For the first time since February 10th, The ARCA Menards Series East returned to action at Toledo Speedway in the Herr’s Potato Chips 200. Sam Mayer was the pole sitter with Chase Cabre starting in the second position. ARCA officials implemented two competition caution flags for laps 75 and 150.
We're GREEN at @ToledoSpeedway Round 2 of #ARCAMenards East is underway. 👀 @_Trackpass → https://t.co/3XUoYjT58L 🔢 RACE CENTER → https://t.co/NZWc85GVO1#Herrs200 | @MenardsRacing | @HerrsSnacks pic.twitter.com/2gBBnSQBMX — ARCA Menards Series (@ARCA_Racing) June 13, 2020
Mayer and Cabre led the field to the green to start the race. It took a while for Ty Gibbs to get by Cabre in between turns one and two for the second position on the fifth lap. He set his sights on Mayer for the lead. Gibbs was patient on this run to carefully pick the right time to pass Mayer to get the lead. Gibbs patients paid off, and on lap ten, he completed the pass for the lead in turns one and two.
Mayer would not only lose the lead to Gibbs but also second place to Giovanni Bromante, and both drivers pulled away from Mayer. Chase Cabre’s car had smoke coming out of the back but kept going. The smoke would disappear the longer the race stayed green. The race was running smoothly until problems for the number 25 car of Mason Diaz, who stopped short of making it to pit road to bring out the first caution of the race on lap 30.
Early trouble for Mason Diaz. Fastest in practice. But he's stalled on the frontstretch.@_TrackPass → https://t.co/gljOIQHJvM#Herrs200 | @MenardsRacing | @HerrsSnacks pic.twitter.com/Sc8ovowpYt — ARCA Menards Series (@ARCA_Racing) June 13, 2020
The caution couldn’t have come at a better time for Sam Mayer, who was way behind both Gibbs and Bromante. On the restart, Mayer got by Bromante for the second position and set his sights on Gibbs. Gibbs pulled away from Mayer until lapped cars were becoming a factor in this battle. Mayer used one of the lapped down cars to get by Gibbs for the lead on lap 74. Shortly after getting the lead, the first competition caution came out.
😬 "Sam Mayer shoving into the top spot!" Mayer graps p1 from Ty Gibbs just before first break at @ToledoSpeedway @_TrackPass → https://t.co/gljOIQHJvM#Herrs200 | @MenardsRacing | @HerrsSnacks pic.twitter.com/CgYLzi9yR0 — ARCA Menards Series (@ARCA_Racing) June 13, 2020
What is different from this series compared to other NASCAR series is that on the break, positions freeze, and Sam Mayer and Ty Gibbs were going to lead the field back to green on the restart. Both drivers led the field back to green on lap 82. Within two laps, Ty Gibbs got by Mayer for the lead just as the caution came out for Max McLaughlin, who got turned sideways.
On the restart, Gibbs and Mayer were battling it out for the lead. Gibbs used the high side to his advantage to maintain the lead. Brett Holmes was moving up the field getting by Cabre for the fourth position and on lap 113 got by Bromante for the third position.
Don't look now but Bret Holmes is marching to the front. He takes p3⃣@_TrackPass → https://t.co/gljOIQHJvM#Herrs200 | @MenardsRacing | @HerrsSnacks pic.twitter.com/GS5oSWu6JO — ARCA Menards Series (@ARCA_Racing) June 13, 2020
Ty Gibbs was pulling away from Mayer, and that point the race could be described as clean. Chase Cabre continued to lose positions and fell to the sixth position. Sam Mayer would then catch up to Gibbs and almost got the lead, but Gibbs used a lapped car to his advantage to remain in the lead. Once cleared from the lapped cars, Mayer was right on Gibbs’s bumper again. Mayer and Gibbs continued to battle side-by-side until the second competition caution was waved on lap 152.
😱 Wheh. How about that racing for the lead! Break at 152 of 200: 1⃣ Sam Mayer 2⃣ Ty Gibbs 3⃣ Bret Holmes 4⃣ Giovanni Bromante 5⃣ Nick Sanchez 🔢 RACE CENTER → https://t.co/RqksMomou7#Herrs200 | @MenardsRacing | @HerrsSnacks pic.twitter.com/MhHBC9C6Y8 — ARCA Menards Series (@ARCA_Racing) June 13, 2020
When the race restarted on lap 156, Mayer and Gibbs resumed their epic battle for the lead. Neither driver was giving an inch. Gibbs would eventually get the lead from Mayer. Chase Cabre brought out the fifth caution of the race after he spun at turn four with help from Justin S. Carroll.
Once again, Gibbs held off Mayer on the restart with 30 laps to go. Drivers were not holding anything back as the laps were winding down. With 25 laps to go, the sixth caution flag would come out after Giovanni Bromante was bumped out of the way by the number 20 car of Ryan Repko and Bromante’s car turned and hit the front stretch wall.
🚨 Tough break for Giovanni Bromante.@_TrackPass → https://t.co/gljOIQHJvM#Herrs200| @MenardsRacing | @HerrsSnacks pic.twitter.com/wrrRhCViSo — ARCA Menards Series (@ARCA_Racing) June 13, 2020
With less than twenty to go, Gibbs kept Mayer in line on the restart. Gibbs was pulling away. There was another great battle for the fourth position between Ryan Repko and Parker Retzlaff. Repko would get loose and bushed the outside wall, eventually hitting the safer barrier into turn one to bring out the seventh caution of the race. The race would go under a red flag to repair the safer barrier. The red flag lasted seven minutes.
Toledo has the store brand SAFER barrier pic.twitter.com/Ith5e1GC3W — Apex Off (@ApexOff) June 13, 2020
The race restarted with ten to go, and Gibbs quickly got ahead of Mayer and Holmes to remain in the lead. Ty Gibbs was cruising to victory until the eighth caution came out. With only three laps to go, Tayler Gray, Parker Retzlaff, and Nick Sanchez tried to go three-wide heading into turns one and two when Sanchez went low, and then Retzlaff hit Gray. The race was now heading to overtime.
🚨 "There is not room for three cars down in Turn 2." Overtime coming up …#Herrs200| @MenardsRacing | @HerrsSnacks pic.twitter.com/DDf2bp9ydU — ARCA Menards Series (@ARCA_Racing) June 13, 2020
In overtime, Sam Mayer had one more chance to get by Ty Gibbs. However, Gibbs car was strong all race long, and he would win the Herr’s Potato Chips 200 with Sam Mayer finishing second.
CHECKERED FLAG 🏁@TyGibbs_ wins the #Herrs200 at @ToledoSpeedway @HerrsSnacks | @MenardsRacing pic.twitter.com/49YMFEX0Ne — ARCA Menards Series (@ARCA_Racing) June 13, 2020
The rest of the top ten finishers were Bret Holmes third, Chase Cabre fourth, Nick Sanchez fifth, Justin S. Carroll sixth, Parker Retzlaff seventh, Taylor Gray eighth, Ryan Repko ninth, and Bob Pawlowski tenth. There was a total of eight cautions for 39 laps and nine lead changes by two drivers. The next race for the ARCA Menards Series East will be on July 25th from Berlin Raceway.
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