By Christian Koelle, Staff Writer
All that Ty Gibbs has to do to earn his first championship in NASCAR is take the green flag tonight at Kansas. After qualifying on Saturday (October 23), Gibbs will lead the field to that green flag as he earned his 17th career General Tire Pole Award.
Ready for the ARCA Championship race! @TyGibbs_ wins the pole for tonight’s race at @kansasspeedway. #TeamToyota pic.twitter.com/pJrGviXcKY
— Toyota Racing (@ToyotaRacing) October 23, 2021
Gibbs turned a 30.575-second (176.615-mph) lap around the Kansas Speedway to put his No. 18 Monster Energy Toyota Camry at the top of the speed charts. Championship hopeful and more than likely runner-up, Corey Heim, qualified alongside Gibbs on the front row just 0.099-seconds off of the pole.
Corey will start from the outside of the front row in tonight’s #Reeses150 at Kansas Speedway! See the Venturini Motorsports No. 20 @JBLaudio Camry at 7 ET, on MAVTV or TrackPass. #TeamToyota pic.twitter.com/nmzsMuOsQB
— Corey Heim (@CoreyHeim_) October 23, 2021
Nick Sanchez qualified in the third position while Drew Dollar and JP Bergeron rounded out the top-five starting lineup.
Session complete ✅
It's another @GeneralTire Pole Award for @TyGibbs_ to close the season. Because why not?
1. @TyGibbs_
2. @CoreyHeim_
3. @Nicksanchez080
4. @DrewDollar00
5. JP BergeronSee you at 7 p.m. ET on @MAVTV 👀
— ARCA Menards Series (@ARCA_Racing) October 23, 2021
The gap between first and 12th (Dean Thompson) was just under a second with Thompsons’ lap just 0.861-seconds off the pole.
23 drivers will take the green flag tonight in the ARCA Menards Series season finale at Kansas Speedway. The race will be shown live starting at 7 p.m. ET on MAVTV and is also available via the NBC Sports Gold: TrackPass package. Gibbs earned the victory earlier this year at Kansas while Heim is the defending race winner of the Reese’s 150.
Photo: Nigel Kinrade Photography