By Vincent Delforge, special to KickinTheTires.net
This Saturday, August 20, 2022, the ARCA Menards West Series will celebrate its 1000th race in its history. An adventure that began on March 28, 1954 in Oakland, CA. And what better than Evergreen Speedway located in Monroe, WA for that? Indeed this 0.646 paved oval will host its 61st West Series race. It is the most used track in history. For its first edition in 1964, it was Dick Bown who won it on his Plymouth. No race last year here. The last dating from 2020 with the victory of Blaine Perkins on his Ford.
The NAPA Auto Parts 150 will be the seventh race of the eleven in the 2022 championship. Jake Drew, wide leader with 45 points ahead of Cole Moore, will try to win his fourth consecutive victory this season.
The 150-lap, two-segment race will start at 6:30 p.m. PT / 9:30 p.m. ET. It will be preceded by a one and a half hour practice/qualifying session.
I invite you to consult the articles on the history and stats of the West Series available here:
Stats: kickinthetires.net/nascar/arca-series/the-statistics-of-the-nascar-west-series/
History: kickinthetires.net/nascar/arca-series/the-history-of-the-nascar-west-series/
The Race Procedure:
The starting field for the NAPA Auto Parts 150 is limited to 22 plus provisional positions. This event will be run under the 2022 ARCA Menards Series West rules, procedures, regulations and specifications.
QUALIFYING: Starting lineup set by practice / qualifying session results plus provisionals.
RACE PIT STOP: Break pitting procedure. Break at or near the conclusion of Lap 75. No adding or moving tires to or from pit box after race has started. All cars will be required to make at least one pit stop prior to last 10 laps of race
The maximum tire allotment available for this event is as follows: The maximum tire use at track for the event is 10. Per ARCA Rulebook, maximum number of tires allowed in pit box for use in race is four (4) – two for break and two for emergency.
History and stats
Of the 60 previous races since 1964, it should be noted that Hershel McGriff is the driver with the most starts with 24. However, it is Ray Elder and Jack McCoy who hold the record for the number of victories with five each. Elder also holds the top5 record with 10. Canadian Roy Smith has the most top10s with 14. The most prolific poleman is Bill Elliott with four.
Among the owners, Bill McAnally Racing has the most victories with seven (Brendan Gaughan 2000-2001, Austin Cameron 2004, Brian Ickler 2007, Eric Holmes 2012, Todd Gilliland 2016 and Chris Eggleston 2017. Next comes Fred Elder “The Farmers” with five wins (Ray Elder 1971, both in 1972 and both in 1975) Bob Bruncati Racing follows with four wins (Dylan Lupton 2013, Derek Thorn 2018, Trevor Huddleston 2019 and Blaine Perkins 2020) the last three of which were obtained during the last three races.
Among the manufacturers, Ford leads with 17 wins ahead of Dodge and Chevrolet with 12 each. Pontiac has five, Buick, Plymouth, Mercury and Toyota three each and finally Oldsmobile with two.
P.J Pedroncelli pulled out for the remainder of 2022 season
Thunderbolt with the announcement of P.J. Pedroncelli to end his 2022 season with immediate effect. The reason being that the possibility of being champion this year was getting harder and harder mathematically even though he was still fifth in the standings by 63 points behind. In question various mechanical setbacks this year and especially an accident in Sonoma which cost him dearly in points. As he explained to me, he self-finances his racing team with his own business (Pedroncelli Mobile Bottling).
He will put all his resources into coming back stronger in 2023 and will take advantage of this “long” off-season to carry out tests and spend more time taking care of his business and his family. Ty Joiner, his crew chief, will remain in his post even if he will do freelance work for Nascimento Racing by the end of the year, like this weekend at Evergreen. With P.J. and inevitably also his father Paul, these are two cars that we will miss until the end of the year. Even if the desire to defend his title in Roseville is always possible when we talk about it. “I may have a itch” P.J. says
The Drivers
The entry list only has 15 cars. For 14 of them, the driver is known. Uncertainty remains concerning the name of the driver of the No. 21.
No.05 Dave Smith (Shockwave Racing)
Several times postponed, the debut of the Canadian veteran will finally take place this week. He will discover Evergreen with his own team. Dave Fuge will be his crew chief and will also make his West Series debut. But he has a lot of experience in the national divisions of NASCAR with, for example, three victories in the Camping World Truck Series.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Evergreen |
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a |
No.4 Sean Hingorani (Nascimento Racing)
The 15-year-old Californian from Newport Beach will make his West Series debut. He will also discover the Evergreen Speedway. But he will not be totally in uncharted territory as he will be able to count on the team of Eric and Mike Nascimento for whom he is already racing this year in the SRL Spears Pro Late Model and with success since he recently won a race at Stockton ahead of drivers known to the West Series like Tanner Reif. He also drives in Legend Cars. He replaces here Sebastian Arias. He will have Ty Joiner as crew chief.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Evergreen |
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a |
No. 6 Jake Drew (Bruncati Racing)
The championship leader became at Portland the 200th different winner in West Series history. He told me he wanted to write his name in history by winning the 1000th race. And given his current form, he will be the big favorite. His last victory at Irwindale having demonstrated that he could also win on an oval. As more than half of the drivers he will discover Evergreen.
But his crew chief Bill Sedgwick is very experienced here. As a driver he has 10 starts at Evergreen with seven top fives and eight top 10s including two wins in 1990 and 1992. As crew chief he also has two wins in 2005 (Mike Duncan) and 2018 (Derek Thorn).
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Evergreen |
| 15 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 5 | 1st (3x) | n/a |
No. 7 Takuma Koga (Jerry Pitts Racing)
The Japanese is the most experienced driver present this year at Evergreen. However, he had to wait until 2020 to obtain his only top-10 there with a ninth position. For the second consecutive race and it will be like this until the end of the season, Denny Moyer will be his crew chief.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Evergreen |
| 96 | 0 | 3 | 18 | 0 | 5th (3x) | 7 starts, best result :9th |
No. 9 Tanner Reif (Bruncati Racing)
The leader of the rookie ranking will make his debut at Evergreen but he can count on his crew chief to help him find the right setup. Indeed Jeff Schrader allowed Blaine Perkins to win the victory in 2020. But he had already found the path to success in 1997 with Sean Woodside and in 2013 with Dylan Lupton.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Evergreen |
| 6 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1st (1x) | n/a |
No. 11 Chris Lowden (Lowden Motorsports)
Another newbie at Evegreen. Lowden is progressing with every race. Here the objective will clearly be to obtain his first career top-10. To help him in this goal, he will use a brand new car.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Evergreen |
| 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12th (1x) | n/a |
No. 12 Kyle Keller (Jerry Pitts Racing)
Keller came back to life in Irwindale. Give him a good car and he almost always gets a top-five! With guidance from Jerry Pitts, he could claim his first career win. Pitts having already driven on Evergreen’s Victory Lane with Eric Norris in 2002 and Greg Pursley in 2011. What do the two have in common? They were both champions the year they won the race at the venerable Evergreen oval. For Keller, this year, the championship will not be possible, but what about 2023?
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Evergreen |
| 6 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 4th (2x) | n/a |
No. 13 Todd Souza (Central Coast Racing)
Will Souza get his first oval victory for his 104th career start? Why not even if Evegreen is not the oval where he obtained his best results. Three top-10s in four races with a sixth position in 2019 as the best result. But it is always when we do not expect it that Souza surprises us the most.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Evergreen |
| 103 | 1 | 15 | 56 | 0 | 1st (1x) | 4 starts, best result : 6th |
No. 16 Landen Lewis (Bill McAnally Racing)
His arrival at BMR was immediately a success with fifth place at Irwindale. He will discover Evergreen. Its crew chief Charlie Wilson has already obtained top-10 here with Mike Duncan (2000) or Scott Lynch (2003) but that goes back a long time. As proof, Landen was not even born! And he was barely five when Wilson last served Evergreen as Brett Thompson’s crew chief in 2011! Will Lewis give BMR its 99th West Series victory?
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Evergreen |
| 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1st (1x) | n/a |
No. 21 TBA (Holleran Racing with John Wood)
At the time of publishing this article, the name of the driver of the n°21 is not yet known.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Evergreen |
| – | – | – | – | – | – | n/a |
No. 39 Andrew Tuttle (Last Chance Racing)
Like I said before about Chris Lowden, Tuttle is improving race after race. He and Lowden will battle for their first career top-10. Tuttle and his wife and crew chief Taniesha will discover Evergreen.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Evergreen |
| 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12th (1x) | n/a |
No. 50 Trevor Huddleston (High Point Racing) Start: 5th – Fin: 3rd
Huddleston loves Evergreen that’s for sure. If Irwindale remains his hometrack, the Monroe oval is the other track where he is very strong. 10th in 2018 on his debut, he won the race in 2019 and finished second in 2020. To say Trevor is a strong favorite for victory is an understatement. While his crew chief Travis Thirkettle will hold the position for the first time at Evergreen, his father Jim, a former West driver, made his debut in the series here in 1975, obtaining his first top-10 in career in the process!
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Evergreen |
| 52 | 2 | 19 | 44 | 2 | 1st (2x) | 3 starts, best result : 1st |
No. 54 Joey Iest (Naake-Klauer Motorsports)
Iest has experienced many setbacks during his last races such as his accident at Irwindale. On an oval that he will discover, he hopes to reverse the trend and reconnect with the first positions. Its owner and crew chief Mike Naake has known Evergreen for a long time. He was the crew chief of Jack Sellers here in 1985. More recently, he helped David Gilliland achieve his best result at Evergreen with second place in 2005. But at the time Joey was not yet born !
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Evergreen |
| 19 | 1 | 7 | 9 | 0 | 1st (1x) | n/a |
No. 88 Bridget Burgess (BMI Racing)
Our young Australian had come very close to the top-10 on her debut at Evergreen in 2020 with the 11th position. This year it is in the top-10 that she intends to finish the race.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Evergreen |
| 26 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7th (2x) | 1 start, best result : 11th |
No. 99 Cole Moore (Bill McAnally Racing)
Only one start at Evergreen for Cole Moore in 2016 with the 10th position. The current second in the championship is still chasing after his first victory. It’s becoming urgent as with four races left to go this year, a win could help close the 45-point gap to leader Drew.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Evergreen |
| 23 | 0 | 7 | 13 | 0 | 2nd | 1 start, best result: 10th |
Final notes
– Stafford Smith, who raced in March, will be absent due to his engineering work at Andretti Autosport in Indy Light. The series rolling this weekend in Mid-Ohio.
-Who will be the 201st winner in the history of the West Series? The 200th being Jake Drew at Portland in the previous race of the 2022 season.
-Which of Lewis or Moore will be the 24th different winner for Bill McAnally Racing and will win the team’s 99th victory (100th if you include the 2003 All-Star Showdown)?
– Who will be the 40th different winner since 1964 at Irwindale?
To all these questions and many more, we will have the answers this Saturday.
Featured Photo Credit: Photo by ARCA Menards Series via Vincent Delforge.