It’s been over a month since the ARCA Menards Series last ran. On Saturday, the Series made its return to Talladega Superspeedway for the General Tire 200. This is the third race of the season for the ARCA Menards Series.
There was no qualifying. The starting lineup was set by 2020 owner points. Ty Gibbs won the pole and starting second was the defending champion, Bret Holmes.
We are GREEN at @TALLADEGA @TyGibbs_ to the lead@FS1 | @MRNRadio pic.twitter.com/N3zU5nHg3G — ARCA Menards Series (@ARCA_Racing) April 24, 2021
Early in the race, Richard Garvie hit Dave Mader III, who then hit Gracie Trotter, causing a tire rub on her car. She would head to pit road to fix the damage. Over the next couple of laps, Corey Heim took the lead away from Gibbs before Holmes would get the lead from Heim on the ninth lap. Heim and Holmes battled for the lead just as the first competition caution came out on the tenth lap. Holmes was scored the leader. No one went to pit road during the caution, and the race resumed on lap 16.
Early trouble for @gracietrotter11 👀 pic.twitter.com/nfq9t6k0Ak — ARCA Menards Series (@ARCA_Racing) April 24, 2021
Bret Holmes would get the lead on the restart. On lap 22, Drew Dollar used the outside lane with some help from Heim to get by Holmes for the lead. Heim would take second from Holmes. Bret Holmes would get second back from Heim and set his sights on Dollar. He would get the lead back on lap 37. Drew Dollar would get the lead back from Holmes just as the second competition caution came out on lap 39.
Michael Harper was the only driver to not pit during the caution. He led a lap before pitting, handing the lead back to Drew Dollar. The race resumed on lap 46. Five laps later, Ty Gibbs, Drew Dollar, and Corey Heim were three-wide for the lead as Gibbs took over first with a push from Holmes.
3-wide for the lead at @TALLADEGA, anyone?@TyGibbs_ back to P1 with 25 laps to go 👀@FS1 | @MRNRadio pic.twitter.com/MLbKkkyjfV — ARCA Menards Series (@ARCA_Racing) April 24, 2021
With seventeen laps to go, drivers were getting antsy. Gibbs and Dollar were neck and neck for the lead. Two laps later, Gibbs was caught in a crash after Nick Sanchez hit Greg Van Alst, who then hit Gibbs to bring out the day’s third caution.
🟡 Trouble 🟡@TyGibbs_, @gregvanalst35, others involved Lap 62/76@FS1 | @TALLADEGA pic.twitter.com/xbCUiSgEi3 — ARCA Menards Series (@ARCA_Racing) April 24, 2021
After the cleanup was complete, the race resumed with seven laps to go, with Bret Holmes leading the race. Two laps later, Drew Dollar bumped Corey Heim, getting him loose before slightly hitting Derrick Lancaster. Lancaster hit the wall, and his car burst into flames at high speed. His car would come to a stop at turn three as track crews got to him quick. The race would go into a red flag. Lancaster would be transported to a local hospital for further evaluation.
Once the track crews cleaned up the fluid from Lancaster’s car, the race resumed with a green/white/checkered. Corey Heim held off Dave Mader III to win his second race of the season by .086 seconds. For Dave Mader III, the last time he finished in the top ten, Terminator 2: Judgement Day was No. 1 in the box office.
How about @CoreyHeim3??? What a finish at @TALLADEGA on the final restart 🏁 pic.twitter.com/WRXX6CaNsx — ARCA Menards Series (@ARCA_Racing) April 24, 2021
The rest of the top ten finishers were Nick Sanchez third, Drew Dollar fourth, Bret Holmes fifth, Thad Moffitt sixth, Andy Jankowiak seventh, Kyle Sieg eighth, Eric Caudell ninth, and Scott Melton tenth. Both Holmes and Dollar led 28 laps each. Corey Heim only led five laps. There were thirteen lead changes and four cautions for 25 laps.
The ARCA Menards Series heads to Kansas Speedway next Saturday, May 1st, at 1:30 pm on FS1.
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