General Tire Stock Car Weekly: March 29, 2023
Catch up on the latest news around the ARCA Menards Series every Wednesday with the General Tire Stock Car Weekly!
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Last Week: Sawalich Comes Out on Top of East Opener at Five Flags
Joe Gibbs Racing rookie William Sawalich kicked off the ARCA Menards Series East season in style at Five Flags Speedway, winning the Pensacola 200 in dominant fashion. Sawalich, making his second start on the ARCA platform and first in the East division, kicked off the action by winning the General Tire Pole Award and led every single lap to take the checkered flag as he looks to defend the #18 Toyota’s title from last year, when Sammy Smith was the driver and Kyle Busch Motorsports took over the operations for the year.
Sawalich’s closest challenger was Pinnacle Racing Group driver Luke Fenhaus, the 2021 Slinger Nationals winner who also appeared in the Superstar Racing Experience that same year. Fenhaus finished just over a second adrift of Sawalich after closing the gap late in the race. Venturini Motorsports drivers Jake Finch and Sean Hingorani were the only other lead-lap finishers in third and fourth. The race will air on CNBC on Sunday, April 2 at 11AM ET/8AM PT.
This Week: West Series Resumes at Irwindale
The ARCA Menards Series West season resumes at Irwindale Speedway for the second of 12 rounds on the year, the West Coast Stock Car Motorsports Hall of Fame 150. The action will stream live on Saturday at 10PM ET/7PM PT on FloRacing, and will air on CNBC on tape delay on Sunday, April 23 at 12PM ET/9AM PT. Tanner Reif won last year’s Irwindale spring race after earning the General Tire Pole Award and leading every lap.
The West season opened on March 10 with the General Tire 150, a combined event for the national and West tours at Phoenix Raceway, and Tyler Reif in the winner’s circle after some late-race drama. When polesitter Sawalich, making his ARCA debut for JGR, got turned on an overtime restart, Reif took over the lead. Landen Lewis would get the jump on the next and final restart, but Reif would fight back to make the winning pass on the final lap.
Watch ARCA Racing
ARCA Menards Series races are shown live on FS1 or FS2 (streamed live on the Fox Sports App and FloRacing). Standalone ARCA Menards Series East and West events are streamed live on FloRacing and shown on tape delay on CNBC. Check local listings for more details.