The ARCA Menards Series West concluded the doubleheader weekend Saturday night at Douglas County Speedway for the ENEOS/Napa Auto Parts 150. Gio Scelzi won the pole with a lap time of 15.444 seconds at 75 mph. Starting next to him was yesterday’s winner Blaine Perkins. There were only eleven cars in this race.
The green flag waves at Douglas County! Who will take #ARCAMenards West home the 🏁 tonight? ⏱ RACE CENTER: https://t.co/Bg4znMLnvK pic.twitter.com/bVkzUEs2Wi — ARCA Menards Series (@ARCA_Racing) August 9, 2020
With the drop of the green flag, Gio Scelzi was able to keep the lead heading into turn two as Perkins settled for second. Within three laps, all eleven cars were in a single file. The number 19 Toyota of Jesse Love and the number 78 Toyota of Jack Wood were clashing for the sixth position. Little was able to get inside of him on turn four to take the sixth position as Wood dropped to seventh. Towards the front, Gracie Trotter challenged Trevor Huddleston for third place. She would get the third position from Huddleston on the inside between turns three and four on lap nine.
A lap later, Jesse Love and Holley Hollan were dueling for the fifth position. Love used the inside lane between turns three and four to take the fifth position away from Hollan. The first caution of the day would come out at lap 14 as the number 27 Toyota of Bobby Hillis Jr. spun at turn two. Perkins led the field to the restart on lap 17.
Perkins quickly got in front of Scelzi for the lead as Scelzi was trying to hold onto second place with Trotter, Love, and Huddleston right on his bumper. Jesse Love had smoke coming out of the tailpipe; however, no fluid was on the track, and the race stayed green. On lap 29, the second caution would come as Bridget Burgess spun on the front stretch. Bobby Hillis Jr. got the free pass.
Perkins would lead the field to the restart on lap 32 with Gracie Trotter running in second place. On lap 35, Holley Hollan got by Jack Wood on the outside of turn four to take the sixth position as Wood settled for seventh. Upfront, Jesse Love and Gio Scelzi were battling for the third spot. Scelzi was able to hold on to third, keeping Love in fourth as the field fell into a single file. On lap 45, Holley Hollan held off Wood and Todd Souza for several laps who were trying to take away her sixth position.
Those two would continue to clash when Souza hit Wood, causing Wood to spin to bring out the third caution of the day. Souza had damage to the hood of the car. Perkins once again led the field back to green on lap 65. Perkins, Trotter, and Scelzi quickly occupied the first three positions leaving Trevor Huddleston and Jesse Love fighting for fourth place. Huddleston would take the fourth spot from Love as the race was now officially halfway.
Past halfway. Can @BlainePerkins21 complete the sweep?#ARCAMenards West | @_TrackPass pic.twitter.com/2oYE8l3Sqf — ARCA Menards Series (@ARCA_Racing) August 9, 2020
Love would get close to Huddleston several times, trying to take away the fourth spot but no luck. Perkins had a .63 second lead on Trotter when Perkins missed a shift causing him to slow down and almost handing the lead to Gracie Trotter. Perkins would recover and extend his lead back to .53 seconds. With 37 laps to go, Jesse Love turned Takuma Koga at turn two to bring out the fourth caution of the race. Love’s car had nose damage. Koga’s car stalled, and track crews helped him get his back on track as he was able to refire his car again.
Blaine Perkins' lead has disappeared. Can Gracie Trotter take advantage?#ARCAMenards West | @_TrackPass pic.twitter.com/kFWoOFLOy0 — ARCA Menards Series (@ARCA_Racing) August 9, 2020
1 2 3 … P U S H!!!#ARCAMenards West | @_TrackPass pic.twitter.com/tPSwTgvVCZ — ARCA Menards Series (@ARCA_Racing) August 9, 2020
The race resumed with thirty laps to go with Perkins out in front and Trotter in second, followed by Scelzi in third. With 28 laps to go, Jesse Love made contact with Trevor Huddleston, getting him loose as Love moved into the fourth position. Huddleston fought off Holley Hollan to keep the fifth spot. Bobby Hillis Jr. would spin at turn two to bring out the fifth caution of the race. Hillis Jr. got his car running again as the field reset for the green flag with 20 laps to go.
Fortunately for @jesselovejr1 Douglas County is not aero dependent.#ARCAMenards West | @_TrackPass pic.twitter.com/TJrhAi9D5Y — ARCA Menards Series (@ARCA_Racing) August 9, 2020
Perkins would once again jump to the front as Scelzi and Trotter were fighting for second place. Scelzi would take second from Trotter when the sixth caution would come out for Holley Hollan. She made contact with Todd Souza at turn three with 16 laps to go. Once more, Perkins remained in front with Trotter taking second place. Jesse Love and Gio Scelzi were going at it for third place. Love would take the third position from Scelzi while Huddleston got into the mix for third. Huddleston was unable to take advantage and settled for fifth. Up at the front, Trotter lost ground to Perkins as he would go on to sweep the doubleheader weekend, winning the ENEOS/Napa Auto Parts 150 by 1.376 seconds over the second-place finisher Gracie Trotter, her best career finish.
Get the 🧹 It's a Pacific Northwest sweep for @BlainePerkins21 pic.twitter.com/t1sKEt4A52 — ARCA Menards Series (@ARCA_Racing) August 9, 2020
The rest of the top ten finishers were Jesse Love third, Gio Scelzi fourth, Trevor Huddleston fifth, Jack Wood sixth, Holley Hollan seventh one lap down, Takuma Koga eight three laps down, Bridget Burgess ninth four laps down, and Bobby Hillis Jr. tenth seven laps down.
With the win, Perkins is now only two points behind leader Jesse Love. Gracie Trotter is third (-27), Trevor Huddleston fourth (-30), Gio Scelzi fifth (-35), Todd Souza sixth (-44), Holley Hollan seventh (-54), Takuma Koga eighth (-65), Bobby Hillis Jr. ninth (-105), and Jack Wood tenth (-123). The next race for the ARCA Menards Series West is on August 22nd from Colorado National Speedway at 6 pm on NBC Sports Gold Track Pass.
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