Several Teams Test at Five Flags in Preparation for March 9 ARCA Pensacola 200

Several teams spent Tuesday testing for next Saturday night’s ARCA Pensacola 200 presented by Inspectra Thermal Solutions at Five Flags Speedway, including Venturini Motorsports and Chad Bryant Racing.

Venturini’s three drivers – former Snowball Derby winner Christian Eckes, 2018 ARCA Daytona winner Michael Self, and two-time short track winner Chandler Smith – were all working to find speed at a track that hasn’t hosted an ARCA Menards Series race since 1996.

“Overall I was happy with the progress we made throughout the day,” Self said. “We started off with some new car woes, but seemed to get those figured out and had a really productive afternoon. Never having been to Five Flags before, I got a lot of laps which really helped me figure the track out and get comfortable, then we were able to try a lot of different things with the setup of our car and feel like we ultimately ended up in a decent spot with a fair idea of which direction we need to go on setup when we come back. It was another great opportunity for me to build chemistry with the new team, and kind of figure out how Shannon (Rursch) does things outside of a Superspeedway environment, which was really helpful.”

One driver looking for track time will be making his first ARCA Menards Series start next weekend. Ty Gibbs, grandson of legendary NFL coach and NASCAR team owner Joe Gibbs, was making laps in his Joe Gibbs Racing-prepared Toyota looking for experience around the quick, sweeping half-mile.

“The Monster Energy/ORCA Coolers Toyota is really good and we are getting it even better,” Gibbs said. “We are really good on race runs. I really like this track so far. It’s been a lot of fun to drive.”

Former NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Pro Stock champion Tanner Gray was also on hand testing for his ARCA Menards Series debut. He was piloting the No. 54 DGR-Crosley Toyota that he will race next week in the ARCA Pensacola 200.

“Overall the test at Five Flags Speedway went really well,” Gray said. “It took a little bit for me to learn my way around the track, but eventually I was able to figure it out. Towards the end of the day, I felt a lot more comfortable making laps. My Camry was really fast, and I think we will have good long run speed for the race. David [Gilliland, DGR-Crosley co-owner] went down to Pensacola with us and I really leaned on him a lot during the test. I’m excited to get back down there and see how we stack up for the race.”

Chad Bryant Racing had two cars at the test, one for championship contender Joe Graf, Jr. and the other for Sioux Chief Short Track Challenge contender and series rookie Corey Heim.

“We were fast right off the truck,” Heim said. “We made a ton of changes today but at the end of the day we were back to the setup we started the day with.”

Graf, Jr. was a man of few words describing his car.

“My car was good all day,” Graf said. “Chad always brings fast cars.”

The ARCA Menards Series takes to the half-mile Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Florida on Saturday, March 9. Practice starts at 1 pm ET/12 pm CT; General Tire Pole Qualifying is set for 4:30 pm ET/3:30 pm CT; and the ARCA Pensacola 200 is set to go green at 8 pm ET/7 pm CT and will be televised live on MAVTV. ARCARacing.com will have live timing & scoring, live chat, and live track updates throughout all on track sessions free for ARCA for Me members. New members may register for free at ARCARacing.com/login.