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Chandler Smith Headlines Elko Special Awards

www.arcaracing.com July 17, 2019

Chandler Smith (No. 20 Craftsman Toyota) pulled off his third consecutive short track victory Saturday night at Elko Speedway, winning the Menards 250 Presented by MatrixCare. Smith rallied from a midrace spin to win his fifth career ARCA Menards Series race. Smith also picked up several of ARCA’s special awards on the strength of yet another strong performance by the 17-year old Talking Rock, GA native.

Christian Eckes (No. 15 JBL Audio Toyota) earned the nod as the top starter by picking up his second General Tire Pole Award of the season in qualifying. Eckes is just the third driver this year to have won multiple General Tire Pole Awards. His Venturini Motorsports teammates Michael Self (No. 25 Sinclair Lubricants Toyota) and Chandler Smith lead the series with five and three pole awards respectively. Smith only qualified seventh, tying his worst starting position of the season.

Eckes got the jump on the initial start of the race and paced the field for the first 69 laps before giving way to Ty Gibbs (No. 18 Monster Energy Toyota) at the head of the pack. Chandler Smith passed Gibbs for the lead on lap 92, the first of two times that Smith would take the lead. Smith made his winning pass for the lead on lap 209. Smith led 95 total laps, the most of any driver, and won the Valvoline Lap Leader award. Smith leads the series with 518 laps led this season. Michael Self is second with 433 laps led while Eckes is third with 226 laps led. Ty Majeski (No. 22 Crestliner Boats Ford) is the only other driver to have led over 100 laps in 2019 with 112 laps led. Majeski last raced at Chicagoland and is not expected to return to the series until the season finale at Kansas Speedway in October.

Smith led at the halfway point, which actually occurred during the pit cycle for the first caution of the race. It was the third time this season that Smith was the Richmond Water Heaters Halfway Leader. Only Michael Self (four times) has led at halfway more often this season than Smith. Self and Smith are the only drivers to have led at halfway multiple times this year.

Smith was able to pull away from the field during the final 35-lap green flag run to the checkers. The win extended Smith’s lead in the Sioux Chief Short Track Challenge standings, where he leads Ty Gibbs by a margin of 1340-1270 points. Michael Self is third with 1240 points while Bret Holmes (No. 23 Holmes II Excavation Chevrolet) and Carson Hocevar (No. 28 GMPartsNow.com Chevrolet) are tied for fourth with 1170 points. There are five short track races left on the 2019 schedule before the Sioux Chief Short Track Challenge champion is crowned at Lucas Oil Raceway in October.

Smith was also named the Bounty Rookie of the Race for his victory. Christian Eckes continues to lead the Bounty Rookie Challenge standings despite an 11th-place finish at Elko. Eckes was spun on the final lap while running fourth after contact with teammate Michael Self. Eckes has 350 points, 26 more than current runner-up Tommy Vigh Jr.’s (No. 10 Extreme Kleaner Ford) 324 points. Tim Richmond (No. 06 Great Railing Ford) is a distant third with 236 points.

Though Chandler Smith won at Elko, Ty Gibbs’ second place effort in both qualifying and the race earned crew chief Mark McFarland the Cometic Crew Chief of the Race award. Billy Venturini, crew chief for Smith and the other drivers of the No. 20 Venturini Motorsports Toyota, currently leads the Cometic Crew Chief of the Year standings with 94 points. He has a solid lead over second-place Paul Andrews, crew chief of the No. 22 Chad Bryant Racing Ford, who has 122 points. McFarland is third with 136 points.

A potential shakeup in the S&S Volvo Laps Completed standings nearly arose at Elko when the top two drivers in the standings, Bret Holmes and Travis Braden (No. 27 MatrixCare Ford), were involved in an incident inside of 50 laps to go. Braden was spun after he and Holmes made contact in turn two, leaving both drivers with significant damage. Both drivers made multiple pit stops in order to have repairs made to their cars. Holmes emerged on the lead lap in ninth place while Braden finished in 12th as the first car one lap down. Holmes still leads the yearly Laps Completed standings with 1766 laps. Braden fell slightly further behind, with 1684 laps completed to his credit after Elko. Joe Graf Jr. (No. 77 Eat Sleep Race Ford) holds down third in the standings with 1629 laps completed.

The next ARCA Menards Series race will be on July 19 at Iowa Speedway. The fast 7/8th-mile oval will play host to the seventh round of the Sioux Chief Short Track Challenge. MAVTV will carry live television coverage beginning at 8:00 PM Central time on Friday. Live timing & scoring and the live chat will be featured on ARCAracing.com free for all registered members. The Fans With Benefits 150 is scheduled to go green at 8:15 PM Central.