It’s been nearly a month since the ARCA Menards Series last raced at Daytona. Friday night, they had their second race of the season at Phoenix Raceway. They were joined by the ARCA Menards Series West, who were starting their 2021 season.
Qualifying was canceled due to rain, and the field was set by practice speeds earlier in the day. Ty Gibbs ended up winning the pole with the best time of 26.978 seconds. Corey Heim of Venturini Motorsports qualified second with a time of 27.242 seconds. The race was delayed for thirty minutes.
On the first lap of the race, the first caution came out at turn one after Zane Smith moved down the track and hit Gracie Trotter. Jack Wood was behind them and had nowhere to go. Toni Breidinger also had nowhere to go and hit Trotter. The caution lasted 13 laps as crews were cleaning up the fluid on the track. All cars involved were done for the race, and no teams went to pit road during the caution.
Another look at the contact between @gracietrotter11 and @zanesmith77 pic.twitter.com/Z0EDuB5Wn4 — ARCA Menards Series (@ARCA_Racing) March 13, 2021
The race resumed on lap 14. For three-laps, Drew Dollar and Corey Heim took turns leading before Ty Gibbs got it back on lap 16. He led another 21 laps before the second caution came out for Bryce Haugeberg, who was moved out of the way by Drew Dollar. Dollar had minimal damage to the front of the car. Once again, teams stayed out during the caution. The race resumed on lap 42.
Gibbs got a great jump to get ahead of Corey Heim. This restart lasted fifteen laps before Bobby Hillis Jr’s solo spin would bring out the race’s third caution. Hillis’s car had left rear damage and would be the sixth car out of the race. The top two positions of Gibbs and Heim both pitted during the caution, handing the lead to Drew Dollar. The race resumed on lap 65. Taylor Gray got the lead from Dollar on the restart. Drivers were scrambling to get to the front. Both Gibbs and Heim, who were on newer tires, quickly made their way back up the field. On lap 76, the competition caution came out.
Some teams did head to pit road during the caution. Taylor Gray was held two laps when his crew committed a penalty for changing tires and fuel at the same time. By the time he got back on the track, he was three laps down. The race resumed on lap 86 with Ty Gibbs in the lead, followed by Nick Sanchez.
Here's the stop pic.twitter.com/XE8OzeIW5S — ARCA Menards Series (@ARCA_Racing) March 13, 2021
This restart only lasted five laps before the caution came out for the fifth time. This caution was for Takuma Koga. He had help and was sent into the wall with extensive damage to the back of the car ending his day. The replay did not show who hit him from behind. Some teams pitted under caution. The race resumed with 51 laps to go.
Gibbs continued to cause problems for the rest of the field as no one could catch him. Nick Sanchez got loose and was able to save his car from spinning. With 35 laps to go, Gibbs had a three-second lead over Corey Heim. On lap 122, Taylor Gray sent Nick Sanchez to the wall to bring out the race’s sixth caution. Sanchez got out of the car and was waiting to greet Gray.
Red flag is out with 25 laps to go for track cleanup Another look at the incident involving @Nicksanchez080 pic.twitter.com/zbisQiVaCt — ARCA Menards Series (@ARCA_Racing) March 13, 2021
Both Ty Gibbs and Corey Heim would pit under caution, handing the lead to Thad Moffitt. Both Gibbs and Heim would be behind Moffitt and Todd Souza when the race restarted on lap 132. With 17 laps to go, drivers became more aggressive to get to the front and get the lead away from Gibbs, who quickly took the lead from Moffitt’s shortly after the restart.
Joey Iest would spin out to bring out the race’s seventh caution nine laps in on lap 143. The race was going to a green/white restart. The race restarted with one lap to go, and Gibbs kept the lead and pulled away. He would win his first race of the season by .268 seconds over Corey Heim. It was Gibbs’s ninth career win in the ARCA Menards Series.
Strong and smooth.@TyGibbs_ beats @CoreyHeim3 to the 🏁 for the WIN in the @GeneralTire 150 at @phoenixraceway! pic.twitter.com/fScjew6sJX — ARCA Menards Series (@ARCA_Racing) March 13, 2021
The rest of the top ten finishers were Thad Moffitt third, Kyle Sieg fourth, Derek Kraus fifth, Jesse Love, who was the highest finisher in the West Series in sixth place. Drew Dollar finished in seventh, Todd Souza eighth, Taylor Gray ninth, and Trevor Huddleston finished tenth. There were eight lead changes, with Ty Gibbs leading the most laps at 124 and seven cautions for 64 laps.
The ARCA Menards Series will return on April 24th at Talladega Superspeedway, while the West Series won’t resume their season until June 5th at Sonoma Raceway.
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