Gracie Trotter, driver of the #99 ENEOS Toyota, during the General Tire 150 for the ARCA Menards Series West at the Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, Nevada on September 26, 2020. (Miranda Alam/ARCA Racing)
Gracie Trotter, driver of the #99 ENEOS Toyota, dives to the lead in the General Tire 150 for the ARCA Menards Series West at the Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, Nevada on September 26, 2020. (Miranda Alam/ARCA Racing)

ARCA Menards Rewind: What We Learned at The Bullring and Memphis

www.arcaracing.com September 29, 2020

The question with Gracie Trotter winning a race was quickly becoming when, not if, and she answered that Saturday afternoon in Las Vegas.

The question with Sam Mayer wrapping up the Sioux Chief Showdown was if, not when, and he got the job done Saturday evening in Memphis.

And the ARCA Menards Series championship back-and-forth between Bret Holmes and Michael Self took another turn.

Here’s what we learned Saturday from the General Tire 150 for the ARCA Menards Series West at The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and the Sioux Chief PowerPEX 200 at Memphis International Raceway.

General Tire 150: Results | Race Recap | Photo Gallery

Sioux Chief PowerPEX 200: Results | Race Recap | Photo Gallery

Gracie Trotter Adds Name To Record Book

Trotter served notice that she was going to be in contention for a win with a strong third-place showing at California’s Irwindale Speedway on July 4. The graduated banking of the half-mile provides a stout test for stock car drivers, and the 19-year-old from Denver, North Carolina, easily passed it.

She followed it up with three more top-five runs, including a runner-up finish at Douglas County Speedway in Oregon. In between, she picked up her first Late Model win at North Carolina’s Hickory Motor Speedway driving for Rev Racing and the NASCAR Drive for Diversity driver development program.

This past weekend, she was back with Bill McAnally Racing for the West return to The Bullring, where she ran fourth in February.

“The car was good – it wasn’t loose or tight one bit,” said Trotter after becoming the first female to notch a win in ARCA Racing history. “It just flowed through the corner really good.”

“I’ve never had a perfect race car before, so today I can say I’ve had a perfect race car. I’m really happy with it.”

Trotter took the lead on a pass of teammate Jesse Love and Sunrise Ford’s Blaine Perkins on Lap 54 and led a race-high 95 laps en route to the win.

“I kinda got a little bit lucky there,” said Trotter. “The two front cars were battling side by side, took it three wide, it was a little sketchy at first, but I made it stick — didn’t give up on that one.

“The car just took off. It was perfect for me. They kept telling me to back it down, I said I am backed down, I don’t think I can go any slower.”

Trotter has made tremendous progress since she started the season with a 16th-place finish in the ARCA Menards Series East race at Florida’s New Smyrna Speedway. Her resume includes a strong ninth-place run at Iowa Speedway in the ARCA Menards Series.

RELATED: Gracie Trotter Career Stats

With three races remaining, it’s certainly conceivable to see Trotter back in Victory Lane a time or two before the end of 2020.

Sam Mayer Wraps Up First Trophy

Holding a six point lead in the finale of the Sioux Chief Showdown, Mayer watched as Ty Gibbs rolled to the win in the Sioux Chief PowerPEX 200. But Mayer was right where he needed to be, running second, to clinch his first ARCA crown.

New Gif

“We didn’t win the battle, but we won the damn war,” said Mayer. “This place is fun, and to have a championship weekend here is pretty special.

“We were talking all night about being smart and everything we had to do to get this trophy right here. It means a lot.”

The 10-race Sioux Chief Showdown counts only points for race finishes – without bonus points for laps led, wins or poles. Mayer finished five points ahead of Gibbs and 22 over third-place Self. After finishing 20th at Phoenix Raceway in February with radiator issues, Mayer rolled off nine top fives include four wins, three runner-up finishes and two third-place finishes.

RELATED: Sam Mayer Career Stats

He heads to Pensacola, Florida, Oct. 10 for the ARCA Menards Series East final race at 5 Flags Speedway. Mayer, who has won four of the five East races, leads Gibbs by 26 points. If Gibbs were to win the pole and lead the most laps in winning the race, Mayer would have to finish 21st or better to clinch his second straight East championship.

Back and forth

After Self retook the points lead at Indiana’s Winchester Speedway, Holmes took it back at Memphis.

Holmes now leads Self by two points heading to the penultimate event Sunday, the Illinois Truck & Equipment Allen Crowe 100 at the Springfield Mile at the Illinois State Fairgrounds.

Holmes led a race-high 135 laps at Memphis but faded to third after losing the lead to Ty Gibbs on Lap 154 following the second race break.

“We had a strong car all day,” said Holmes. “That last 50 laps, (Gibbs) got by us on the restart there, felt like as the track started cooling down, we got a little bit tighter. That’s something we didn’t expect.

“It just sucks we couldn’t pull it off today, after leading that many laps. I felt like there were a couple races where I felt like we should have had it. But on the bright side, the points stuff, all you can do is not keep your head down too long.”

Self finished sixth after a wild final lap. Chandler Smith got the free pass — twice! — to salvage a fifth-place run, while Thad Moffitt made the most of last-lap contact between Smith and Deegan on the backstretch to sneak by all of them and take fourth after starting 10th.

“Disappointing night tonight; frustrating,” said Self. “We had two good races there — Bristol and Winchester — then not really sure today. We were just off as a team. This is just a really tough place to get a grasp on and we weren’t were we need to be.”

Self is the defending race winner at Springfield. Holmes, who cut his teeth dirt racing, finished third there last year.

Notes

  • Both Sunrise Ford cars had suspension issues at The Bullring. Trevor Huddleston suddenly veered into the wall while leading on Lap 47 after being out front for 14 laps, and then Blaine Perkins made a similar b-line into the Turn 2 wall following a restart on Lap 55 while he was running in the top five. Jesse Love won the General Tire Pole Award and led 41 laps before finishing third, and was able to push his points lead to 16 over Perkins and keep it at 31 over third-place Trotter. Huddleston slipped a spot and is seven back of fourth-place Gio Scelzi.
  • Scelzi had a career-best second-place finish, and gave BMR its first sweep of the West podium under the ARCA banner. Eventual series champion Derek Kraus led a BMR sweep of the top four spots at Kern County Raceway Park in Bakersfield, California, last October.
  • Drew Dollar led seven laps at Memphis, the first laps he has led since winning at Talladega in June.
  • Kyle Keller made his ARCA Menards Series West debut at The Bullring, and finished fourth driving for Jerry Pitts.
  • Todd Souza recorded his first top-five finish of the season and his first since he finished fifth last October at Kern County.
  • Takuma Koga finished sixth, his best finish of the season. Bridget Burgess in seventh and Bobby Hillis, Jr. in eighth recorded their best career West Series finishes.
  • Holley Hollan was running as high as third before problems late in the race relegated her to a ninth-place finish. Joey Iest made his second start of the 2020 season, and spent much of the day in the top-five before ignition issues sidelined him just 40 laps from the finish. Iest started outside the front row, his best career series start.