Sam Mayer (No. 21 Chevy Accessories Chevrolet) had the best run of his short ARCA Menards Series career at Salem, finishing second to become the Bounty Rookie of the Race at the Kentuckiana Ford Dealers 200. This is the first time that Mayer has picked up the honors, joining Harrison Burton (No.20 DEX Imaging Toyota, Daytona) and Ty Gibbs (No. 18 Monster Energy Toyota, Pensacola) as the Bounty Rookie of the Race winners so far in 2019.
Carson Hocevar (No. 28 Scott’s/KBR Development Chevrolet) won the General Tire Pole Award and was the top running rookie for much of the early part of the race, leading 26 laps in the process. Hocevar eventually surrendered the lead to Michael Self (No. 25 Sinclair Oil Toyota) and began to slide back through the running order slowly, dropping to fifth. Meanwhile, Mayer had broken into the top five and was engaged in a spirited battle for third with fellow Bounty Rookie contender Ty Gibbs. Mayer got alongside Gibbs going into turn 1 on lap 88 and inched ahead on the low side. Gibbs could not hold the spot and went for a solo spin with no contact, narrowly missing Mayer’s Chevrolet. A round of pit stops ensued under the caution and Mayer found himself in second when the race restarted.
Rain had been falling lightly for most of the race, but it picked up significantly under the yellow flag. The race was restarted and Mayer dropped from the outside of the front row due to the worsening conditions. When the caution came back out a lap and a half later, Mayer remained in second. The red flag flew at lap 101 and the rain continued to fall. After a short delay, the race was called official and Mayer had a new career-best finish in the ARCA Menards Series, as well as his first Bounty Rookie of the Race award.
With Christian Eckes (No. 15 JBL Audio Toyota) pulling out of the race at the last minute due to illness, Tommy Vigh Jr. (No. 10 Extreme Kleaner Ford) takes the lead in the Bounty Rookie Challenge with 80 points. Eckes drops to second with 60 points. Corey Heim (No. 22 Speedway Children’s Charities) remains in third with 56 points. Carson Hocevar is in fourth with 52 points and Tim Richmond (No. 06 Great Railing Dodge) rounds out the top five with 48 points.
It is important to note that only the best 15 finishes over the course of the 2019 season will count towards a driver’s Bounty Rookie Challenge points, so Eckes will still very much be in contention to pick up the season-long award come the end of 2019 despite having to miss Salem.
The drivers and teams of the ARCA Menards Series will head south to the high banks of Talladega Superspeedway for the next race on Friday, April 26th. It seems like just about anything can happen when the AMS cars race at the hallowed superspeedway. Last year, eventual Bounty Rookie of the Year Zane Smith won by the narrowest of margins – a statistical dead heat. The tie between Smith and fellow Bounty Rookie Joe Graf Jr. was finally broken after review of photo and video evidence.
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