By Vincent Delforge, special to KickinTheTires.net
The seventh race of the season, the 1000th in the history of the ARCA Menards West Series lived up to its promises with intense battles within the pack. In the end, it was rookie Tanner Reif who won the race after a superb overtaking on his teammate and championship leader Jake Drew. Bruncati Racing finished 1-2 in the NAPA Auto Parts 150 at the historic Evergreen Speedway oval in Monroe, WA, which hosted its 61st West Series race.
The Evergreen race review is available here: www.kickinthetires.net/nascar/arca-series/arca-menards-west-series-evergreen-race-review/
Complete race results: www.racing-reference.info/race-results/2022-07/AW/
Driver & owner standings: www.racing-reference.info/standings/2022/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
-Race number 1000 since the inception of the West Series in 1954.
-2022 race number 7 of 11.
-Race number 61 at Evergreen Speedway since 1964.
-Win number 18 for Ford at Evegreen. Ford leads with 18 wins ahead of Dodge and Chevrolet with 12 each. Pontiac has five, Buick, Plymouth, Mercury and Toyota three each and finally Oldsmobile with two.
-284th win for Ford in West Series (record)
-Win number 41 for owner Bob Bruncati and his team Bruncati Sunrise Ford Racing. The most successful owners in history are Bill McAnally (98), Fred Elder (45) and Ernie Conn (41) and Bob Bruncati (41).
-Win number five for Bruncati Racing at Evergreen (Dylan Lupton 2013, Derek Thorn 2018, Trevor Huddleston 2019, Blaine Perkins 2020 and Tanner Reif 2022). The most successful team in history at Evergreen is Bill McAnally Racing with 7 wins.
-Fourth consecutive win for a team at Evergreen, new record (previous = third, multiple times)
-Most successful season for Bruncati Racing with five wins (previous most in 2008, 2009 and 2013 with four wins)
-First time Bruncati Racing won four races in a row in a single season.
-Second career win for Tanner Reif (7th career start)
-Tanner Reif is the 41st different race winner at Evergreen
-19th time in 61 races that the poleman wins at Evergreen.
-Second career pole position for Tanner Reif, the first at Evergreen.
-Third pole for Bruncati Racing at Evegreen.
-43rd pole for Bruncati Racing in West Series
-First career start for Sean Hingorani, David Smith and RJ Smotherman
-Best career result result for Andrew Tuttle (11th), David Smith (13th), Sean Hingorani (14th), RJ Smotherman (15th)
-19th career win (four at Evergreen) for crew chief Jeff Schrader.
-26th career pole (two at Evegreen) for crew chief Jeff Schrader.
-246th pole for Ford in West Series.
The Drivers
No. 05 Dave Smith (Shockwave Racing) start: 15th – Fin: 13th crash
For his first career race, the Canadian veteran was doing a good job riding at a decent pace until the halfway break while losing three laps to the leaders. Unfortunately his race was going to be complicated. A first touch against the wall around the 100th lap would make his Toyota very unstable. His race ended after 117 laps after an accident in turn 3. Although he managed to regain the pitlane on his own, his car was too damaged and he had to retire.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Evergreen |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13th | 1 start, best result 13th |
No. 4 Sean Hingorani (Nascimento Racing) start: 7th – Fin: 14th crash
Impressive for his debut. Fast in qualifying with the seventh fastest time, he was quickly heading for the top-five. Overtaking Landen Lewis for fifth position shortly after lap 60. Unfortunately the two drivers collided on the exit of turn 2 on the 72th lap. Hingorani hit the outside wall of the backstretch, puncturing his right front tire. As a result, entering turn 3 he pulled straight and hit the wall violently, ending his good performance.
Hingaroni who despite the result took a lot of pleasure: “What an amazing experience to be able run at this level with some of the fastest drivers in the country. After more than 50 laps of practice/qualifying, the team nailed the setup and we were ready to go racing. After starting 7th, we settled in and started heading to the front. Unfortunately while running in the top 5 on lap 72, an on-track incident put us into the wall and ended our night early.
“What a bummer. We had a strong car with a lot more to go and we know this team can compete and win. This season so far has been a great learning experience. Every time out we’re getting better and faster. A special thanks to all the guys at Nascimento Motorsports and Derek Thorn for all the hard work in the shop and at the track”
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Evergreen |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14th | 1 start, best result 14th |
No. 6 Jake Drew (Bruncati Racing) start: 3rd – Fin: 2nd
The championship leader failed to win his fourth straight race but finished second and maintained a 43-point championship lead. Drew had done the job though. Taking command on the 92nd lap on Moore and widening the gap on his pursuers. But the last yellow flag would change everything. At the restart, 24 laps from the end, his teammate Reif managed to overtake him via the outside line. If Drew managed to come back in the last laps on the leader, he also had to watch in his mirrors Joey Iest who was the fastest at the end of the race.
“Even though he didn’t win, Drew has incredible team spirit and was delighted with his team’s successful double.« Cant win em all right? We sure tried. Our race was strong I feel but we just didn’t have it after that last caution. Either way it was a great night again points wise, great for Bruncati Sunrise Racing as a whole with a 1-2 on such a historic night, fourth in a row at Evergreen Speedway, and 5 on 7 wins this season as a team.
“It was fun to learn a new track have battles with so many drivers throughout the race which I feel shows the level of competition in the West Series. Thanks to Bob for believing in me and giving the opportunity to do what I love and I look forward to returning to Portland and just two short weeks!” Drew says.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Evergreen |
| 16 | 3 | 11 | 14 | 5 | 1st (3x) | 1 start, best result 2nd |
No. 7 Takuma Koga (Jerry Pitts Racing) start: 9th – Fin: 9th
A trouble-free race for Takuma who obtained a satisfactory 9th position on the leader’s lap. All this in front of his small tribe who came from Japan to support him. He ties his best result at Evergreen. Very close in performance against his teammate Keller, it’s very positive when you know the speed of the latter.
“I’m glad I was able to finish in lead lap in ninth position. Anyhow my Hot Rod was in one piece!” Koga says.
Koga who is eager to return to Portland where he finished fifth earlier in the year.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Evergreen |
| 97 | 0 | 3 | 19 | 0 | 5th (3x) | 8 starts, best result 9th |
No. 9 Tanner Reif (Bruncati Racing) Start: 1st – Fin: 1st
The rookie never ceases to impress us. After his resounding victory at Irwindale at the start of the year, he had experienced a more difficult period. But here, he did not miss the appointment with history by winning the 1000th race of the West Series. Surprised by Lewis, Moore and Drew from the start, the poleman will come back strong after the midway break thanks to very good adjustments made by his team led by Jeff Schrader. Back in second position, he took advantage of a final restart 24 laps from the end to take command against his teammate Drew.
“It feels so good to be a part of the 1000th win in ARCA West race. They’ve been doing it for so long and have had so many good drivers. Really good to be in it and make a milestone mark,” said Reif. “Winning four years in a row for Sunrise Ford. They bring really good cars here. It’s a really good track, a really good driver track. Nothing more I can wish for.”
By winning his second victory of the season, he also regained second position in the championship against Moore. It should be noted that he won each time the races where he had taken pole position. And each time there were 15 cars at the start!
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Evergreen |
| 7 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 1st (2x) | 1 start, best result 1st |
No. 11 Chris Lowden (Lowden Motorsports) start: 12th – fin: 12th
Lowden equalizes a career-best result on his Evergreen debut but it was in pain. Using for the first time his new chassis, the 110 inches, he was going to have steering problems. A first touch against the wall causing him to go back to the pitlane to repair. Returning to the track with more than 20 laps behind, he was going to do his best to pass the checkered flag at the cost of great physical effort.
“The steering pin busted loose and I couldn’t turn coming out of turn 4. Scraped the wall… fixed it kinda, lost 20 laps, went back out, rough night. Oh…..and steering box failed, 6-7” of slack in steering with twitchiness… it was a handful race.” Said Lowden.
He will skip the next race in Portland before returning for the last three oval races of the season.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Evergreen |
| 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12th (2x) | 1 start, best result 12th |
No. 12 Kyle Keller (Jerry Pitts Racing) start: 10th – Fin: 7th
For his debut at Evegreen, Keller was a bit more low key than in the previous race. Only 10th in qualifying, he was going to go up to the door of the top-five. Huddleston managing to dislodge him from sixth position at the very end of the race. But Kyle gave a solid performance, useful for the future.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Evergreen |
| 7 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 4th (2x) | 1 start, best result 7th |
No. 13 Todd Souza (Central Coast Racing) start: 5th – fin: 5th
Very solid race for the veteran Souza who obtains his best result at Evergreen with the fifth position.
The fourth position would have been possible as his crew chief Michael Munoz explains to us: “The Central Coast Cabinets Ford was good all weekend. We just had some issues in the race that hurt us. The crew worked on the car at the break and got it back. We were running some good lap times at the end but the hole in the fender opened back up and we lost handle on the last restart and ended up 5th. We will continue to battle every week.”
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Evergreen |
| 104 | 1 | 16 | 57 | 0 | 1st (1x) | 5 starts, best result : 5th |
No. 16 Landen Lewis (Bill McAnally Racing) start: 2nd – fin: 6th
Well qualified on the front row, he got off to an excellent start and took command of the race on the first lap. He gave up first position on the 32nd lap to his teammate Moore and then lost several positions. Sixth, he clashed with Hingorani. If the latter had to give up, Lewis could continue and finish the first segment in fifth position.
The adjustments made during the break proved ineffective at the start of the second segment. Lewis even losing another position. He opted for a passage through the pitlane during the last yellow flag. Restarted ninth, the setup changes finally seemed to have revived the No. 16 Chevrolet but it was too late… Lewis had to settle for sixth position.
Bill McAnally, the owner summing up his team’s run perfectly: “Not good enough. Good cars at times but not when it mattered. We had speed led a lot of laps but not the one lap that matters.”
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Evergreen |
| 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1st (1x) | 1 start, best result 6th |
No. 21 RJ Smotherman (Lowden Motorsports with Holleran-Wood Racing) start: 13th – fin: 15th handling
The young 17-year-old driver from Nevada did not have an easy start. Signed up at the last minute to drive Lowden Motorsports’ second car. In fact, it is the old 105 inch chassis. It was planned to do a start and park after about ten laps. Done. The goal here being a life-size test for Smotherman as he will make the final three races of the season. If he knows the Bullring of Las Vegas well, it will be as at Evergreen a discovery concerning the tracks of Roseville and Phoenix.
“I’m definitely don’t drive a West car like a Pro Late Model that I’m used to. Lots of power, little brakes and turns like a boat !” RJ said.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Evergreen |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15th | 1 start, best result 15th |
No. 39 Andrew Tuttle (Last Chance Racing) start: 14th – fin: 11th
Tuttle and his team are progressing race after race and are getting closer to the top 10.
If the car was reliable this time, contact with another car would make it very difficult to handle as Tuttle explains to us: “The race weekend started off good during practice we had a good feel in the car we had improved about 3 seconds from the start, felt like we got a good handle on the car.
“After the start of the race the 88 car drove through us again and all the gain on the set up went away. From that point forward we were doing all we could to keep the car under us. It was a fun track and we were excited to be apart of the history of running the 1000th race in the Arca west series. We will be ready for the next one.”
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Evergreen |
| 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11th (1x) | 1 start, best result 11th |
No. 50 Trevor Huddleston (High Point Racing) start: 8th – fin: 8th
Complicated race for Huddleston with a difficult car coming out of the corner. He will however improve it by making a stop during the first yellow flag and other adjustments during the midway break with his crewc hief Travis Thirkettle. In the end, he crossed the finish line in eighth position. A new top10 for him as always at Evergreen but a disappointment for the winner of the race in 2019.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Evergreen |
| 53 | 2 | 19 | 45 | 2 | 1st (2x) | 4 starts, best result : 1st |
No. 54 Joey Iest (Naake-Klauer Motorsports) start: 6th – fin: 3rd
Excellent race from Iest which will be more and more effective as the laps go by. Quickly in the top-five, he was going to lose time behind Moore for third position during the last restart. The time lost at that point probably costing him the victory. He put pressure on Drew for second position at the end of the race. However contact with Burgess, from whom he took a lap, on the last lap did not allow him to attempt to overtake. But he had the fastest car in the last 10 laps. Good omens for the rest of the season.
”It was my first time at Evergreen Speedway. We start the race in sixth position. During the first half of the race, we are fighting for fourth place. And then after the halfway break we have few cautions. We would run between third and fifth. 20 to go, we grab the third position. We tried to get the second one but we ran out of time.” Iest said.
Mike Naake, owner/crew chief being very satisfied with the race and confident in the future: “Car was really good we probably didn’t go hard soon enough kinda got behind the 99 took a while to get by him and then we made a run for the front guys but just ran out of time. We caught the six and then the six and us caught the nine at the end just needed about 10 more laps. We’ve had a rough year we’ve had speed but just had some goofy stuff happening. We will be fielding a car for Iest at Portland and two cars at Roseville for Bradley Erickson and Joey Iest of course.”
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Evergreen |
| 20 | 1 | 8 | 10 | 0 | 1st (1x) | 1 start, best result 3rd |
No. 88 Bridget Burgess (BMI Racing) start: 11th – fin: 10th
It was not an easy race for the Burgess family. Hitting the wall on the exit of turn 4 of the first lap, causing a right rear flat tire.
But Bridget didn’t give up and thanks to three free passes she managed to break into the top 10. This is her eighth career top 10 and the third this season as in 2020. And with four races to go, there is no doubt that she will continue to improve her stats.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Evergreen |
| 27 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 7th (2x) | 2 starts, best result : 10th |
No. 99 Cole Moore (Bill McAnally Racing) start: 4th – fin: 4th
Cole Moore finally seemed to be able to get his first victory as he dominated the race from the 32nd to the 91st lap. However, after the midway break, we saw that unlike the Bruncati drivers for example, the adjustments made did not seem to be the best. Moore will resist but once he loses the first position, he will not be able to fight for the victory. Fourth, he especially lost the second position in the championship. Mathematically everything is still possible but there are only four races left.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Evergreen |
| 24 | 0 | 8 | 14 | 0 | 2nd | 2 starts, best result: 4th |
Next race September 3, 2022, we’re going back for the second time this year at Portland International Raceway, Portland, OR, for the third and last road course race of the season.
Featured Photo Credit: Photo Courtesy of Luis Torres via Vincent Delforge.