PIT BOX: Superspeedway Racing On Deck At Talladega

The ARCA Menards Series East was first back, this past weekend at Toledo Speedway.

Now it’s the ARCA Menards Series turn, as the scene shifts from the high-banked half-mile to the 2.66-mile high speed Talladega SuperSpeedway

Saturday’s race will be the first for the series since March 6 at Phoenix Raceway, and and is one where championship scenarios can change with the blink of an eye. The General Tire 200 at Talladega will air live on FS1.

GENERAL TIRE 200 at TALLADEGA

WHAT TO WATCH FOR:

Michael Self just missed out on the championship in 2019, but has started 2020 showing he may be the driver to beat.

The 29-year-old from Park City, Utah, piloted the No. 25 Sinclair Lubricants Toyota to his second Daytona win in February, and followed it up with a hard-fought second-place finish at Phoenix. The latter was a race that nearly saw him sidelined with electrical issues, and at one point, got sent spinning. When all was said and done, though, he left Arizona with a 12-point lead over Hailie Deegan.

Three months later, he’s ready to get back on track.

“I look forward to going racing again on consecutive weekends again,” said Self, who has finishes of third and fifth the last two years at Talladega, “and I am going to channel that enthusiasm to go racing into some good finishes.”

Meanwhile, Deegan will be making her debut at the historic superspeedway. She had no problem getting acclimated to Daytona, where she finished finished second in her first race there and will be driving the No. 4 DGR-Crosley Ford that Todd Gilliland took to Victory Lane at Talladega last year.

Drew Dollar, Tanner Gray and Thad Moffitt are third through fifth in points. Moffitt finished 25th in the 2019 Talladega race, while both Dollar and Gray will be making their first runs there.

On the other end of the experience scale, Gus Dean has three top 10s in four starts at Talladega, including a win in 2016. The 25-year-old NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series announced last week that he added Saturday’s race to his schedule, where he will make his 53rd career ARCA Menards start.

Bret Holmes also has four starts at Talladega, with a best finish of ninth in 2016. He enters the weekend tied with Moffitt in the standings and coming off an impressive third-place run in the ARCA Menards Series East race at Toledo.

RACING REFERENCE: Previous ARCA Menards races at Talladega | ARCA Menards Drivers at Talladega | 2020 ARCA Menards Series Standings

RACE FACTS

RACE CENTER | ENTRY LIST | RACE EVENT GUIDE

CREW CHIEF HANDOUT: The starting field for the General Tire 200 at Talladega is limited to 36, including provisional positions. The field will be set by 2019 Owners Points (1-20), Random Draw (21-30)  for the General Tire 200 at Talladega. The remaining six spots will be awarded through the provisional process. This event will be run under the 2020 ARCA Menards Series rules, procedures, regulations and specifications.

QUALIFYING: No qualifying.

RACE PIT STOP: No adding or moving tires to or from pit box once race has started. A maximum four (4) crew members may service car. No tires and fuel may be added outside of the break.

General Tire Superspeedway Challenge: The General Tire 200 at Talladega will be Race 3 of the General Tire Superspeedway Challenge, which recognizes the car owner who accumulates the most points in designated events.

RELATED: General Tire Superspeedway Challenge Recap & Points Standings

The General Tire 200 at Talladega will be 76 laps (200 miles) and is to be run in two (2) segments. The race will have a halfway break, at or near the conclusion of Lap 38. At the conclusion of the break, lead lap vehicles that elected to pit will line up – in the order they were running at the beginning of the break — behind the lead lap vehicles that elected not to pit in order of running.

The maximum tire allotment available for this event is as follows: Four (4) tires for practice and to start the race, plus an additional eight (8) for a total of twelve (12) tires.