By Vincent Delforge, Special to Kickin’ the Tires
The NAPA Auto Parts 150 presented by Berco Redwood, the tenth race of the 2024 ARCA Menards West Series season, held at All American Speedway in Roseville, CA, saw Trevor Huddleston win his second consecutive race of the season after total domination. The High Point Racing driver started from the pole and then led all 150 laps of the race with ease. This victory, his fifth career, allows him to move back to 29-points behind leader Sean Hingorani in the championship and thus be a contender for the 2024 crown once again. With two races remaining and anything is possible between Hingorani, Tyler Reif and Huddleston.
This race was also an opportunity for the Kennealy family and the entire West Series community to pay tribute to Gary Kennealy who sadly passed away on September 30th. His dream of seeing his youngest son, Joey, participate in a West Series race was granted. The latter driving the No.12, magnificently and not without emotion displaying the 3K Motorsports stickers on its bodywork.
For a complete recap of the race, I invite you to read the article « Race review » available here: www.kickinthetires.net/nascar/arca-menards-series-west-2024-roseville-race-review/
Complete race results: www.racing-reference.info/race-results/2024-010/AW/
The top-five in the championship being the following: Sean Hingorani (513), Tyler Reif (508), Trevor Huddleston (484), Jack Wood (462) and Kyle Keller (453).
Driver & owner point standings: www.racing-reference.info/standings/2024/AW/
Next race on October 26 for the second race of the season on the half mile of Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway in Bakersfield, CA for the NAPA Auto Parts 150, a 75-mile race that will be broadcast live on FloRacing.com
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 Menards West Series quick stats at All American Speedway
-71st season in history.
-Race No. 1026 since the inception of the West Series in 1954.
-2024 race No. 10 of 12.
-26th race at All American Speedway (Roseville) since 1977. The 21st on the 0.333 mile configuration since 2008. The first five races was held on a 0.250 mile bullring.
-Eric Holmes is the most successful pilot with four wins. He precedes Paulie Harraka (2) and all the other drivers who each have a victory.
-22 drivers have won at least one race at Roseville.
–Win No. 8 for Ford at Roseville. Among the manufacturers, Toyota leads the dance with 10 wins ahead of Ford (8), Chevrolet (4), Oldsmobile (2), Pontiac (1) and Buick (1).
-292th win for Ford in West Series. The all-time most successful manufacturer is Ford with 292 wins.
-Third win for owner Tim Huddleston.
-Win No. 3 for High Point Racing team. The most successful team at Roseville is almost unsurprisingly Bill McAnally Racing with ten wins (2008, 2009 (2X), 2010 (2X), 2011, 2014, 2018, 2020 and 2022. Bruncati Racing follows with three wins (2016, 2017 and 2019). 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).
–Win No. 1 for High Point Racing at Roseville.
-Fifth career win for Trevor Huddleston (75th career start) and the first at Irwindale. First time in his carrer he won two races in a row in the same season.
-Third career pole position for Trevor Huddleston (75th career race).
-Third pole for owner Tim Huddleston and High Point Racing and first at Roseville. Concerning the poles, BMR is again at the top of the ranking at Roseville with seven (2009, 2010 (2X), 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2019). Bruncati Racing being just behind with six (2008, 2009, 2013, 2017, 2021 and 2022).
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.
-Twelfth pole position for Ford at Roseville and the fifth consecutive. Among the manufacturers, Ford leads the dance with 12 poles ahead of Toyota (8), Chevrolet (2), Oldsmobile (2), Pontiac (1) and Buick (1).
-256th pole for Ford in West Series. The all-time most successful manufacturer is Chevrolet with 260.
-The poleman has won the race 12 times.
-The track record is owned by Michael Self for Bruncati Racing at 89.383 mph achieved in 2017.
-Jason Fensler won the race in 2011 from 15th position on the starting grid, which is a record.
-As far as yellow flags are concerned, the record is 11 in 2021 while twice in 1977 and 1981 there was only one. The March 2008 race holds the record for the number of yellow flag laps with 76, while the 1978 race holds the opposite record with only seven laps. 2024 is the first time there have been no yellow flags during a race at Roseville.
-The most leader changes occurred in 2015 with 17. The 1979, 1981 and 2024 races saw the pole sitter lead every lap.
-The largest starting field was in 2008 #1 with 25 cars.
-The smallest starting field was in 2020 with 13 cars.
-The driver with the most races is Jack Sellers (11).
-The driver with the most wins is Eric Holmes (4)
-The driver with the most pole is Paulie Harraka (3)
-The drivers with the most top5 are Eric Holmes and David Mayhew with 3.
-The driver with the most top10 is David Mayhew (9).
-The drivers with the most laps is Eric Holmes (1463).
-The driver with the most laps lead is Eric Holmes (661).
-First career attempt in West Series for (1 driver): Joey Kennealy
-First career start in West Series for (1 driver): Joey Kennealy
-First career attempt at Roseville in West Series for (6drivers): Henry Barton, Jaron Giannini, Joey Kennealy, Michael Killen, Jr., Rip Michels and Ethan Nascimento.
-First career start at Madera in West Series for (6drivers): Henry Barton, Jaron Giannini, Joey Kennealy, Michael Killen, Jr., Rip Michels and Ethan Nascimento.
-Best career result in West Series for Joey Kennealy (11th)
-First career Top-10 result in West Series for: none
-First career Top-5 result in West Series for: none
-Eleventh win for the No. 50 in history. The first at Roseville. The third with Trevor Huddleston and High Point Racing.
-8th pole for the No. 50 in history. The first at Roseville. The third with Trevor Huddleston. The third with High Point Racing and owner Tim Huddleston.
-21st career pole for crew chief Jeff Schrader. The second at Roseville.
-22th career win for crew chief Jeff Schrader. The third at Roseville.
-689th paved oval race in history.
-Note that this is the first time in the history of the West Series since its creation in 1954 that three different drivers in a row, have won two races in a row each in the same year. Hingorani having won the 5th and 6th races, Reif the 7th and 8th and finally Huddleston the 9th and 10th.
The Drivers
No. 05 David Smith (Shockwave Racing) Start: 15th – Fin: 15th
Probably the kind of race that Smith dreads the most. That is to say, a race without a yellow flag. As a result, given his slower pace, he loses many laps on the leaders. On average, he is caught by the leader every ten laps. In the end, he finishes dead last, in a race without a single retirement from one of his fellow drivers. But Smith goes to the end of his dream, driving no matter what until the checkered flag. Just for this “never give up spirit” we must congratulate him and encourage him to continue the adventure.
“One bite at a time. Roseville was hot. Real hot. Crew was as usual, so awesome. Broke the nose and struggled all night in a green to checker long run. Two more to go!!” Smith said.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Roseville |
| 26 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 10th (2x) | 3 starts, best result 11th ) |
No. 3 Kyle Keller (Central Coast Racing) Start: 8th – Fin: 10th
For a first race with CCR, the result obtained is not what Keller hoped for. The fault of a car too loose. And without the slightest yellow flag to be able to adjust the car setup, the race turned into a survival race. A top 10 is always good for the stats but his direct opponents in the championship all finished ahead of him. With a better knowledge of the car and the team, he should logically find the top 5 again at the next race in Bakersfield.
“P.10 at All American Speedway with Central Coast Racing. We had a good car all weekend just got to loose in the race! But all good ready to attack the next one! Thank you to my sponsors and everyone who has helped!” Keller said.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Roseville |
| 32 | 0 | 9 | 21 | 0 | 4th (3x) | 3 starts, best result 5th |
No. 4 Eric Nascimento, Jr. (Nascimento-Joiner Motorsports) Start: 3rd – Fin: 2nd
No mechanical problem for Bubba who therefore finished with a very good result. He immediately took the advantage over Reif for second position at the start of the race. But as for all the other drivers, in Roseville, Huddleston was on another planet. Without that, the driver of the No. 4 could have won his first career race. I keep repeating it, but it is incomprehensible that no sponsor is interested in Bubba and his team for a full season. Because when they are present, they are always at the forefront.
“ARCA West at All American Speedway is in the books. Started P3 and quickly made our way to P2 and on the long 150 lap run it was hard to stay with the leader. We can’t complain with second after only running these cars a couple times this year. For us to come out and compete with guys that run every week shows that our cars and our team can run upfront. Can’t wait for the next opportunity to run ARCA.” Nascimento, Jr. said.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Roseville |
| 24 | 0 | 6 | 11 | 1 | 2nd (2x) | 2 starts, best result : 2nd |
No. 5 Sean Hingorani (Jerry Pitts Racing) Start: 7th – Fin: 4th
For his last race of the season with Jerry Pitts Racing, Hingorani would have liked to win a race. But Huddleston and Eric Nascimento, Jr. were too fast. His battle with Reif was a beauty. But he had to give up the third step of the podium to the driver of the No. 13. Perhaps with a better position on the starting grid, he could have envisaged a better result. But the main thing is done, he maintained his championship lead by only conceding one point to Reif. With a five-point lead, he will not have the right to make a mistake. For the last two races of the season, he will return to his No. 15 at Venturini Motorsports.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Roseville |
| 27 | 6 | 16 | 17 | 3 | 1st (6x) | 3 starts, best result 2nd |
No. 6 Henry Barton (Jerry Pitts Racing) Start: 4th – Fin: 9th
Like in Madera, Barton’s end of the race was a little more complicated. That said, he lost three positions in the first ten laps of the race. And if he stayed in seventh place during the first third of the race, he then oscillated between eighth and ninth position from the 70th lap. He was overtaken three laps from the end by Johnson, Jr. for eighth position. In the end, this result is not bad. A race without a yellow flag for a rookie is complicated in terms of managing tire wear. But with two top 10s in two races, the results are positive and we can’t wait to see him behind the wheel of a West Series car again.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Roseville |
| 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8th | 1 start, best result 9th |
No. 7 Takuma Koga (Jerry Pitts Racing) Start: 12th – Fin: 12th
On a short track where he has already obtained good results, Koga suffered from a car that was difficult to drive following several little contacts within the pack. He gained positions and joined the top 10 on lap 40 but slipped to 11th position on lap 70. He lost a lap on the leader on lap 79 and that ended the hopes of the Japanese who would have liked a yellow flag to make some adjustments. A caution that will never come.
“12th finished at All American Speedway. It was a no caution tough race. Three races in one week (with the Kansas race) was exhausting. On to next Kern Raceway.” Koga said.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Roseville |
| 124 | 0 | 4 | 28 | 0 | 5th (4x) | 8 starts, best result 9th (2x) |
No.9 Mikey Killen (Jan’s Racing) Start: 14th –Fin: 13th
Just not the pace for Killen, Jr. He lost a lap to the leader on lap 34. Then a second lap lost on lap 98. With tires in agony and overheated brakes, he finished the race bringing the car back in one piece in 13th position, three laps behind the winner. But this race was rich in lessons for the rookie.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Roseville |
| 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10th | 1 start, best result 13th |
No. 11 Robbie Kennealy (Kennealy Keller Motorsports) Withdrawn
Robbie didn’t drive at Roseville but his presence as a team member for his brother was essential.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Roseville |
| 12 (2 DNS) | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5th | 1 start, best result : 16th |
No. 12 Joey Kennealy (Kennealy Keller Motorsports) Start: 11th – Fin: 11th
As mentioned in the introduction to this article, Joey made his West Series debut to fulfill the dream of his father who passed away six days before the race. The Kennealy family celebrated Gary’s 62nd birthday with courage and determination. Joey not only drove his first career race, but he drove very well. By only losing two laps to the winner and with very limited knowledge of his car, the mission was accomplished. And he finished so close to the top 10, in 11th position. A top 10 position that he held for the first two laps of the race following a very good start. From up there, Gary must have had a big smile on his face seeing Joey drive a family team car with such talent.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Roseville |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11th | 1 start, best result 11th |
No. 13 Tyler Reif (Central Coast Racing) Start: 2nd – Fin: 3rd
A complicated start to the race for Tyler who slipped to sixth position on the 13th lap. He then managed his tires and brakes masterfully and began a superb comeback. His battle for third position with Hingorani was incredible. Both drivers gave their all but with fair play in side-by-side for many laps. Once in front of Hingorani, Reif was the fastest in the race (with the exception of Huddleston of course) and made up some of his deficit on Eric Nascimento, Jr. for second. But the latter managed the last twenty laps well and Reif, understanding that he would not be able to catch him, opted for a cautious end to the race with the aim of keeping Hingorani behind him. Which he managed to do. He is now only five points behind the championship leader. The last two races promise to be thrilling!
“Good over all weekend at All American Speedway. Didn’t get much practice in the legend, qualified 10th and was involved in a wreck lap 1 drove from 20th to first and finished 2nd after some fun hard racing! Qualified on the front row for the ARCA West race and brought it home P.3 Closed the points gap but not enough. Time to go to work.” Reif said.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Roseville |
| 24 | 3 | 13 | 15 | 5 | 1st (3x) | 2 starts, best result : 3rd |
No. 16 Jack Wood (Bill McAnally Racing) Start: 5th – Fin: 5th
Good start to the race for the BMR driver who finds himself on the virtual podium after 10 laps. He will stay third until the 40th lap before being overtaken first by Hingorani then by Reif. Not great for the championship… The tire wear prevents him from counter-attacking. He will stay in this fifth position until the finish, staying just on the leader’s lap. Indeed, Huddleston did the last 20 laps behind Wood without ever taking the risk of overtaking him. But it remains a good race for Wood who gets his fourth top 5 of the season. Fourth is also the position he occupies in the championship.
“Pretty solid night for our NAPA Auto Care team. It’s good to get another top-five finish, especially here in Roseville. A good finish, but we needed some more speed for the extreme long run. We fired off pretty good in the first 30-40 laps, but just needed some more pace after halfway. We’ll keep working go to Kern in a few weeks.” Wood said.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Roseville |
| 29 | 0 | 8 | 17 | 0 | 2nd | 3 starts, best result 5th |
No. 19 Eric Johnson, Jr. (Bill McAnally Racing) Start: 13th – Fin: 8th
Only 13th in the qualifying session, Johnson, Jr. will methodically climb back into the pack and reach the top 10 just before the 20th lap of the race. He succeeds better than his direct opponents in managing the wear of his tires in this caution free race, he will encounter a brake problem shortly before the halfway point of the race. He loses a lap on the leader but finishes the race in a positive way by taking the eighth position three laps from the finish. It is the first time in his career that he obtains two top 10s consecutively. He also wins the title of rookie of the year with two races left to go.
“Ended up 8th last night after losing our brakes just before the halfway mark. Talk about a wild moment when I felt the pedal hit the floor! Post race we found the RR brake line had failed. We’ll keep digging and try to put one together at Kern here in a few weeks. Thankfully, all 150 laps went green, so we didn’t have to face a restart without brakes. Overall, I’m just glad we made it through the night in one piece. Never quite found our groove this weekend but we’ll go to work and try to be better in the next one.” Johnson, Jr. said.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Roseville |
| 14 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 4th | 2 starts, best result : 8th |
No. 21 Ethan Nascimento (Nascimento-Joiner Motorsports) Start: 10th – Fin: 6th
After his great third place in Madera, Ethan gets a second big result with this sixth place. First time in his young career that he gets two top 10s in a row. And what’s more, it’s two top 10s in two races in 2024. Like his big brother, he deserves to be able to do a full season in the West Series. Because Ethan is talented. He’s fast, drives cleanly and manages his tire wear very well. He starts the race in 10th position and gains positions regularly. Eighth on the 39th lap, seventh on the 59th and sixth on the 79th. He loses a lap on the leader on the 109th lap but remains attached to his rear bumper. Ethan takes advantage of the fact that Huddleston is no longer taking risks in traffic in the last laps to overtake him and get back on the lap. Ethan is therefore the only driver to have managed to overtake Huddleston in Roseville! Too bad it wasn’t for first place.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Roseville |
| 10 (+ 1 DNS) | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 3rd | 1 start, best result 6th |
No. 23 Jaron Giannini (Sigma Performance Services) Start: 6th – Fin: 7th
The rookie joined the top 5 on the 13th lap. Shortly before the 40th lap, he left the top 5 and stayed in sixth position until halfway through the race. Ethan Nascimento took this position on the 79th lap. Giannini then kept his seventh position until the finish. He got his fourth top 10 in five races in career. He managed his tires well in this race without cautions. After Madera and his many restarts, he showed that he adapts to all race conditions. With even more experience, he will be a candidate for victory very soon.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Roseville |
| 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 5th | 1 start, best result 7th |
No. 50 Trevor Huddleston (High Point Racing) Start: 1st – Fin: 1st
Arguably the masterpiece of Trevor Huddleston’s career. Such dominance is remarkable. He was on his own planet and drove the perfect race. He is gaining valuable championship points. In two races, he has gone from 50 points behind to 29. That is 21 points away from winning! And when you consider that Bakersfield and Phoenix will have many more drivers at the start, anything is possible for the HPR driver.
“Epic man. Everybody who makes this thing happen. My mom, my dad, my boy Will, my brother Tanner, Brian, Shay, Ernie, Andy Partridge, my sisters watching at home. I love you….Without Racecar Factory, Jeff Schrader (crew chief). He’s the one who does all the work on these things. Makes them freaking badass”. Huddleston said.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Roseville |
| 75 | 5 | 29 | 61 | 3 | 1st (5x) | 6 starts, best result 1st |
No. 71 Rip Michels (Jan’s Racing) Start: 9th – Fin: 14th
Many handling and brake issues will disrupt Rip Michels’ race. He who has just been nominated for possible induction into the West Stock Car Hall of Fame 2025 would have liked a better result. Like Madera’s for example He was at best 13th between the 18th and 53rd lap, With a car no longer turning in the corners, he then lost lap after lap on the leader. In the end he crossed the finish line in 14th position. Happy to see the checkered flag.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Roseville |
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9th | 1 start, best result 14th |
Next race on October 26 for the second race of the season on the half mile of Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway in Bakersfield, CA for the NAPA Auto Parts 150, a 75-mile race that will be broadcast live on FloRacing.com.