Taylor Gray, driver of the #17 Ford Performance Ford, wins the NAPA 125 held at Kern County Raceway Park as part of the ARCA Menards Series West on Oct. 25, 2020 in Bakersfield, Calif. (Meg Oliphant/ARCA Racing)
Taylor Gray, driver of the #17 Ford Performance Ford, wins the NAPA 125 held at Kern County Raceway Park as part of the ARCA Menards Series West on Oct. 25, 2020 in Bakersfield, Calif. (Meg Oliphant/ARCA Racing)

Taylor Gray Rakes In Awards On West Doubleheader Weekend

www.arcaracing.com October 27, 2020

The ARCA Menards Series West embarked on its third doubleheader weekend of the 2020 season with a race at All American Speedway in Roseville, California, on Friday and another at Kern County Raceway Park in Bakersfield, California, on Sunday.

Much like the first doubleheader of the season, a pair of same-day races at the Utah Motorsports Campus in June, a couple first-time winners emerged and shook up the season-long contingency award standings.

RESULTS:

Taylor Gray (No. 17 Ford Performance Ford) made his first West start on an oval at All American, having previously competed in the aforementioned Utah road course twin bill, and started his weekend strong by posting the fastest lap in General Tire Pole qualifying.

Gray shared an identical lap speed of 86.220 mph with fellow ARCA Menards Series East regular Mason Diaz (No. 25 Solid Rock Carriers Toyota), with the tiebreaker falling in Gray’s favor on the basis of the 15-year-old having two West starts this season while Diaz was making his debut in the series.

Gray became the fifth different driver to start from the General Tire Pole in West competition this season.

The West driver with the most General Tire Pole Award starts this year is Jesse Love (No. 19 NAPA Power Premium Plus Toyota) following his qualifying effort at Kern County. Love earned the top spot for the fourth time this year with a lap measured at 99.124 mph. The only other West competitor with multiple General Tire Poles happens to be the driver chasing Love for the championship: Blaine Perkins (No. 9 Four Star Fruit Ford), who has three pole awards.

Perkins was not a threat for the General Tire Pole in either race over the weekend, but he overcame a 10-place qualifying effort at Kern County to finish third and take the K&N Hard Charger award in the NAPA ENEOS 125.

Perkins was the second driver to improve seven positions between qualifying and the checkered flag on the doubleheader weekend. On Friday night at All American, Todd Souza was the K&N Hard Charger as he (No. 13 Central Coast Cabinets Toyota) overcame a ninth-place qualifying effort and a wild crash two laps into the race to tie his career-best oval result of second.

Gray controlled the point for much of the evening at All American, leading 116 laps in the NAPA Auto Parts 125 presented by CashInTheCan.com, more than enough to clinch the Valvoline Lap Leader title for the race as well as the Richmond Water Heaters Halfway Leader award. Outside polesitter Diaz led seven laps before a late accident. The other two laps were led by race winner Gio Scelzi (No. 16 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota), who waged a terrific battle with Gray that ended with Scelzi making a last-lap pass for the win while Gray spun with a flat tire after contact between the two drivers.

On Sunday afternoon at Kern County, Gray ensured he would not be denied the win by leading the final 72 laps before parking it in victory lane for the first time in his brief career. Gray was both the Valvoline Lap Leader and the Richmond Water Heaters Halfway Leader for the second race in a row. General Tire Pole Award winner Love led 30 laps, and Diaz added 23 laps led.

Love controls the yearlong Valvoline Lap Leader standings with 369 laps led in 2020. With the season-ending Arizona Lottery 100 from Phoenix Raceway (Saturday, Nov. 9) left as the final event on the 2020 West schedule, only Perkins has an outside chance at knocking Love from the top of this leaderboard.

Perkins has led 282 laps this season and will need to lead nearly all 100 of the scheduled laps at Phoenix if he wants to leapfrog Love in the lap leader standings.

Scelzi and Gray were named the Bounty Rookie of the Race award recipients for their first career victories at All American and Kern County, respectively.

PHOTOS:

The Bounty Rookie of the Year standings are topped by overall championship leader Love with 411 points. Should Love run into early trouble at Phoenix, his Bill McAnally Racing teammates Gracie Trotter (No. 99 ENEOS Toyota) at 392 points and Scelzi at 387 points would be longshots to capitalize on the situation. Love stands to become the youngest Rookie of the Year in West Series history at the age of 15 years, 9 months and 24 days on raceday.

The ARCA Menards Series West will conclude its season with the running of the Arizona Lottery 100 from Phoenix Raceway on Saturday, Nov. 7 as part of the 2020 NASCAR Championship Weekend. TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold will carry live coverage of the Arizona Lottery 100 beginning at Noon MST / 2 p.m. ET.

An edited version of the Arizona Lottery 100 will air on NBCSN at 6 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Nov. 11.