The ARCA Menards Series and the ARCA Menards Series East held a duel event Thursday night at Bristol Motor Speedway for the Bush’s Beans 200. This is the first time that both series have raced at Bristol. Ty Gibbs was on the pole while Sam Mayer, who just won the Truck Series race earlier that night, was starting second. The cars that were competing in the East Series had an E on the side of their car numbers.
It's 🟢 time at @BMSupdates ‼#ARCAMenards | @FS1 pic.twitter.com/DnSYUpySOW — ARCA Menards Series (@ARCA_Racing) September 18, 2020
Max Gutierrez’s car stalled on the track just four laps in to bring out the first caution. The race would get back underway on the ninth lap. Sam Mayer led the first sixteen laps before Ty Gibbs went inside to pass Mayer for the lead just as the second caution came out for a single-car spin at turn four by Kyle Sieg. During the caution, Bret Holmes went to pit road to make adjustments to the car.
And @TyGibbs_ takes the top spot back from @sam_mayer_ We're just getting warmed up on @FS1 #ARCAMenards | @BMSupdates pic.twitter.com/HRvX4niZ2l — ARCA Menards Series (@ARCA_Racing) September 18, 2020
The race resumed on lap 26 with Sam Mayer getting the lead back from Ty Gibbs with an inside pass at turn four. A spin by Brad Smith brought out the third caution on lap 32. The race would get back underway on lap 39 with Mayer getting a great jump to get in front of Gibbs. Nick Sanchez spun and clipped Parker Retzlaff’s car at turn three to bring out the fourth caution of the night on lap 43.
Quick maneuvering by @michaelself 🤯#ARCAMenards | @BMSupdates pic.twitter.com/sZoZfxBPuA — ARCA Menards Series (@ARCA_Racing) September 18, 2020
Sam Mayer would once again lead the field back to green on lap 49. The restart lasted just thirteen laps before another single-car spin by Jason Kitzmiller brought out the caution for the fifth time. The race would get back underway on lap 69 with Sam Mayer in the lead. Mayer and Gibbs battled for the lead that lasted one lap, including hitting one another at the start/finish line with Gibbs just edging Mayer for the lead. Mayer would eventually back off and settle for second as Ty Gibbs took sole possession of the lead. Mayer had led 43 more laps before losing the lead to Gibbs. Chandler Smith would blow a right-front tire and hit the outside wall hard at turn four to bring out the caution for the sixth time. ARCA officials had decided that this caution would be the first break. Teams had five minutes to change tires, add fuel, and make adjustments to their cars.
🚨 Tough night just got worse for Chandler Smith@CSmithDrive | @BMSupdates pic.twitter.com/GNk5NDqpOW — ARCA Menards Series (@ARCA_Racing) September 18, 2020
Once the break was over, the race was back underway on lap 78 with Ty Gibbs getting a great jump to keep the lead. Eleven laps into the restart, Gibbs got loose and slightly turned sideways before regaining control of his car. He dealt with this for the next several laps before Mayer would catch him, and the two battled side-by-side once again for the lead dealing with lapped traffic. Smoke was coming out of Owen Smith’s car that left fluid on the track and caused Nick Sanchez and Justin S. Carroll to spin as the seventh caution was out on lap 105. During the caution, both Sam Mayer and Ty Gibbs pitted, leaving Michael Self the new race leader.
The very definition of close quarters racing@sam_mayer_ | @TyGibbs_ pic.twitter.com/gjdXdBMdlP — ARCA Menards Series (@ARCA_Racing) September 18, 2020
Once the track crews cleaned up the fluid, it was time to resume the race on lap 120. Four laps later, Max McLaughlin challenged and succeeded in taking the lead away from Michael Self. Self would hit the wall at turn four, losing eleven positions in the process before settling for twelfth place. Drew Dollar would repay the favor to Parker Retzlaff from Toledo last week and spin him out to bring the caution for the eighth time. This was not smart on Dollar’s part as he damaged his car.
Remember Toledo?@drewdollar00 does What comes around, goes around 🤷♂️#ARCAMenards | @FS1 pic.twitter.com/GHV5ag3LX9 — ARCA Menards Series (@ARCA_Racing) September 18, 2020
McLaughlin would lead the field back to green with only sixty laps to go. A lap later, Sam Mayer passed McLaughlin for the lead. He led eleven laps before the caution would come out again for the second break on lap 151.
Final break Last chance to make big changes. Or fix some holes. 1⃣ @sam_mayer_ 2⃣ @MaxMcLaughlin_ 3⃣ @TyGibbs_ 4⃣ @masondiazracing 5⃣ @TaylorGray17_#arcamenards | @BMSupdates pic.twitter.com/56U6ckYv1h — ARCA Menards Series (@ARCA_Racing) September 18, 2020
The only car that stayed out during the break was Bret Holmes. He led the field back to green on lap 153 with his lead only lasting three laps before Mayer got it back. Gus Dean’s lone spin at turn four brought out the tenth caution. Mayer, for the final time, would lead the field back to green with 37 laps to go. He would lead the last 45 laps to win the race for the fifth time this year, fourth in the East Series by 2.572 seconds over Ty Gibbs, and complete the sweep at Bristol in dominant fashion leading a total of 116 laps.
Bristol 🧹🧹@sam_mayer_ backs up his @NASCAR_Trucks win with an #ARCAMenards 🏁 pic.twitter.com/OwvBcOfX7u — ARCA Menards Series (@ARCA_Racing) September 18, 2020
The rest of the top ten finishers were Max McLaughlin third, Mason Diaz fourth, Michael Self fifth, Hailie Deegan sixth, Taylor Gray seventh, Bret Holmes eighth, Derek Griffith ninth, and Justin S. Carroll tenth. There were ten cautions for 71 laps and nine lead changes.
With a fifth-place finish in the race, Michael Self has regained the points lead over Bret Holmes by only one-point. Hailie Deegan is third trailing by 49 points, and Drew Dollar is fifth trailing by 74 points, with only four races left in the season. The ARCA Menards Series will now head to Winchester Speedway in Winchester, IN, Saturday night for the Toyota 200 Presented by Crosley Brands at 3 pm on MAVTV and NBC Sports Gold Track Pass. For the ARCA Menards Series East, they only have one race left for the season, and that will be on October 10th at Five Flags Speedway for the Pensacola 200 Pres. by Inspectra Thermal Solutions.
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