By Vincent Delforge, Special to Kickin’ the Tires.
The ARCA Menards West Series season-opening race, the General Tire 150 (combo race with the national ARCA Menards Series, race 2/20), was dominated by and handful of drivers including the newcomer William Salawich, the former double champion Jesse Love and… the winner of the day Tyler Reif.
Dominating Reif? Yes, because even if it was Sawalich who led the most laps in the lead, the youngest of the Reif brothers showed that he had the most efficient car by coming back from two laps behind, following an incident in the 11th lap, to fight and take command of the race. He also showed maturity when he missed the final restart on the second overtime. Without panicking, he was able to regain first position with authority at the end of the last lap and cross the finish line as the winner. His first career win.
For a complete recap of the race, I invite you to read the article « Race review » available here: www.kickinthetires.net/nascar/arca-series/arca-menards-west-series-phoenix-race/
Complete race results: www.racing-reference.info/race-results/2023-01/AW/
Driver & owner points standings: www.racing-reference.info/standings/2023/AW/
As after each race we are going to detail the statistics for each driver, embellished with the reactions collected from many of them, drivers, owners and crew chiefs.
ARCA West Quick stats
-70th season in history.
-Race number 1005 since the inception of the West Series in 1954.
-2023 race number 1 of 12.
-Race number 51 at Phoenix Raceway since 1977.
–Win No. 14 for Ford at Phoenix. Chevrolet leads the dance with 16 wins ahead of Ford (14), Toyota (10), Pontiac (6), Dodge (3) and Buick (2).
-287th win for Ford in West Series
-First win for owner Chris Lowden.
-Win No.1 for Lowden-Jackson Motorsports (LJM) team. The all-time most successful owners in history are Bill McAnally (99), Fred Elder (45), Bob Bruncati (42) and Ernie Conn (41).
–Win No. 1 for Lowden-Jackson Motorsports at Phoenix. The most successful team is Bill McAnally Racing with five wins. Petty Enterprises, Gene Price Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing follows with three wins each.
-First career win for Tyler Reif (3rd career start. Note: as Sammy Smith for example). Ken Schrader is the most successful pilot at Phoenix with four wins. Richard Petty, Greg Pursley and Ty Gibbs follows with three. In all, 39 different drivers have won at least one race.
-Tyler Reif is the 39th different winner at Phoenix.
-Tyler Reif is the 203rd race winner in history.
-With his victory, Tyler Reif allows the Reif family (with his brother Tanner) to join the very private club of brothers who have won races in West Series history since 1954. The others being Chuck and Jim Bown, Jeff and Jason Jefferson as well as Tanner and Taylor Gray.
-Eight pole position for Toyota at Phoenix. Among the manufacturers, Chevrolet leads with 21 poles ahead of Ford (12), Toyota (7), Dodge (4), Pontiac (3) and Buick (3).
-New record with 13 cautions. The previous record is 11 in 2010.
New record for the number of laps under yellow flag with 78. Previous record: 2006 April race holds the record for the number of yellow flag laps with 59.
-Note that from 1988 to 1996 the Phoenix race was combined with the NASCAR Cup Series.
– Since 2021 and for the third consecutive time, the season-opening ARCA Menards West Series race has been a combined race with the national ARCA Menartds Series.
-This is the fifth combination race between the West Series and the national ARCA Menards Series in history (3 at Phoenix Raceway (2021-2023) and 2 at Texas World Speedway 1992-1993).
-14th time in 50 races the poleman wins at Phoenix.
-First career pole position for William Salawich in his first career start.
-William Salawich is the 203rd pole winner in history.
-Second pole for Joe Gibbs Racing at Phoenix. Gene Price Motorsports and Duncan Racing are the most successful teams with four.
-Second pole for Joe Gibbs Racing in West Series
-Best career result in West Series (only) for Tyler Reif (1st), Bradley Erickson (3rd) Frankie Muniz (6th), Conner Jones (7th), Leland Honeyman (8th), Greg Van Alst (10th), William Salawich (13th), Tony Cosentino (15th), Alex Clubb (18th), Jon Garrett (20th), A.J. Moyer (21st), Ethan Nascimento (26th) and Tim Monroe (31st),
-First top-5 in career in West Series (only) for Tyler Reif and Bradley Erickson.
-First top-10 in career in West Series (only) for Tyler Reif, Frankie Muniz, Conner Jones, Leland Honeyman, and Greg Van Alst.
-First career start in West Series (only): (6) Jon Garrett, Leland Honeyman, A.J. Moyer, Frankie Muniz, Ethan Nascimento and William Salawich
-6th win for the No. 41 in history.
-16th pole for the No. 18 in history.
-First career win for crew chief Tony Jackson.
-First career pole for crew chief Matt Ross.
-70th pole for Toyota in West Series.
-672th paved oval race in history.
The Drivers
No. 02 Leland Honeyman (Young’s Motorsports) Start: 5th – Fin: 8th
Excellent start to the race for Honeyman who even took advantage of the fight between Love and Sawalich to overtake them on the inside in turn 3 on the 24th lap and take command of the race. He almost lost everything on lap 54 when Sawalich came to lean on him on turn 3. If Sawalich spun, Honeyman managed to control his car. He wasted a lot of time when he was penalized for crossing the dog leg line before the start line.
A pass thru caused him to lose a lap. He will benefit from the free pass during the 10th caution. Allowing him to return to the battle. But on the 146th lap Honeyman will hit Breidinger at the entrance of turn 3, causing the 12th yellow flag. He will get out of it at the cost of a superb drift. But he will restart outside the top10. He will take advantage of the second overtime to move up a few positions and finally finish eighth.
“Made a few mistakes tonight, but I’ll learn from it and move on.” Honeyman said.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Phoenix |
| 1 | – | – | 1 | – | 8th | 1 start, best result : 8th |
No. 03 Alex Clubb (Clubb Racing) Start: 27th – Fin: 18th
A race made entirely in the most complete anonymity but which allows him to cross the finish line in a good 18th position. But four laps behind the winner. But the main thing is done, the car is in one piece. But the lack of pace would not have allowed him to do much better. But he gets his best career result in West Series. Last year he finished 21st here.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Phoenix |
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18th | 2 starts, best result 18th |
No. 04 Ethan Nascimento (Nascimento-Joiner Motorsports) Start: 32nd – Fin: 26th (Oil leak)
A first race at 15 years old with everything to learn. The track, the car and the competition at a national level. The young rookie did well. Driving intelligently, he was able to move up in the pack to approach the top 10. Unfortunately the rupture of an oil line will force him to park his car about twenty laps from the finish. But he learned a lot and will put it all to use in Irwindale for the next race.
“We had some problems in qualifying and couldn’t get the car to run right so we parked it. We had to start 29th and by lap 110 we have made it up to 13th. Around lap 130 we had a oil leak from one of our lines. So we had to park it. It was a great learning experience for my first Arca race but we are ready to come back better at Irwindale.” Ethan Nascimento said.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Phoenix |
| 1 | – | – | – | – | 26th | 1 start, best result : 26th |
No. 05 Dave Smith (Shockwave Racing) Start: 18th – Fin 17th
Well qualified, he unfortunately damaged his tires by spun on his second lap. Forcing him to start from the back of the pack. But the Canadian veteran overcame the difficulties, including physical fatigue, to bring his Toyota back unscathed to 17th position. And as he explains to us, there is no age to learn.
“I qualified one second better than last time but got greedy and spun on the second lap. Started at the back of the pack and took tires off getting caught up. Good crew and car. More physically demanding than I though. Concentrated on staying out of wrecks to keep car clean. Learned a ton.”
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Phoenix |
| 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11th | 2 starts, best result 17th |
No. 06 A.J. Moyer (Wayne Peterson Motorsports) Start: 30th – Fin 21st
What to say ? Moyer was the slowest on the track but that didn’t stop him from making three spuns… Ok the third time he got help from this Christian Rose… To see him finish the race is borderline a miracle. But he took the checkered flag with 11 laps down.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Phoenix |
| 1 | – | – | – | – | 21st | 1 start, best result : 21st |
No. 2 Andres Perez de Lara (REV Racing) Start : 6th – Fin: 4th
He really had a chance to fight for the win but he lost a lot of time twice. The first time at the restart on lap 54 when he cut the dog leg line before crossing the start/finish line. A pass thru penalty causing him to lose a lap.
He will benefit from the free pass during the eighth yellow flag. But a spun on lap 139 as he came back for a top-five (he hit Greg Van Aslt’s car entering turn 3) will relegate him out of the top-10 once again. But he will take advantage of the two overtimes to sneak into the pack and finish in a good fourth position. This allows him to continue his series of top-five with a beautiful three out of three in his career.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Phoenix |
| 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2nd | 2 starts, best result 3rd |
No. 4 Eric Nascimento (Nascimento-Joiner Motorsports) Start: 17th – Fin: 14th
A disappointing qualifying session for Bubba who was hoping for better as he explains:
“We struggled in practice, fighting vibration all practice long which followed into the race as well. Went out for qualifying and was going into turn 3 after taking the green flag and another car had spun out which caused a yellow flag, which caused us to come to our road and go back out and once you run 2 laps on your tires you never get that new tire grip back and ended up qualifying 17th.”
As for the race, it was complicated following an engine cut. The team did everything to solve the problem quickly but unfortunately despite good speed, the driver of No. 4 was never able to catch up on his late lap.
“Started the race and we quickly made our way just inside the top-10 and then we had a restart and the motor just didn’t go. We pitted and spark plug wire came off so the crew quickly fixed it and went back out but went two laps down. We did everything we could to get back on lead lap but never did. We were running down the top ten on long runs and running speed just as fast as the top-five.
“But on every restart we had to start in the back due to being a lap down. All in all it was a great weekend racing at Phoenix Raceway against the best in the business. We are really excited to get to irwindale, we really feel like we have a chance to win some races this year and have a run at the championship.” Bubba Said.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Phoenix |
| 9 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 5th (1x) | 2 starts, best result: 14th |
No. 6 Jack Wood (REV Racing) Start: 2nd – Fin: 28th (crash)
Big disappointment for Jack Wood. Qualified second, he had to start from the rear following unapproved adjustments. He will however be super efficient and come back to fight for the leadership of the race. Unfortunately he will be pushed by Conner Jones two laps after the halfway break restart when he was second of the race at the time. A violent crash against the outer wall, fortunately without injuries.
“Strong night with a bad ending. Drove from the back to second before the first stop, night came to an end soon after that. Proud of this REV Racing team. We will be hosting up trophies soon.”says a disappointed but optimistic Wood for the rest of the season.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Phoenix |
| 17 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 4th | 3 starts, best result: 7th |
No. 7 Takuma Koga (Jerry Pitts Racing) Start: 19th – Fin: 19th (crash)
A smart race, most of the time between the 12th and the 15th position, for Koga who was sailing around 10th position at the last restart. Unfortunately he was the collateral victim of the Salawich accident. The latter returning to the track in reverse forced Tanner Reif to swerve to the right, hitting the rear of the Japanese driver’s Toyota. Badly damaged car, synonymous of a DNF. Disappointed but still focused on the future:
“The crash at the last minute was so disappointing. I will definitely get better results next time at Irwindale.” Koga said.
Same disappointment for his owner Jerry Pitts: “Takuma had a rough day ended by a wreck on the last couple of laps when he was up to 10-11th at the time.”
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Phoenix |
| 102 | 0 | 4 | 20 | 0 | 5th (4x) | 11 starts, best result : 15th |
No. 10 Tim Monroe (Fast Track Racing) Start: 26th – Fin: 31st (Power steering)
A typical race for Fast Track Racing… Hopeless as the cars are slow. Monroe not having played a role in this race. But he improves on his best career result by finishing 31st. Last year he had obtained the 33rd position, also after a kind of S&P.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Phoenix |
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31st | 2 starts, best result 31st |
No. 11 Bryce Haugeberg (Fast Track Racing) Start: 29th – Fin: 32nd (DNS)
In fact, the young Haugeberg did not start the race due to an accident that destroyed his car during practice. The team does not have a backup car.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Phoenix |
| 2 (+1 DNS) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25th | 2 starts (+1 DNS), best result 25th |
No. 12 D.L. Wilson (Fast Track Racing) Start: 24th – Fin: 24th (crash)
Big fright for Wilson following an accident at the end of the race when he was involuntarily pushed by Christian Rose. The reason ? Wilson was slowing down following the accident in front of him involving Honeyman and Breidinger. Hospitalized with three broken ribs, a concussion and a sternum injury. He was able to leave the hospital two days later. We wish him a good recovery.
It was five days after the race that Wilson spoke for the first time about the incident:
“Hadn’t got to speak on incident yet. We worked our way up to fifteen (position) out of 32 cars and appeared we had a clean car for our push in the East Series. I saw the wreck out the front and my spotter Dan advised me crashing in front of me with 3 laps to go. I let off just a bit and #32 car didn’t get the message. #32 car wrecked four times Friday with this being his final crash. We, as drivers, have to check ourselves and be in control. It injured me and destroyed lots of cars. The cost for our small team is probably unrecoverable.
Ashamed to have that happen. I am not the best but I don’t wreck folks.”
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Phoenix |
| 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20th | 3 starts, best result 20th |
No. 13 Todd Souza (Central Coast Racing) Start: 16th – Fin: 11st
First race with his brand new Ford Mustang for CCR. A difficult first half of the race but the team solved the problems with good adjustments during the midway break. Much faster thereafter, Souza easily climbed back into the top 10.
Even considering a top-five like last November. Unfortunately he was blocked by a slowdown in front of him during the last restart. Losing some positions. He looked like he could maintain a top 10 when on the final corner he slipped battling Muniz and Huddleston.
“Overall, it was an ok weekend after having mechanical issues the first half of race. The Central Coast Racing team showed good speed coming from the back 4 times to restart 7th on the last green white checkered. The leader spun his tires and held our lane up and we lost position on that start and ended up 11th.”Michael Munoz (crew chief) said.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Phoenix |
| 109 | 1 | 19 | 61 | 0 | 1st (1x) | 14 starts, best result : 5th |
No. 15 Sean Hingorani (Venturini Motorsports) Start: 7th – Fin: 16th
For his first race with Venturini, Hingorani confirmed to us that he had the speed displayed last year. Unfortunately he had a difficult race. Complicated first act when he clashes with Tyler Reif for third position on the 11th lap. If Reif hit the wall, Hingorani managed to control his Toyota. But that is enough to make it very complicated to drive afterwards despite repairs. The lost time was not made up and the end of the race was difficult, seeing him dive in the standing to a modest 16th position. Big disappointment because he was definitely a candidate for victory.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Phoenix |
| 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12th | 2 starts, best result 16th |
No. 16 Tanner Reif (Bill McAnally Racing) Start: 20th – Fin: 12th
Big disappointment for the ROTY 2022. A vibration problem impossible to correct will have disturbed the driver of No. 16 all day. By avoiding all the problems he found himself fighting for 10th position during the penultimate restart. Which would have been a great result considering his vibration issues. But as already explained above, avoiding Salawich in spun, he hung with Koga. Unlike the Japanese, he was able to continue his race but only obtained 12th position. Far from his expectations.
“Not the start we wanted had a vibration that started before we mock qualified late in practice and the team went to work changing anything that could be the cause before qualifying. Leading to hurting the handling and we fought all night and it didn’t get better . Tanner did all he could but we didn’t have the car right for him to be Competitive we will give him a car to be up front at Irwindale.” Bill McAnally (owner) said.
As for Tanner, his analysis is the same but he is already focused on the next race: “Not what we planned on, but we put on a great effort. The entire team worked hard all weekend. We picked up a bad vibration in practice and weren’t able to shake it. We’ve got some work to do for the next one. The season just barely stated and I believe that we are gonna make for a great season and dominate the West. Time to give ‘‘em a show at Irwindale in a few weeks.”
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Phoenix |
| 12 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 2 | 1st (2x) | 3 starts, best result 10th |
No. 17 Landen Lewis (McGowan Motorsports with Cook Racing Technologies) Start: 10th – Fin: 2nd
He almost did the perfect hold up! A smart race for a top-five… Until the end of the race where he was able to get through the problems and find himself in an excellent second position for the last restart. A restart that he will take to perfection, at the limit of a jumped retart. He took the lead of the race on lap 158 and headed for victory.
But that was without counting on the Tyler Reif rocket which overtook him in the penultimate corner of the race. Lewis will still have to defend his second position against Erickson by crossing the finish line. But this result is fantastic.
Bruce Cook (the co-owner) says : “P-2 out here in Phoenix, great run for the team and Landen Lewis. Lot of people to thank back in Kenly (in North Carolina) tonight that didn’t make the trip but are a huge part. Thank you very much, long day here with just four guys at track.”
Congratulations also to Amber Slagle, his crew chief.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Phoenix |
| 9 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 1st (1x) | 2 Starts, best result 2nd |
No. 18 William Sawalich (Joe Gibbs Racing) Start : 1st – Fin: 13th
He made an incredible pole with more than half a second ahead of the second. He led the most laps in the race. Yes, but he also made a spun when he wanted to pass Honeyman and he was feverish during the first overtime.
By cutting Erickson’s trajectory, he failed to anticipate his reaction. A rookie mistake. With one lap to go, you don’t let go of the accelerator pedal when victory is within reach. Result, a spun that could have ended badly when the whole pack arrives at full speed behind you. But this was his first race and he showed he would be a contender for victory in every race he does.
“First ARCA race completed with the Joe Gibbs Racing crew. Didn’t end the way we wanted but we learned a lot together. Grateful for the fast car and their hard work.” Salawich said.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Phoenix |
| 1 | – | – | – | – | 13th | 1 start, best result : 13th |
No. 20 Jesse Love (Venturini Motorsports) Start 3rd – Fin 27th (crash)
The two-time 2020-21 West Series champion was a contender for victory. But he was the collateral victim of the clumsiness of his teammate Conner Jones when the latter came to push Jack Wood after a restart on lap 83. Wood boarding Love against the outside wall… DNF…
Love says: “Not how we wanted to end. Onto the next.» Too bad for Jesse who will still have to wait before getting his first victory in Phoenix.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Phoenix |
| 23 | 5 | 14 | 17 | 4 | 1st (5x) | 6 starts, best result 2nd |
No. 22 Ryan Roulette (Triple R) Withdraw
Due to lack of time to complete the preparation of his car, Roulette had to forfeit.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Phoenix |
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22nd | 2 starts, best result 22nd |
No. 25 Conner Jones (Venturini Motorsports) Start: 8th – Fin: 7th
He got lucky! Responsible for the accident with Love and Wood, Conner Jones finally finished eighth in a race where he could claim much better. For his third time in Phoenix, he finally showed that he could compete with his Venturini Motorsports teammates for victory. But wanting to go too fast… However, he obtained his first career top10 in the West Series.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Phoenix |
| 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8th | 3 starts, best result 8th |
No. 27 Bobby Hillis, Jr. (Fearce Creature Racing) Start 25th – Fin: 25th (Electrical)
Electrical problem for Hillis who nevertheless had a clean race with a correct pace. He was 20th on the leader’s lap when electrical problems with the fuel pump ruined his race. Hillis tells us in detail how he was able to turn a difficult car into a competitive car during the winter. As a reminder, he had done the race last November with this new car.
“Car was completely junk in November. Was supposed to be race ready when I picked it up from Jason and Matt Levin but it wasn’t. Ralph (Byers, the crew chief) did a fantastice job on it all winter long working on it. Basically took the yellow car and measured everything, weighed it, recorded everything, and applied it to the new white car. It was a tedious process and took weeks but was completely worth it!”
About the race he tells us:
“Car was fast and stable. Started 25th and was quickly up into the top twenty and stayed there for most of the first half of the race. Stayed on the lead lap up to the half way break. Only was able to buy one set of tires and we qualified and started the race on them. New tires are brilliant as always compared to what we practiced on but i didn’t get a chance to show it in qualifying because time ran out. Started the race and I knew that we had something immediately because the car was so stable that I could drive it without worrying about loosing the handle.
“Changed tires at half way to used tires that I got from the 88 car. Mike Naake said he would help most of the year with his used take off tires which is awesome but still no where near as good as new tires. A second and a half slower after the pitstop when we changed to the used tires. No worries and we lost some positions but we were still hanging in the top twenty.
“Would’ve probably finished 10th-15th but unfortunately with twenty to go we had a fuel delivery issue and the car just shut off. Finished 25th. A huge dissapointment. The positive is that the car is excellent and we should be able to fix the fuel issue before Irwindale. Looking forward to Irwindale and seeing what the car will really do. We’ve only had two races in this car and thinking we’re progressing well.”
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Phoenix |
| 92 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 8th (1x) | 20 starts, best result : 11th |
No. 30 Frankie Muniz (Rette-Jones Racing) Start: 11th – Fin: 6th
He played his role to perfection! And yet here it was not fiction. Here is a pilot who surprises us. Already at Daytona he had made a smart run. Here, in addition, he had a good pace.
He could have hoped for the top 10 but thanks to the incidents at the end of the race, he did better with a superb sixth position. However, everything could have ended badly on the second lap when he leaned on Huddleston between turns 1 and 2. Having in spun, he did not touch the wall. Restarted in dead last position, he will transcend himself!
“Phoenix! We had a few hiccups along the way, being pushed back to 30th but worked my way back up to finish in 6th! This is the coolest thing I’ve ever done. Guy, I’m a race car driver!” said an elated Muniz.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Phoenix |
| 1 | – | – | 1 | – | 6th | 1 start, best result : 6th |
No. 32 Christian Rose (AM Racing) Start: 22nd – Fin: 23rd
Race to forget for Rose. A first spun in the 48th lap following a disagreement with the “spun master” A.J. Moyer. He will have to come up from the back of the pack. One thing made easier after getting the free pass during the halfway break. Unfortunately his race will be stopped dead against the wall when he hits D.L. Wilson. Car heavily damaged but fortunately driver unscathed.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Phoenix |
| 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7th | 3 starts, best result 21st |
No. 35 Greg Van Alst (Greg Van Alst Motorsports) Start: 14th – Fin: 10th
36th in Phoenix one year ago after a S&P, Van Alst this time maintained his rank as leader of the ARCA National Championship. The Daytona winner rode a clean race with the top10 in sight. A scare when Perez de Lara made contact with him on lap 139. Although the young Mexican spun off, the No. 35 driver was able to maintain control. 11th at the last restart, he managed to pass Souza on the finish line for 10th position.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Phoenix |
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10th | 2 starts, best result 10th |
No. 41 Tyler Reif (Lowden Jackson Motorsports) Start: 4th – Fin; 1st
What an incredible race. He is the second youngest winner in West Series history. The youngest being Jesse Love. So wish Tyler the same (or better) success as Love on the West Series. A race full of control and this from the practice.
He would have been even more dominant if he hadn’t had that accident on lap 11 when Hingorani pushed him into the outside wall at turn 3. The team led by crew chief Tony Jackson will do an incredible job fixing the rear of the Ford No. 41. Despite two laps lost in the pitlane, Tyler will show incredible maturity by keeping a cool head while transcending himself on the track.
The black-and-gold Ford was literally flying as it was so fast on the inside line of all the corners. Back in the lead group after two free pass, Tyler will be perfect during the two overtimes. Because even if he missed his last restart, falling from first to third position, he would quickly overtake Erickson and Lewis in quick succession and cross the finish line as the winner in his third career start.
By winning this race combined with the national series, he also becomes the youngest winner in this championship. He is also the first rider from a West Series team in six races combined in West and ARCA (National Series) history to win the race.
Here are the reactions of Tyler and his owner Chris Lowden.
“My race was very action packed, starting fourth and settling in at third just cruising and saving tires and got in a wreck causing some rear end damage which is just racing. Came in to fix and went two laps down, got both the lucky dogs by lap 60 ish only leaving 90 laps left to get the front, and we were patient and cool headed and made it up front and made it happen !” Tyler said.
And Chris Lowden says:
“Oddly enough, I was nervous. Never been nervous driving but man, I was pacing, asking far too many questions and bugging the team all the time. In my head, it was constantly “what can go wrong”. I’m switching back and forth on channels during practice and race thinking if I could only listen to both at same time.
“Unfortunately we had clutch issues on the 46 (RJ Smotherman), left me to focus on 41 (Tyler Reif) for remaining race. Being two laps down was nerve racking, in knew it was a long race we had time, but I paced back and forth, back and forth, went down to pit with 25 to go finally. Never been nervous driving, this was a whole different experience… just emotionally draining… until the adrenaline kicked in on the last lap ….. I’m speechless.”
For a complete interview with Tyler, I invite you to read the race review here: www.kickinthetires.net/nascar/arca-series/arca-menards-west-series-phoenix-race/
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Phoenix |
| 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1st | 2 starts, best result 1st |
No. 45 Tony Cosentino (Tamayo Cosentino Racing) Start: 21st – Fin: 15th
Cosentino equals its best result in the West Series with this 15th position. A position that allows him to be third in the national ARCA Menards Series standings after two races (with Daytona). He couldn’t have hoped for much better. He held his rank and it’s a good result. He ran cleanly, avoiding trouble and showing decent pace. It is all the more remarkable that in addition to driving his car, he assumed the role of crew chief!
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Phoenix |
| 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15th | 2 starts, best result 15th |
No. 46 RJ Smotherman (Lowden Jackson Motorsports) Start: 31st – Fin: 29th (Drivetrain)
Big disappointment for Smotherman who experienced problems as soon as the car was out of the hauler. Problem that the team will not be able to solve. The ordeal ended on the 26th lap when the team decided to stop the car, clutch and drivetrain problem.
“Bad luck got us again in Phoenix. Had a something in the drivetrain go out in practice that caused a slipping feel under power. We missed qualifying and only made 26 laps in the back of the pack to get some feel for the car and finished 29th. I hate it for the team and my crew. We all busted out butts to get this thing ready in time for the race but just ran out of time.
“Thank you to Tony Jackson for all of his hard work on getting the car ready for the race. Thanks to Rip ((Michaels, the car chief), Matt, Dean, Sean, Clayton, Michael, Dave, Monica and Lyndsay for all of their hard work that they put in at the track. Thanks for my sponsors CountryAFRadio.com, Stoneys Rockin Country, Vics and Power Gen Components. Thank you to my great team Lowden Jackson Motorsports for believing in me. We are hard at work in the shop to get this thing ready for Florida on the 25th.” Smotherman said.
Just like his teammate Tyler Reif, he confirms that he will be present in Pensacola for the first race of the season in the ARCA Menards East Series.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Phoenix |
| 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7th | 2 starts, best result 26th |
No. 48 Brad Smith (Brad Smith Motorsports) Start: 28th – Fin: 30th
A start and park. It was planned for the veteran and there is nothing more to say. It just allows him to better his starting record in the ARCA National Series with 407. it just allows him to better his starting record in the ARCA National Series with 407.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Phoenix |
| 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26th | 3 starts, best result 26th |
No. 50 Trevor Huddleston (High Point Racing) Start: 13th – Fin: 9th
46th career top-10 for Huddleston. However, everything could have ended badly on the second lap when Muniz came to lean on his car. Fortunately for Trevor, his car was not damaged. Just his left rear tire. He ran a decent race and is using his experience to gain positions late in the race. He was driving the car used last year by the champion Jake Drew.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Phoenix |
| 54 | 2 | 19 | 46 | 2 | 1st (2x) | 5 starts, best result : 7th |
No. 55 Toni Breidinger (Venturini Motorsports) Start: 9th – Fin: 22nd (crash)
Breidinger consistently race in the top10 throughout the race, clocking in at the top-five gate. She surely didn’t deserve to end her race against the wall. A violent accident, fortunately without injuries for the young woman.
An accident following a very badly executed overtaking attempt by Honeyman… “We ran in the top-10 all race. With three laps to go we got dumped… ruined a solid day. RIP to the fast car my team brought me.” Breidinger said.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Phoenix |
| 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15th | 4 starts, best result 15th |
No. 66 Jon Garrett (Fast Track Racing) Start: 23rd – Fin: 20th
Jon Garrett had a relatively quiet race in his No. 66 Chevrolet. While he finished 20th, his final result does not reflect the speed that he had. Garrett ran out of fuel, which ultimately cost him several laps.
The unfortunate circumstances may have cost the Andy Hillenburg owned team several positions in the final results, however the team never gave up. That includes the fact that the racer kept the nose of his Chevrolet clean throughout the General Tire 150 at Phoenix Raceway, picking up several spots in the closing laps. Garrett looks to have a strong run in the next National tour race for the ARCA Menards Series.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Phoenix |
| 1 | – | – | – | – | 20th | 1 start, best result : 20th |
No. 70 Kyle Keller (Jerry Pitts Racing) Start: 15th – Fin: 5th
Despite a complicated practice session it was an excellent race from Keller who had more and more pace as the race approached the end. Candidate for the top 10, he will grab positions and get a good fifth place under the checkered flag. This is a season that is off to a good start.
“Let’s go Top-five in the National Arca Race at Phoenix Raceway. This definitely wouldn’t be possible without the whole Jerry Pitts racing team for all their help to get us to the track! Had carburetor problems all practice causing us to miss 30 minutes of practice but the team never gave up!
My race definitely wasn’t easy car felt super loose all race after starting 15th, so struggled with that! But after the half way break the team made a adjustment and the car seemed a lot better. We worked up and missed big ones to finish fifth! Thank you to whole KKR team and my amazing sponsors!”Keller said.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Phoenix |
| 11 | 0 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 4th (3x) | 3 starts, best result : 5th |
No. 88 Bradley Erickson (Naake-Klauer Motorsports) Start: 12th – Fin: 3rd
Another youngster from the West Series showed everyone that he was a great driver. Performing well in front of the Cup or NXS teams is always interesting for a young driver in view of the future.
A mature race that saw Erickson gaining position after position to become a serious contender for victory at the end of the race. An incident with Salawich in the overtime will not prevent him from trying his luck again in the second overtime. He finished in a good third position.
Tony Caputo (crew chief) explains to us:
“Practice went great. I think we over adjusted a bit for qualifying. But we felt good about the race car. At Naake-Klauer we pride ourselves in making cars with speed the whole race not just a few laps. So we were not discouraged. We made a plan and stuck with it. Bradley is an excellent driver. Both in skill and mental acuity. He is a hard charger. So I knew if we could keep him in the top five we had a shot.”
And about the race:
“Bradley had a great run on the 18 had he got door to door with him I believe we could have won. It takes a special boldness in a racer to make those moves late in a race. His race craft is getting better every race. And if you tell Bradley where he seems to struggle, it takes him only 2-3 laps and it’s now his best spot on the track. We still have more as a team to grow and get better. But the pieces are there.
“Mike Naake and myself have been hard at work already at making changes from what the car looked like and how it raced. Being a crew chief in ARCA, Trans Am2 and Pro Late Models. Is a unique perspective on racing. We can draw from various disciplines to make things better. I thought the West finally has caught the East group. And not just in racecars but talent. Look how many crew chiefs, engineers, and racers have a Western address. Finishing 1,3,&5 is a statement. The West is the place to race.”
Bradley explains his race in detail:
“My race at Phoenix went very well. I qualified 12th, which was not what I had hoped for but with a long race ahead I knew that we had plenty of time to get to the front.”
“Around lap five two cars in front of me spun and I was able to avoid them and gain two spots. I had already made my way into the top 10. So with an uneventful first-half, we were able to claw our way to fourth at the end of the half.”
“The team immediately went to work making adjustments to the race car and fixing little damage on the right front from making contact with another car early on in the race. Coming out of the break we would restart fourth, right behind the cars that have been dominating the race so far. As I went into turn one after the first lap to begin the second-half, a three car wreck in front of me made me go from fifth to third. This ended up taking out two of the best cars all race long and increasing my chances of finishing well inside the top five.”
Then the race got wilder as he explains to us:
“With about 20 to go I am running fourth until a late caution comes out. On the following restart, I was able to gain a spot putting me thirrd until another caution came out. This meant another restart but this time I made it 3-wide on the bottom for the lead in an attempt to win the race. Like the other previous restarts, another caution came out which actually resulted in a red flag due to a big crash in turn 3.
“After the long red flag, I restarted third. I got a really good restart, got my nose underneath the leader’s inside and the leader made an attempt to block my run but I was already inside, resulting in him spinning. Both of us made aggressive moves in an attempt to win our first career race, which makes this incident very hard to fault anyone as it was a casual incident of two drivers fighting for the win. I ended up losing a position putting me back to fourth.”
He then knew how to take advantage of this good position to go to the end of the race and is already looking forward to the rest of the season:
“On the final restart of the race we were able to finish third which exceeded my expectations. It was a long race being 150 laps but luckily I had a great car all night long to be able to put myself in position to have a shot to win the race. My next ARCA West race is at Irwindale Speedway on April 1st. I am extremely confident that we will have a very good shot of winning that race because Irwindale is one of my best tracks and I know that track extremely well. Hoping to get the win and collect my first career win in the ARCA Menards West Series.”
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Phoenix |
| 5 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3rd | 2 starts, best result 3rd |
Next race April 1 at Irwindale Speedway in Irwindale, CA for the NAPA Auto Parts 150.