By Vincent Delforge, Special to Kickin’ the Tires
Here we are, it is the twelfth and final race of the 2024 ARCA Menards West Series season and it is the Phoenix Raceway located in Avondale, AZ which will have the privilege of organizing this suspenseful finale for the awarding of the championship between Sean Hingorani, the 2023 champion and current leader of the standings against Tyler Reif and Trevor Huddleston.
Even if for Huddleston, it is still mathematically possible, the only real possibility is to see Hingorani declare forfeit before the practice which will take place this Thursday from 6 to 7 p.m. (MT). The qualifying session will also take place Thursday from 7:20 to 7:40 p.m. (MT). The Desert Diamond Casino West Valley 100 will take place Friday, November 8 at 11:30 a.m. (MT). A race of 100 laps, or 100 miles on this atypical one-mile oval located in the middle of the desert.
On March 8, William Sawalich won the race from pole position after leading 66 of the 115 laps. In fact, the race initially scheduled for 150 laps was stopped due to rain. This did not detract from the performance of the Joe Gibbs Racing driver as he was the fastest on the track. The current championship leader, Sean Hingorani, finished fifth, Tyler Reif 11th and Trevor Huddleston 17th out of the 40 cars at the start. There were 43 cars registered. Phoenix being a combined race with the ARCA national series in March, which will not be the case this time.
But this race taking place during the big weekend of the finals of the three national divisions of NASCAR, it always attracts a lot of drivers. Because in addition to the regulars of the West Series, a good number of teams and drivers from the East and the ARCA Menards national series will be present as always. This will be the case, for example, of the East champion William Sawalich for example.
This 71st season in the history of the West Series will have kept all its promises with a fierce competition between the drivers during each race, whether for the victory or for a 12th position. We already take this opportunity to thank all the team owners, drivers, mechanics, crew chiefs, race officials, volunteers on the tracks and of course all the fans for making 2024 an excellent vintage!
Did you know?
In 2023 Sean Hingorani won the championship ahead of Tyler Reif and Trevor Huddleston. And this year it’s the exact same trio and in the same order in the standings that will compete for the championship in Phoenix. And if they finish in that order again, it will be the second time in West Series history that a same trio of drivers has finished in the same order in the championship two years in a row. The first time was in 1967 and 1968 with Scotty Cain champion ahead of Ray Elder and Jim Cook.
The Race Procedure
CREW CHIEF HANDOUT: The starting field for the Desert Diamond Casino West Valley 100 is limited to 30 starters plus provisionals. This event will be run under the 2024 ARCA Menards Series West rules, procedures, regulations and specifications.
QUALIFYING: Starting position will be set by the fastest lap recorded in qualifying per the Timed Session Qualifying Procedure, plus provisionals.
RACE PIT STOP: Break pitting procedure. Break at or near the conclusion of Lap 50. No adding or moving tires to or from pit box once race has started.
TIRE ALLOTMENT: Per ARCA Rulebook, maximum tire usage for this event (purchased plus from-home tires) is 10. Maximum number of tires allowed in pit box for use in race is four (4), two (2) for break and two (2) for emergency use; all emergency tire changes must be approved by ARCA official.
ARCA West quick stats at Phoenix
-71st season in history.
-Race No. 1028 since the inception of the West Series in 1954.
-2024 race No. 12 of 12.
-This will be the 691st paved oval race in history.
-This will be the race No. 54 at Phoenix Raceway since 1977.
–Among the manufacturers, Chevrolet leads the dance with 16 wins ahead of Ford (14), Toyota (12), Pontiac (6), Dodge (3) and Buick (2). The all-time most successful manufacturer is Ford with 290 wins.
-Second win for team owner Joe Gibbs.
-Bill McAnally Racing and Joe Gibbs Racing are the most victorious teams in Phoenix with five wins each. Petty Enterprises and Gene Price Motorsports follows with three wins each. The all-time most successful owners in history are Bill McAnally (99), Fred Elder (45), Bob Bruncati (42) and Ernie Conn (41).
-Ken Schrader is the most successful driver at Phoenix with four wins. Richard Petty, Greg Pursley and Ty Gibbs follows with three. In all, 38 different drivers have won at least one race at Phoenix.
-16 times in 53 races the polesitter wins at Phoenix.
-Gene Price Motorsports, Duncan Racing and Joe Gibbs Racing are the most successful teams in Phoenix with four poles each. 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.
-Among the manufacturers, Chevrolet leads the dance with 21 poles ahead of Ford (12), Toyota (9), Buick (3), Dodge (3) and Pontiac (3). Note, two times in 2004 and 2021 the qualifying was cancelled due to rain.
-74th pole for Toyota in West Series and ninth at Phoenix. The all-time most successful manufacturer is Chevrolet with 260.
-The track record is owned by Ty Gibbs for Joe Gibbs Racing at 135.064 mph achieved in 2021.
-Ricky Rudd won the race in 1995 from 29th position on the starting grid, which is a record.
-As far as yellow flags are concerned, the record is 13 in 2023 (March race). The 2023 March race holds the record for the number of yellow flag laps with 78.
-Note that from 1988 to 1996 the Phoenix race was combined with the NASCAR Cup Series.
-The most leader changes occurred in 1993 with 20. The least leader change is zero, three times in 2012, 2014 and 2021 #2.
-The largest starting field was in 1996 and 1996 with 44 cars.
-The smallest starting field was in 2003 #2 with 22 cars.
-The driver with the most races is Brett Thomspon (24).
-The driver with the most wins is Ken Schrader (4)
-The driver with the most poles are Mike Duncan and Greg Pursley with 4.
-The drivers with the most top5 is Greg Pursley (8).
-The driver with the most top10 are Greg Pursley and Brett Thompson with 10.
-The drivers with the most laps is Ken Schrader (3614).
-The driver with the most laps lead is Mark Martin (448).
-12 times the race has been extended by an overtime (2003-01, 2005-03, 2007-02, 2009-03, 2010-02, 2014-01, 2014-14, 2015-13, 2019-14, 2022-01, 2022-11 and 2023-01).
-The race was shortened one time due to rain (2024-01)
There are 24 drivers registered and among them six will discover the Phoenix Raceway with an ARCA type car including two newcomers in West Series, Jonathan Reaume and Connor Zilisch.
The Drivers
No. 05 David Smith (Shockwave Racing) Start:
Last March, the race turned into a nightmare for Smith who destroyed two cars during practice and the race. He will do everything to avoid such a disaster and end his 2024 season on a positive note. Brian Carlson will be his crew chief.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Phoenix |
| 27 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 10th (2x) | 4 starts, best result 17th |
No. 2 Sebastian Arias (REV Racing)
Last year the Colombian finished 10th in Phoenix after a very convincing race. Will he do as well this year? It’s hard to say because he has rarely driven an ARCA type car in 2024. In fact, he has only done two races in the national series in Charlotte where he finished ninth and more recently in the 19th race of the season in Kansas. But this will be his fifth career race in Phoenix and he will be able to use his experience to aim for a good result. His crew chief will be Glenn Parker.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Phoenix |
| 10 (+1 DNS) | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8th (2x) | 4 starts, best result: 10th |
No. 3 Todd Souza (Central Coast Racing)
If Kern will not remain his best memory, Souza intends to finish the 2024 season in style with a big result. In March he had only obtained the 19th position in Phoenix. Phoenix he has already driven there 16 times and had some great races like his fifth position in 2022. Which is his best result on this oval. Another objective for the veteran will be to finish in front of Hingorani and thus take points from the latter in order to help his teammate Tyler Reif win the championship. Jason Dickenson will be his crew chief.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Phoenix |
| 130 | 1 | 23 | 74 | 0 | 1st (1x) | 16 starts, best result : 5th |
No. 4 Eric Nascimento, Jr. (Nascimento-Joiner Motorsports)
Bubba will be at Phoenix with the goal of ending the season on a high note. He didn’t race in March but knows the oval well having raced there three times already with a best result of 14th place at the beginning of last year. Ty Joiner, his crew chief, has a lot of experience here and together they plan to take the No. 4 to the top.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Phoenix |
| 25 | 0 | 6 | 11 | 1 | 2nd (2x) | 3 starts, best result: 14th |
No. 6 Lavar Scott (REV Racing)
Scott will try to do better than in March when he got the 10th position. The 2024 vice-champion of the national series would like to finally win a race in 2024. For this he will have the help of his crew chief Danny Johnson.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Phoenix |
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10th | 2 starts, best result 10th |
No. 7 Takuma Koga (Jerry Pitts Racing)
Often fast in Phoenix, Koga has never had any luck there. His best result was a modest 15th position. To end his 2024 season on a good note, because it was complicated, he will try everything. Denny Moyer will obviously be his crew chief. Together they will try to have a car that turns well in the corners. Which was the problem here in March but also a good part of the season, including during the last race in Bakersfield.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Phoenix |
| 125 | 0 | 4 | 28 | 0 | 5th (4x) | 13 starts, best result : 15th |
No. 9 Kyle Keller (Jan’s Racing)
For his first race with Jan’s Racing at Kern, the result was not up to expectations with a retirement following a broken right front suspension. He had finished 18th here last March, but Keller has already proven that he can be very fast in Phoenix, as evidenced by his fifth position obtained last year. With his friend and crew chief Brian Kizer, the objective will be to be at least in the top 10 and to secure fifth position in the championship even if fourth is still mathematically possible.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Phoenix |
| 33 | 0 | 9 | 21 | 0 | 4th (3x) | 5 starts, best result : 5th |
No. 13 Tyler Reif (Central Coast Racing)
Reif finished 11th in March after a crash on lap 96, when until then he was easily in the top 5 and ahead of… Hingorani. Will the points lost that day be a deal breaker? Let’s hope not. It was here last year that he won his first career victory. If he manages to be in Victory Lane again, he will have done everything he could to clinch the championship. But with a 14-point deficit to Hingorani, he will also have to count on a slight misstep from the latter for all the planets to align correctly. Michael Munoz will be his crew chief.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Phoenix |
| 25 | 3 | 14 | 16 | 5 | 1st (3x) | 4 starts, best result 1st |
No. 15 Sean Hingorani (Venturini Motorsports)
Hingorani has not yet won a race in Phoenix but he is fast there and that should help him to obtain his second consecutive championship. Fifth last March for Hattori Racing Enterprises, he makes the final with Venturini Motorsports, the team with which he obtained all his career victories. Last year in November, he finished third but especially ahead of Tyler Reif (5th). But his lead was bigger since he started the final with a 33-point lead. This time he will have to finish at worst ninth and this no matter what Reif would do to win his second championship. Or he will just have to play placed by monitoring his opponent since he has a lead of only 14 points. Tyler Barrett will be his crew chief for the first time.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Phoenix |
| 28 | 7 | 17 | 18 | 4 | 1st (7x) | 4 starts, best result 3rd |
No. 16 Jack Wood (Bill McAnally Racing)
Wood’s season started in Phoenix with a very loose car and it was a sign of what 2024 would be, a season of ups and downs. He had to fight all season to get his car set up and get some good results without managing to win a race. This is his chance to do it and his crew chief Kevin Bellicourt will do everything he can to help him achieve this goal.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Phoenix |
| 30 | 0 | 9 | 18 | 0 | 2nd | 5 starts, best result 4th |
No. 18 William Sawalich (Joe Gibbs Racing)
As mentioned in the introduction to this article, Sawalich had a great race last March, taking pole and victory. Something he also did in November 2023. If he succeeds again this time, he will become the first driver to achieve such a feat in Phoenix. Currently, only he and Ty Gibbs have managed to win the race twice in a row from pole position. His crew chief will obviously be Matt Ross with whom he won the East championship this year, just like in 2023.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Phoenix |
| 7 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 1st (3x) | 3 starts, best result : 1st (2x) |
No. 19 Eric Johnson, Jr. (Bill McAnally Racing)
The 2024 rookie has improved a lot during the season and his progress was visible especially when he was driving on a track he already knew. And Phoenix, he had the opportunity to find his marks there last March. Twentieth at the start of the season, partly because of a collision with a backmarker, he will aim for the top 10. John Camilleri will be his crew chief.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Phoenix |
| 15 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 4th | 1 start, best result 20th |
No. 20 Giovanni Ruggiero (Venturini Motorsports)
The only driver who could somewhat challenge the victory at Sawalich last March, Ruggiero had made a strong impression in his debuts at Phoenix and in the West Series. He will be one of the favorites for the victory. He did both road races this year in the West Series and finished third in the East Series with a victory at Pensacola. His crew chief will be Taylor DeWolf, winner at Bakersfield with Hingorani.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Phoenix |
| 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2nd | 1 start, best result 2nd |
No. 21 Alex Malycke (Nascimento-Joiner Motorsports)
Malycke did one West Series race 10 years ago in 2014. He finished 19th at Roseville with the team of John Wood and Mike Holleran. He is best known for being the ghost entry champion that same year in the ARCA national series. Expect to see the No. 21 dragging itself to the back of the pack at Phoenix. It’s a shame not to see Ethan Nascimento at the wheel. But the team needs additional budgets. Mike Nascimento will be its crew chief.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Phoenix |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19th | n/a |
No. 22 Brent Crews (Venturini Motorsports)
He will discover the Phoenix Raceway but we know that discovering a new oval poses no problem of adaptation for Crews as his second position at Bakersfield has just proven. He won the race on the dirt mile of DuQuoin in the national series this season. He will have Shane Everts as crew chief.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Phoenix |
| 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2nd | n/a |
No. 23 Kaden Honeycutt (Sigma Performance Services)
Honeycutt will make his first start in 2024 in the West Series and his first for SPS. He was impressive last year when he took over from Landen Lewis for the final four races of the season. Taking the win in his first race at Roseville before visiting Victory Lane a second time at Madera. By finishing ninth at Las Vegas and Phoenix, he contributed to Steve McGowan obtaining his first title as an owner in the West Series. This year, he has done one Xfinity Series race at Dover and thirteen Craftsman Truck Series races. His crew chief will be Chris Bray. Note that with this car Grant Enfinger finished third last March. It is therefore quite logical that we will have to keep a close eye on the No. 23 this Friday.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Phoenix |
| 4 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1st (2x) | 1 start, best result 9th |
No. 25 Marco Andretti (Venturini Motorsports)
Marco’s conversion to stock car is very complicated and the results are slow in coming. Will this change of team have a positive impact? Venturini Motorsports has been the big machine of ARCA platforms for many years. In March with Cook Racing Technologies, he had an anonymous race in Phoenix, finishing in a distant 21st position, one lap behind the winner. He has since gained experience and his results have gradually improved. But it is especially on the road tracks that he has distinguished himself the most. Matt Bayyouk will be his crew chief.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Phoenix |
| 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7th | 1 start, best result 21st |
No. 27 Bobby Hillis, Jr. (Fierce Creature Racing)
Hillis, Jr. has not raced in the West Series since the Irwindale doubleheader last July. He had planned to return for Phoenix and that promise has been kept. He is the driver with the most experience at Phoenix, since he will be taking part in his 23rd race. Last March he had to abandon due to brake problems. Tony Huffman will be his crew chief.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Phoenix |
| 102 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 8th (1x) | 22 starts, best result : 11th |
No. 28 Connor Zilisch (Pinnacle Racing Group)
Zilisch will make his debut in the West Series and discover the Phoenix Raceway. He finished vice-champion this year in the East Series with four victories behind Sawalich. He drives his usual car at Pinnacle Racing Group. A good car in Phoenix since last March Connor Mosack finished in fourth position. He will have his crew chief Shane Huffman at his side as in the East Series.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Phoenix |
| – | – | – | – | – | – | n/a |
No. 50 Trevor Huddleston (High Point Racing)
To win the championship, Huddleston will need a miracle, namely that for one reason or another Hingorani does not start. But currently with 37 points behind, mathematically it is still possible. Huddleston will have had a strange 2024 season, made of ups and downs. The start of the season was disappointing, as in Phoenix in March where he only finished 17th, without ever having had a rhythm to aim for better. But his end of the season is remarkably efficient with four podiums including two victories in the last five races. With his faithful crew chief Jeff Schrader, they will be keen to end the year in the best possible way. And we have seen that in the past, Huddleston knew how to drive fast in Phoenix.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Phoenix |
| 76 | 5 | 30 | 62 | 3 | 1st (5x) | 7 starts, best result : 7th |
No. 55 Jake Finch (Venturini Motorsports)
In 2022 with the family team he finished ninth in Phoenix. He will make his second career start there. This time he will drive for Venturini Motorsports. With this team, he has done three West Series races this year with a third position in the first race at Irwindale as his best result. He will have Gregory Papp as crew chief.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Phoenix |
| 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 3rd | 1 start, best result 9th |
No. 71 Rip Michels (Jan’s Racing)
Michels will make his first race at Phoenix in the West Series. He continues his interim in the No. 71 while Nick Joanides is recovering. And he has done a good job with two top 10s in three races. He knows the Phoenix Raceway having driven there in the NASCAR Southwest Series in the past. Even if the last time was in… 2006, the year he won the championship. He had obtained the fifth position by battling for the victory against big names like Ken Schrader, Matt Crafton or Eric Holmes. He will have plenty of good memories that will come back to him when he climbs into his car this Thursday. Marco Peaz will be his crew chief like in Bakersfield.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Phoenix |
| 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8th | n/a |
No. 72 Jonathan Reaume (Reaume Brothers Racing)
The 35-year-old Canadian will make his debut in the West Series and in Phoenix. The team is more accustomed to the Craftsman Truck Series even if he has participated in a few races in the ARCA national series with Lawless Alan as a driver for example. John Reaume will be his crew chief.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Phoenix |
| – | – | – | – | – | – | n/a |
No. 76 Kole Raz (AM Racing)
This will be a first for Raz at Phoenix Raceway. That said, he had an excellent part-time season since he won the Bakersfield race last April. He will be driving a car entered by AM Racing. Last March with Christian Rose, the team could not do better than 16th. Ryan London will be his crew chief. However, we will have to keep an eye on the youngest of the Raz brothers. His big brother Gracin raced once at Phoenix in 2015 but had to retire due to engine failure. Let’s bet that Kole will do better this Friday.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Phoenix |
| 6 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 1st | n/a |
Final notes.
-The Kennealy-Keller Motorsports team is not present in Phoenix, this is the first time this season that the team does not enter at least one car in a West Series race. Very sad for KKM, whose No. 12 of Fran Kennealy is currently fifth in the owners’ championship. Depending on the result of its direct pursuers, it could fall to 10th position.
-Jerry Pitts Racing is only entering one car in Phoenix, that of Takuma Koga. No No. 5 or No. 6 this time.
-Initially planned, the presence of the Cook Racing Technologies team is canceled with its two cars. Marco Andretti (No. 17) having found a drive at Venturini Motorsports and Tanner Reif (No. 42) for an unknown reason.
-The race will be broadcast live on FloRacing.