BROOKLYN, MI - August 9: Jason Kitzmiller, driver of the #97 A.L.L. Construction, Inc. Chevrolet, races in the VizCom 200 for the ARCA Menards Series on August 9, 2020 at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan. (Allison Farrand/ARCA Racing)
Jason Kitzmiller, driver of the #97 A.L.L. Construction, Inc. Chevrolet, matched a career best with an eighth-place finish in the VizCom 200 for the ARCA Menards Series on August 9, 2020 at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan. (Allison Farrand/ARCA Racing)

Notebook: Jason Kitzmiller Drops In For Dover Debut

www.arcaracing.com August 20, 2020

Jason Kitzmiller’s inaugural campaign in the ARCA Menards Series has been about making improvements.

The 47-year-old from Petersburg, West Virginia, debut in the No. 97 A.L.L. Construction Inc. for car owner Codie Rohrbaugh at Daytona International Speedway was cut short with engine woes. But his progress since has included eighth-place runs at Talladega SuperSpeedway and his last race out, at Michigan International Raceway.

Looking for additional track time will bring Kitzmiller to Dover International Speedway for the General Tire 125 on Friday (2 p.m., TrackPass on NBC Gold/MRN). It will be his first race in the ARCA Menards Series East.

“Dover is one of those races that drivers really seem to love,” said Kitzmiller. “I’m doing everything I can to prepare myself for Friday. Whether it’s getting on the phone and talking to Codie, Doug or others or just trying to take some time when I’m not busy and looking at older races.

“Hopefully, we can get the car comfortable during practice and then make adjustments during the race that can set us up for a good finish.”

RELATED: PIT BOX: Sam Mayer Leads East Back To Dover

The teams will get a one-hour on track time from 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., which will determine the General Tire Pole Award.

“I know the ARCA Menards Series East season is as competitive as the ARCA Menards Series,” said Kitzmiller. “It’s flooded with a lot of talented short track racers. I will race them hard but be respectful.

“I’m not out here to ruin any of their championship hopes, but I still have a job to do for my team, my partners and myself. I have a feeling Dover is going to be one of those races where the competition will be fierce and aggressive. 125 laps will go by in a hurry, but we’ll be ready for whatever is thrown our way.”

Kitzmiller isn’t the only ARCA Menards driver crossing over to the East. Ed Pompa, who has 68 career starts, and Tommy Vigh Jr., will also be making their East debuts. In addition, NASCAR Cup Series driver David Gilliland will be running a second DGR-Crosley car at the “Monster Mile.” Gilliland has one previous start – finishing third last season at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway.

Title Picture

Defending East champion Sam Mayer enters the General Tire 125 with a one-point lead over Ty Gibbs after two events.

Mayer collected 47 points with his win at New Smyrna, while Gibbs picked up 42 with his third-place run. In the second race, at Toledo, Gibbs earned 48 points after leading the most laps is win, while Mayer received 44 for finishing second.

After Dover, the series will head to New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sept. 12 for the third Full Throttle Fall Weekend on Sept. 12. Gibbs is the defending race winner. With the early season postponements, the East will race at Bristol on Sept. 17, where the Bush’s Beans 200 will count points toward the ARCA Menards Series, the ARCA Menards Series East and the Sioux Chief Showdown.

The season is further along on the ARCA Menards Series West, which has run six races, but is just as close.

Jesse Love heads to Colorado Saturday for the ENEOS 150 presented by NAPA Auto Parts with a one-point lead over Blaine Perkins. Love has a pair of wins, while Perkins has three, including a sweep last weekend at Washington’s Evergreen Speedway and Oregon’s Douglas County Speedway. Perkins also had three General Tire Pole Awards to Love’s one.

New this year, drivers earn an additional bonus point in the East and West, drivers recieve a bonus point for a pole earned during a qualifying session.

Ready To Move Up

Sitting behind Mayer and Gibbs in the East standings is 19-year-old Nick Sanchez, who also has a pair of top fives in the first two races. He heads to Dover, where his team — Rev Racing — has won three times since 2011. Sanchez is only 12 points behind Mayer and four ahead of this teammate, Chase Cabre.

He’s looking forward to tackling the “Monster Mile” for the first time.

“I’ve heard stories from people running there — it’s very, very quick,” said Sanchez in a video conference call with the media this week. “The load on the car and driver is very heavy, and I think that fits my driving style. Coming from road racing, where you pull a lot of Gs here and there, I’m excited to go to a track where you can actually jump five stories down into Turn 1, carrying a lot of speed.”

Max McLaughlin’s sophomore season has started as planned. After qualifying second at New Smyrna, he finished 10th. And suspension issues relegated him to 12th at Toledo. The 20-year-old from Mooresville, North Carolina, does have three top 10s in three ARCA Menards Series starts, including a seventh at the DAYTONA Road Course last weekend.

“We’re trying to figure out stuff to make our program better,” said McLaughlin. “The only way to do that is to race more. Every week we get a little bit better.”

McLaughlin won at Watkins Glen International last year, but was waylaid at Daytona by strategy – opting not to put a rain setup in hoping it would dry out put him behind early, and then he was caught up in a spin with Chandler on the last restart that put him in the grass for over 30 seconds.

“The last seven laps we were the fastest car on the track by a huge margin,” said McLaughlin, who missed out on sixth to Hailie Deegan by inches at the finish line. “A lot of woulda, coulda, shouldas I guess.”

Like McLaughlin, Holley Hollan is coming from a dirt racing background. The 18-year-old from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, had four top 10s in six her first six career ARCA Menards Series West starts for BMR heading into Colorado. Last year, she was a rookie in the USAC series as she transitioned from dirt to asphalt.

It’s been a quick accession for Hollan.

“It’s nice, moving quickly and having the opportunities that I have,” said Hollan, a Toyota Racing Development driver. “But I’m kinda ready to slow down and get competitive in the series than I’m in, and win some races.

“Any pavement experience right now is really important for me in my development. This year, with everything going on, I’ll probably end up with 20 races. Which is a lot, I guess, in the pavement world, but not what I’m used to. So staying in the seat and getting as much seat time as I can, and getting everything we can out of this year.”

Additional Notes

  • With the schedule changes, this is the first season since 2013 that the East champion will not be crowned at Dover. That year, Dover was the second to last race of the season, and Dylan Kwasniewski claimed the title in the final race at Road Atlanta the following month. The year before, the season ended at Rockingham Speedway in North Carolina, with Tyler Reddick winning the race and Kyle Larson taking home the title.
  • Dover has hosted 29 East races, dating back to the inaugural Busch North race at the track in 1987 that was a combination race with the then-Busch Series. Mark Martin won the event. The last combination race was in 1992, and the series didn’t return until is was a stand-alone race in 1998, won by Jimmy Spencer. Dover has hosted an East race every season since 2004, with race winners including now Cup crew chief Tim Andrews (2006), 2018 NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series champion Brett Moffitt (2009-10), current NASCAR Cup Series drivers Aric Almirola (2008), Bubba Wallace (2011) and Corey LaJoie (2012). NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series points leader Austin Hill is the last driver to win back-to-back years, winning in 2013-14.
  • In 2017, David Gilliland’s son Todd came to Dover with an eight-point lead over Harrison Burton. He was knocked out of the race on Lap 56 in a crash, while Burton went on to win the race and the championship.
  • Colorado National has hosted 17 West races, dating back to Mike Chase’s win in 1995. NASCAR Hall of Famer Ron Hornaday Jr. won in 1996, and then won the final NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series race there in 1997. It’s hosted the West every season since 2008.
  • Chris Eggleston won three times at his home track (2014, 2016-17). Following his 2014 victory in a one-off start for Bill McAnally Racing, Eggleston won the 2015 West title for BMR — but finished third at Colorado behind race winner Ryan Partridge from Bob Bruncati-owned Sunrise Ford Racing. Derek Thorn won at Colorado for Bruncati in 2018 en route to his title, while eventual 2019 champion Derek Kraus led 43 laps before losing the lead on the white-flag lap to BMR teammate Hailie Deegan. Mike Duncan (2004), Eric Holmes (2008 and 2010), Thorn (2013) also won at Colorado during their championship runs.