PIT BOX: Ty Gibbs Leads Return To Kentucky

Ty Gibbs’ chance of battling Chandler Smith for the win at Lucas Oil Raceway disappeared on Lap 90 when he pulled down pit road.

Engine issues ended the night prematurely for the 17-year-old North Carolina driver.

He’ll get his shot at redemption when the series makes its return to Kentucky Speedway Saturday.

The 1.5-mile oval in the ‘Bluegrass State’ will host its 25th series’ race since 2000, and Gibbs and Co. will via to join 2019 NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch, 10-time ARCA champion Frank Kimmel, Rickey Stenhouse Jr. and Corey LaJoie in making the trip to Victory Lane there.

Saturday afternoon’s General Tire 150 is full of a full slate of racing action at the track that includes two NASCAR Xfinity Series races, the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series following the ARCA race, and the NASCAR Cup Series on Sunday. The General Tire 150 will be live on FS1 and MRN.

GENERAL TIRE 150

WHAT TO WATCH FOR:

The only driver on a bigger winning run than Gibbs is Chandler Smith.

But Smith, who won his ninth career ARCA Menards Series start, will be focused Saturday on the No. 51 for Kyle Busch Motorsports in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series. He will cede the seat in the No. 20 Craftsman Toyota for Venturini Motorsports to Ryan Repko for the Kentucky race. Repko, 20, from Denver, North Carolina, finished second at Talladega Superspeedway in his most recent race and is the only Venturini driver yet to visit Victory Lane this season.

Smith has a pair of wins and his Venturini teammates Michael Self and Drew Dollar each have a win apiece and sit first and third, respectively, in the championship standings.

The only non-Venturini winner? Gibbs at Pocono.

Gibbs also has an ARCA Menards Series East win at Ohio’s Toledo Speedway this season, and a third-place run at Phoenix Raceway and Florida’s New Smyrna Speedway.

Going back to Sept. 14 at Indiana’s Salem Speedway, Gibbs has five wins and two thirds in nine starts across the ARCA Menards, East and West series. His only two outliers are a pair of 15th-place finishes at Lucas Oil — last week because of mechanical issues and last fall when he was taken out while leading the race.

Self, who has led the standings since a season-opening win at Daytona International Speedway, overcame a flat tire late in the race last weekend to claim his fifth straight top 10 run. He holds a 12-point lead over Hailie Deegan and is 19 points ahead of Drew Dollar.

Most of the drivers have never run at Kentucky, and they’ll have to get up-to-speed quickly as the condensed schedules with the return to racing has limited practice times.

“I’ve been on the simulator practicing as much as I can without actually being on the track,” Deegan said. “I’m still getting used to not having as many laps, which is what I need, I’m just trying to get practice anywhere I can.”

The ARCA Menards Series last raced at Kentucky in 2017, when eventual series champion Austin Theriault took the victory over Zane Smith and Sheldon Creed. Riley Herbst was seventh in the No. 18 for Joe Gibbs Racing, and Ty Gibbs will be in that seat; Gibbs won at Pocono.

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

RACE FACTS

RACE CENTER | ENTRY LIST | RACE EVENT GUIDE

CREW CHIEF HANDOUT: The starting field for the General Tire 150 is limited to 36, including provisional positions. The field will be set by 2020 Owners Points (1-30) for the General Tire 150. 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.

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.

The General Tire 150 will be 100 laps (150 miles) and is to be run in three (3) segments. The race will have  the first break, at or near the conclusion of Lap 30. The race will have  the second break, at or near the conclusion of Lap 60. At the conclusion of the break(s), vehicles will line up in the order they were running at the beginning of the break.

General Tire Superspeedway Challenge: The General Tire 150 will be Race 4 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 maximum tire allotment available for this event is as follows: Per ARCA Rulebook, maximum number of tires allowed in pit box for use in race is eight (8).