th | 2 starts, best result 12th |
Next race on July 27 at Shasta Speedway, Anderson, CA for the Shasta 150.