By Vincent Delforge, Staff Writer
The eighth race of the 2025 ARCA Menards West Series season took place at Portland International Raceway, located in Portland, Oregon. The Portland 112 was the second and final road track race of the season. The race, held on Friday, August 29, was won by Joe Gibbs Racing driver William Sawalich, despite strong opposition from rookie Thomas Annunziata in the Nitro Motorsports Toyota.
With his fifth win in ten career races, William Sawalich becomes the second most prolific driver in history. Only Todd Gilliland has done better, winning six of his first ten career races.
The West Series will return to action on September 13 at the All American Speedway in Roseville, California, for the NAPA Auto Parts 150.
Complete race results: www.racing-reference.info/race/2025-08/AW
In the championship, the battle continues between leader Trevor Huddleston (High Point Racing) and Kyle Keller (Jan’s Racing Team), who finished fifth and sixth, respectively. Huddleston (377 points) now has an eight-point lead over Keller (369) with four races remaining. Tanner Reif is third with 357 points ahead of Eric Johnson, Jr. (343) and Robbie Kennealy (336).
Driver & owner point standings: www.racing-reference.info/standings/2025/AW
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 at Portland International Raceway (PIR)
-72nd season in history.
-Race No. 1036 since the inception of the West Series in 1954.
-2025 race No. 8 of 12.
-149th road track in history (including the 4 street races).
-Race No. 11 at Portland International Raceway (PIR), Portland, OR, since 1986.
-The third time the track used is measured at 1.970 miles. Previously 1.950, 1.967 or 1.980 miles.
-92nd win for Toyota in history, the second at PIR. Among the manufacturers, Ford leads the dance at PIR with five wins ahead of Chevrolet (2), Toyota (2), Dodge and Pontiac with one each.
-The all-time most successful manufacturer is Ford with 295 wins.
-Sixth win for owner Joe Gibbs, the second at PIR.
-Win No. 10 for Joe Gibbs Racing team (Coy Gibbs 2; J.D. Gibbs 2 and Joe Gibbs 6). The second at PIR.
-The all-time most successful owners in history are Bill McAnally (76), Fred Elder (45), Bob Bruncati (42) and Ernie Conn (41).
-The all-time most successful teams in history are Bill McAnally Racing (100), McCoy Racing (54), The Racing Farmers (47), Bruncati Racing (42) and Gene Price Motorsports (26).
-The most successful team at PIR is Bruncati Sunrise Ford Racing with three victories.
-William Sawalich becomes the second driver to win two races at PIR, tying Jake Drew. Both drivers won back-to-back at PIR. In all, nine different drivers have won at least one race.
-Sixth pole for William Sawalich (10th career start), the first at PIR.
-83rd pole for Toyota in History, the first at PIR Among the manufacturers, Ford and Chevrolet have five poles each at PIR and Toyota has one pole.
-The all-time most successful manufacturer is Chevrolet with 264.
–Sixth pole for owner Joe Gibbs, the first at PIR.
-Pole No. 7 for Joe Gibbs Racing team (Coy Gibbs 1 and Joe Gibbs 6). The first at PIR.
-Among the owners, the most successful are Bob Bruncati and Steve McGowan, both with three poles at PIR.
-Bruncati Sunrise Ford Racing is the most successful team at PIR with three poles.
-The most successful team in history is Bill McAnally Racing with 83 poles. The most successful owner in history is Bill McAnally with 56 poles.
-All winners started from the Top 5 of the starting grid
-Fifth time that the driver who started on pole wins the race at PIR. The drivers who won the race from the worst starting position were Hershel McGriff (1986) and Jim Inglebright (2009), both from fifth position.
-William Sawalich set the new track record (configuration 1,970 miles) in 94.011 mph (75.438 sec). He beat the previous record held by Brandon Jones (92.853 mph) since 2024.
-As far as yellow flags are concerned, the record is 7 (1986). The 2011 race holds the record for the number of yellow flag laps with 25.
-The record for the fewest cautions is 2 (2022 race #1 and 2025). With just nine laps behind the pace car, the 2022 (race #1) race holds the record for the fewest laps under yellow flags.
-The most leader changes occurred in 2009 with 10. The fewest leader changes were zero in 2012.
-The largest starting field was in 2011 and 2012 with 30 cars.
-The smallest starting field was in 2022 (race #2) with 13 cars.
-Four times the race has been extended by overtime (2009, 2010, 2011 and 2021).
-One time, the race was shortened by rain in 2022 (race #1).
-First career attempt in West Series for (3 drivers): Thomas Annunziata, Fernando Navarrete and Austin Varco
-First career start in West Series for (3 drivers): Thomas Annunziata, Fernando Navarrete and Austin Varco
-First career attempt at PIR in West Series for (7 drivers): Thomas Annunziata, Greg Biffle, Alon Day, Christian Eckes, Blake Lothian, Fernando Navarrete and Austin Varco
-First career start at PIR in West Series for (7 drivers): Thomas Annunziata, Greg Biffle, Alon Day, Christian Eckes, Blake Lothian, Fernando Navarrete and Austin Varco
-Best career result in West Series for Thomas Annunziata (2nd), Austin Varco (13th) and Fernando Navarrete (16th)
-First career Top-10 result in West Series for Thomas Annunziata (2nd)
-First career Top-5 result in West Series for Thomas Annunziata (2nd)
-20th win for the No. 18 in history. The second at PIR.
-21st pole for the No. 18 in history. The first at PIR
-6th career pole for crew chief Matt Ross. The first at PIR.
-6th career win for crew chief Matt Ross. The second at PIR.
-Fernando Navarrete is the 113th foreign driver in the West Series, and the second from Spain.
The Drivers
No. 05 David Smith (Shockwave Racing) Start: 14th – Fin: 15th
It all starts with a run into the grass on Turn 4 on the first lap. A spin on lap 16 caused the first yellow flag. Unfortunately, Smith was unable to restart on his own and lost a lot of time waiting for a tow truck to push him. The car lacked stability under braking, and despite benefiting from a free pass during the second caution, he finished the race in 15th position, four laps behind the winner. It should be noted that he found himself, despite himself, on the path of the leaders during the last lap in turns 10-12, slowing down Annunziata, who was pushed by Sawalich..
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Portland |
| 35 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10th (3x) | 3 starts, best result 13th |
No. 1 Robbie Kennealy (Jan’s Racing Team) Start: 9th – fin: 12th
Having achieved his best career qualifying result on a road track with a ninth position, Kennealy unfortunately experienced brake problems early in the race. He lost a lap during his pit stop on lap 29 while his team tried to find a solution to the brake problems. He finished outside the top 10. “P12 in Portland. Had my best pace and qualifying effort on a road course but unfortunately lost brakes early and had to manage from there. Nonetheless, it was a full team effort of every single Jan’s Racing Team, Jan’s Towing, Inc., and Sunrise Ford team members to get this thing fixed back up from Sonoma, so thank you to every single person who helped!” Kennealy said.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Portland |
| 20 (2 DNS) | 0 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 3rd | 2 starts, best result 12th |
No. 3 Fernando Navarrete (Central Coast Racing) Start: 4th – Fin: 16th mechanical
The Spanish newcomer had a superb qualifying session performance, posting the fourth fastest time. He made a mistake right at the start by hitting the grass on the outside of turn 4. He held onto eighth position until lap 10. But power and stability issues hampered his race. He wasted eight laps in the pit box getting his car repaired between the first and second caution. He restarted but retired after completing 37 laps. His car had overheated and lost all efficiency. It’s worth noting that the driver suffered a burn on the heel of his right foot due to the heat emanating from the engine compartment, despite the partition wall. “I want to thank my amazing team, Central Coast Racing, who gave me a Toyota capable of fighting for pole position. Just a small mistake left us in an incredible second place, not so bad. Then, only bad luck meant that in the race I couldn’t fight for a great result because of a part break that was freshly checked. That’s motorsport! Thank you, thank you, and even more thank you to my dear Todd and Kelly Souza and crew chiefs Gilbert and Michael Munoz, who treated me all week like I was family.” Navarrete said.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Portland |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16th | 1 start, best result 16th |
No. 5 Eric Johnson, Jr. (Jerry Pitts Racing) Start: 10th –Fin: 9th
Johnson, Jr. expected much more from this race than he had marked on his calendar. But a lack of grip all day prevented the driver of the No. 5 from achieving a better result. He battled for seventh or eighth place with Biffle, Huddleston, and Quarterley for a long time. Eighth with five laps to go, he was unable to resist Shrader’s comeback and finished ninth, his best result at the PIR. “Brought home another quiet Top-10 in the No. 5 Pacific Office Automation Toyota. We were hoping to be more in the mix, but just lacked the front grip we needed to stay with the leaders on the long runs. Saw an opportunity and took it on a mid-race restart. I sent it three-wide with the Biff & the points leader into Turn 1, a surreal moment within itself that helped us gain spots but left us with some LF damage on the backside of it all. The damage certainly didn’t do our grip issues any favors the rest of the day. That’s just the nature of those famous Portland race restarts. Still, we walked away knowing we maximized what we could in the race and left nothing on the table. As always, we’ll learn from it, come back stronger, and head into the final stretch hungry as ever. Sitting 4th in points with four races to go. » Johsnon, Jr. said.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Portland |
| 24 | 0 | 5 | 14 | 0 | 2nd | 3 starts, best result 9th |
No. 6 Caleb Shrader (Jerry Pitts Racing) Start: 5th –Fin: 8th
Very fast, Shrader, who knows the track better than anyone else for having driven there so much, had a very good race. Fourth on the first lap, he maintained this position until the first yellow flag. He then lost a position to Eckes but remained fifth until the second caution on lap 30. He made a good restart and found himself back in fourth position, which he held until 10 laps from the finish when he was pushed into the first chicane by Biffle. Restarting ninth, he made great laps and managed to regain a position before the checkered flag. But this eighth-place finish does not reflect his very good race.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Portland |
| 6 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6th | 3 starts, best result 7th |
No. 13 Tanner Reif (Central Coast Racing) Start: 6th – Fin: 10th
It was a disappointing race for Reif, who finished in 10th place. A position he held for almost the entire race, despite losing third gear on the third lap. In these conditions, on a road track, he limited the damage, losing only five points to leader Huddleston. But now 20 points behind, he’ll have to rely on luck with four races remaining to aim for the championship.”Always love coming up north to race at Portland International Raceway. It’s grown to be one of my favorite tracks to race. Thankfully was able to qualify p.6 with the confidence that the car had more speed in it. Central Coast Racing gave me a rocketship of a race car. Sadly, the car ended up losing 3rd gear on an upshift on Lap 3. Managed to heel-toe 150 4-2 downshifts (Note: 98% accuracy), safe to say I was whooped. Would love another shot to go for a win here, definitely grown to be one of my favorites.” Reif said.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Portland |
| 33 | 3 | 13 | 23 | 2 | 1st (3x) | 5 starts, best result 3rd |
No. 14 Davey Magras (Davey Magras Racing) Start: 13th – Fin: 11th
A complicated race for Magras, who didn’t finish in the top 10 in Portland for the first time in his career. Excessive tire wear (due to the car’s setup?) prevented him from going fast on long runs. He benefited from the free pass during the first yellow flag but lost another lap to the leaders on the 48th lap of the race. He finished in 11th position. Not bad for a driver who built his own car in his garage, considering that the winner, Sawalich, came from a Cup team with over 400 employees, for example! “Flatspotted the tires badly early on cords hanging out at the end. Fastest laps the car has seen, driver under construction,” Magras said.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Portland |
| 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7th | 3 starts, best result 7th |
No. 18 William Sawalich (Joe Gibbs Racing) Start: 1st – Fin: 1st
Dominant all day, from practice to Victory Lane. Last year, he was challenged by Brandon Jones; this year, it was Thomas Annunziata. But Sawalich drove a near-perfect race. Five wins in 10 career races. Wow!! Bad tongues will say he’s driving for a Cup team with a multi-million dollar budget. Yes, it’s true. But you still have to be up to the task in the race. And Sawalich is a great winner. “Just good, hard racing there. That lapped car slowed us up, that momentum didn’t work out, and he got the worst of it,” Sawalich said
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Portland |
| 10 | 5 | 9 | 9 | 6 | 1st (5x) | 3 starts, best result : 1st (2x) |
No. 19 Christian Eckes (Bill McAnally Racing) Start: 16 – Fin: 14th
Due to an oil leak issue during practice, Eckes did not participate in the qualifying session and started from the rear in 16th position. He made an excellent start and found himself 10th at the end of the first lap. He passed Biffle for 6th position on lap 12 and held this position until the first yellow flag. He made another super restart and climbed to fourth position. But on lap 30, he suffered an oil leak, just as he had during practice, causing the second caution. He lost two laps to repair in his pit box. He ultimately finished the race in 14th position. “Tough way to end the day, for sure. The NAPA Auto Care Chevy had decent speed to drive up to fourth. I would have liked to see what we could have done with the top three on another restart. It was good to get some laps, and it will for sure help us in the Xfinity car on Saturday.” Eckes said.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Portland |
| 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2nd | 1 start, best result 14th |
No. 23 TBA (Clark Racing)
Withdraw
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Portland |
| – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
No. 24 Greg Biffle (Sigma Performance Services) Start: 8th – Fin: 4th
Maintaining a position between seventh and eighth for the first 30 laps, Biffle gained momentum in the second half of the race after good adjustments. He moved from eighth to sixth between laps 39 and 45. On lap 48, he moved into the top five after helping Shrader spin out of the first chicane. He then caught Huddleston and managed to take fourth place from him in the very last corner of the race. “P4 in Portland. Hoped for a better finish but the car was loose and the team made some good adjustments to get me back up towards the front. We’ll get ’em next time, thanks to Sigma Performance Services for building another good car and thanks to Dairy Dan Drive In and Market Boulevard in Chehalis for coming on board.” Biffle said.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Portland |
| 5 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 3rd | 1 start, best result 4th |
No.25 Alon Day (Venturini Motorsports) Start: 3rd – Fin: 3rd
A very good race from the Israeli, who held onto third place for almost the entire race. He found himself momentarily in second place with about fifteen laps to go, but was powerless to stop Sawalich’s comeback. Two third-place finishes on the two road races this year. That’s a good record.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Portland |
| 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3rd (2x) | 1 start, best result 3rd |
No. 27 Bobby Hillis, Jr. (Fierce Creature Racing) Start: 18th – Fin: 18th Carburetor
No luck for Hillis, Jr., who experienced recurring fuel line, fuel filter, oil tank, panhard bar and finally carburetor problems between practice and the race. In a race where he also encountered a power problem, he couldn’t get past 5,000 rpm. It was impossible to go fast in the long straight lines in these conditions. He had to retire on the fourth lap. “It’s definitely fuel-related but we just couldn’t find it. Checked everything during practice, from the carburetor to the fuel cell and lines etc … Ran about 15 laps in practice on old tires and it was blubbering a bit down the back straightaway and up off a couple of the corners, which was really slowing me down. No time to fix or even look at. Had to change tires and the overflow oil tank in the trunk was upside down and dumped oil everywhere. Behind my seat, all over the inside of the trunk, which then leaked out all over the left rear tire. While cleaning up the mess, I noticed a groove was cut on the inside of the left rear tire. The Panhard bar was rubbing. Pretty much missed qualifying because I went out right at the end but time expired and my lap didn’t count. No time whatsoever to address the blubbering because of the impound. Start the race and the car won’t even run, just like at Irwindale. Wouldn’t go past 5,000 rpm. I parked after about four laps.” Hillis, Jr. said.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Portland |
| 104 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 8th (1x) | 2 starts, best result 15th |
No. 32 Dale Quarterley (Quarterley “1/4” Racing) Start: 17th – Fin: 7th
The veteran experienced a rear-end problem during practice. He couldn’t participate in the qualifying session and started the race from 17th position. He spun on lap 10, going wide in turn 4a. He went off the track several more times during the race. He took advantage of Eckes’ and Shrader’s mishaps to gain positions in the Top 10. But just like in Sonoma, his car seemed to be seriously lacking grip.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Portland |
| 17 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 2nd (1x) | 5 starts, best result: 3rd |
No. 50 Trevor Huddleston (High Point Racing) Start: 15th – Fin: 5th
First career top-five finish in Portland for the championship leader. He was unable to make the qualifying session due to a transmission change. Starting 15th in the race, he had no choice but to attack to get back into the pack. That’s what he did and he was already in the top 10 by lap five. He took the restart on lap 39 in fifth position and even found himself fourth with a few laps to go. However, he was passed in the very last corner of the last lap by Biffle and finished fifth. Enough to beat all his rivals in the fight for the championship. With four races remaining in the season, Huddleston is more than ever in the best position to finally win his first crown.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Portland |
| 85 | 7 | 37 | 69 | 3 | 1st (7x) | 4 starts, best result: 5th |
No. 51 Blake Lothian (Strike Mamba Racing) Start: 12th – Fin: 17th Transmission
The rookie was unlucky, having experienced transmission problems from the start, which eventually broke after six laps, just as he was being caught by the leaders. He managed to park his Chevrolet behind a safety barrier in Turn 8 without triggering a yellow flag.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Portland |
| 8 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 8th | 1 start, best result 17th |
No. 70 Thomas Annunziata (Nitro Motorsports) Start: 2nd – Fin: 2nd
Annunziata had a good first career race in the West Series. Very fast, something no one doubted on the road track, he made life difficult for Sawalich. He pushed him on lap 38 during a restart to take the lead of the race. But where he lacked experience was in managing traffic with backmarkers. On lap 48, he was surprised when he caught Magras in the frontstretch. Sawalich momentarily took back the lead, but not for long because the driver of the No. 70 car made a better run through the first chicane. But five laps later, he hesitated when he caught Smith in the sequence of turns 10 and 12. There, Sawalich got back at him and hit his rear bumper. Annunziata made a trip into the grass but managed to finish second. “P2. Man, I gave it everything. Lead a bunch of laps and put on a show for the fans here in Portland. Unfortunately, we didn’t quite have the pace for that 18 car but we sure gave them a run for it. Congrats to William Sawalich and the Joe Gibbs Racing team. We will fight as a team to close the gap. So thankful for Toyota, Nitro Motorsports, Venturini Motorsports and Shannon Rursch (crew chief) to have enough belief in me to do this. Truly a blessing. Maybe one day we will get a Gordon (paint scheme of his car) throwback car in victory lane I hope you all enjoyed it!” Annunziata said.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Portland |
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2nd | 1 start, best result 2nd |
No. 71 Kyle Keller (Jan’s Racing Team) Start: 7th – Fin: 6th
Keller was able to make the most of what his car had to offer. And despite a car that was too tight, making it difficult to turn in the corners, especially on a circuit as twisty as the PIR, this was a real handicap. But by taking sixth place (best career result on road track), just behind Huddleston, he only lost one point in the championship. He is only eight points behind with four races remaining. The battle for the 2025 crown is more open than ever.
“P.6 in Portland, Oregon. Fought a tight car all day but we managed to get a good finish still! Still in the hunt for the championship! The next race is next weekend at All American Speedway in Roseville. Thank you, Jan Qualkenbush and the whole Jan’s Racing Team for all their hard work!” Keller said.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Portland |
| 42 | 1 | 14 | 29 | 1 | 1st (1x) | 3 starts, best result : 6th |
No. 72 Austin Varco (Strike Mamba Racing) Star: 11th – Fin: 13th
Serious brake issues complicated Varco’s first career race in the West Series. Despite this, he had a good first race, making very few mistakes. Losing only one lap to the leaders shows that he made the most of what his car had to offer. “Jumped right into qualifying with not many laps in the seat to put us P11. 165+ mph here feels so rad on the backstretch. This car is awesome to drive. Like, so awesome. Marred by some braking gremlins, our result doesn’t show the great long-run speed this car had. I’m proud of how quickly we ran at points in the day and there were a lot of positive takeaways. The team persevered to take the checker and Blake Lothian (teammate) even helped with the pit stop when luck didn’t go his way! Thank you, Strike Mamba Racing, for taking a chance on a ‘Miata racer,'” Varco said.
| Starts | Wins | Top5 | Top10 | Pole | Best result | At Portland |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13th | 1 start, best result 13th |
Note
-Jake Bollman will return behind the wheel of the No. 19 Bill McAnally Racing car for the final four races of the season.
Special thanks to Davey Magras, Bobby Hillis, Jr., and Bill McAnally Racing (with Christian Eckes here) for always putting VD stickers on their cars. Thanks to you, $600 was raised at the Portland race for cancer research. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, and THANK YOU again.
PHOTO GALLERY BY LUIS TORRES
