Thursday’s ARCA Menards Series race at Charlotte definitely did not have had the outcome Michael Self (No. 25 Sinclair Lubricants Toyota) thought it would after he dominated most of the night. Self was at the head of the field for the first 91 laps at Charlotte but experienced several issues late and came home in fifth. If it is any consolation to the Venturini Motorsports driver, Self took home more of ARCA’s special awards than any other driver for his valiant performance and extended his overall series championship lead.
Self started the night from the pole position, joining Venturini teammate Chandler Smith (No. 20 Craftsman Toyota) as the only AMS drivers to have won multiple General Tire Pole awards in 2019. Fellow Venturini stablemates Christian Eckes (No. 15 JBL Audio Toyota) and Brandon Lynn (No. 20 Carolina Excavation Toyota) have one General Tire Pole each, as does young KBR Development driver Carson Hocevar (No. 28 Scott’s Chevrolet).
Self led the opening 91 laps of the General Tire 150 before hitting the wall and losing the lead on a restart late in the race. Self was the Richmond Water Heaters Halfway Leader for the third time this year, maintaining his status as the only driver to win the award multiple times this season. Self was the Valvoline Lap Leader award winner for leading the majority of the 109 laps completed at Charlotte. Chandler Smith remains in first in the Valvoline Lap Leader standings with 257 laps led. Self now has 243 laps led on the season, while Christian Eckes rounds out the top three with 129 laps led.
Self slid back to finish fifth in the final running order, but his performance was still strong enough to earn crew chief Shannon Rursch the Cometic Crew Chief of the Race award. Billy Venturini, who was on top of the pit box for Harrison Burton (No. 20 Fields/Sport Force Parks Toyota) at Charlotte, continues to hold a healthy lead in the Cometic Crew Chief of the Year standings.
Burton finished fourth in his first ARCA Menards Series start at Charlotte and was named the Bounty Rookie of the Race for his effort. Burton had never raced on the full mile-and-a-half oval until he competed in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series event the Friday before the AMS race. Tommy Vigh Jr. (No. 10 Extreme Kleaner Ford) still holds the lead in the Bounty Rookie Challenge rookie of the year standings with 184 points. Christian Eckes, who missed the Salem race due to illness, is a close second with 176 points. Carson Hocevar is a distant third with 108 points.
Burton’s finish helped his No. 20 car owner, Billy Venturini, maintain his position as the General Tire Superspeedway Challenge point leader after Charlotte. Venturini has 1320 points. Chad Bryant’s No. 22 Ford moves into second place with 1240 points after Ty Majeski (No. 22 Crestliner Boats Ford) pulled off the win at Charlotte. Don Fike’s No. 27 RFMS Racing Ford with driver Travis Braden is in third with 1140 points.
Majeski’s win propelled Bryant to a further lead in the R.E. Lightning Challenge standings, with the No. 22 Ford pacing the field with 1385 points. Don Fike’s No. 27 Ford is in second with 1275 points and Stacy Holmes’ No. 23 Chevrolet is a very close third with 1270 points.
Bret Holmes (No. 23 Holmes II Excavation Chevrolet) briefly assumed the lead after a late restart at Charlotte but fell to finish eighth after getting shuffled back following a pair of cautions. Holmes completed all 109 laps, though, and padded his lead in the S&S Volvo Laps Completed standings. Tommy Vigh Jr. remains in second with 858 laps completed while Travis Braden (No. 27 MatrixCare/Consonus Healthcare Ford) holds down third with 840 laps completed. Interestingly, Braden and Holmes are currently tied for second in the overall series championship points standings, trailing only Michael Self.
Ty Majeski delivered Ford their first AMS victory of the year, breaking the blue ovals’ tie for second with Chevrolet in the manufacturer’s championship. Toyota still leads on the strength of their six wins on the season.
The ARCA Menards Series will cross the halfway point in the General Tire Superspeedway Challenge this week with the first of two races at Pocono Raceway. Live television coverage will be provided by FS2 at 5:30 PM Eastern on Friday, May 31. Live timing and scoring will be available on ARCARacing.com free for all registered members. Â
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