Blaine Perkins, driver of the No. 9 Sunrise Ford/Four Star Fruit Ford, stands with his car ahead of the NAPA ENEOS 125 at Kern County Raceway Park as part of the ARCA Menards Series West on Oct. 25, 2020 in Bakersfield, California. (Meg Oliphant/ARCA Racing)
Blaine Perkins, driver of the No. 9 Sunrise Ford/Four Star Fruit Ford, stands with his car ahead of the NAPA ENEOS 125 at Kern County Raceway Park as part of the ARCA Menards Series West on Oct. 25, 2020 in Bakersfield, California. (Meg Oliphant/ARCA Racing)

Championship Would Cap An Already Successful West Season For Blaine Perkins

www.arcaracing.com November 4, 2020

Blaine Perkins has not been getting much sleep as he enters Saturday’s ARCA Menards Series West season finale down 14 points to championship standings leader Jesse Love.

This rest deprivation has little to do with the Arizona Lottery 100 at Phoenix Raceway.

“I think that’s just being a college student,” joked the 20-year-old who is majoring in business at Pepperdine University when he’s not racing. “[I’ve] been focusing a lot on school right now and making sure I get everything done for this weekend so I can be 100 percent focused for this weekend.”

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Perkins on Saturday will finish his first season driving the No. 9 Sunrise Ford/Four Star Fruit/Lucas Oil/Reeves Ford for Bob Bruncati’s Sunrise Ford Racing in the West Series, where the young driver has competed on and off since 2015. What might be considered a breakout year for Perkins has yielded his first three ARCA Menards wins.

And a potential exclamation point on the season is still to come.

If Love finishes ninth or worse at Phoenix, such a result will open the door for Perkins to steal the 2020 championship. Conversely, Perkins needs to finish 12th or better to give himself a chance.

POINTS: Championship scenarios for Phoenix

Perkins doesn’t necessarily care about the scenarios, because his goal for Phoenix is the same target he pursues in every race — a victory.

Blaine Perkins waves for introductions during the NAPA Auto Parts 125 presented by CashInTheCan.com for the ARCA Menards Series West in Roseville, California, on Oct. 23, 2020. (Michael Urakami/ARCA Racing)

“There’s some pressure that comes involved with it, but we’ve kind of made our bed,” said Perkins, who closed the points gap between himself and Love with his third-place finish at Kern County Raceway Park on Oct. 25, the last time the West Series was on track. “We know what we have to do going into the weekend. It’s kind of a win or go home type situation. I’ve got confidence in my guys. Got the car and capabilities we’ve worked on throughout the year, and coming to Phoenix, anything can happen. …

“I think we can compete. And if we want to win this championship, I think we need to go out and win this weekend.”

Doing so would get Perkins to 566 points, and he would reach a maximum of 568 points if he were to also win the General Tire Pole Award on Saturday and lead the most laps in the race.

In that best-case scenario for Perkins, to win the championship, he would need Love to finish ninth or worse (or 10th or worse if Love were to lead a lap).

Perkins winning at Phoenix — and therefore edging Love in victories this season, 4-3 — is the only way he can secure a points tiebreaker over his championship rival.

Love has advantages over Perkins in both points and experience. The driver of the No. 19 NAPA Power Premium Plus Toyota for Bill McAnally Racing competed at Phoenix on March 6 when the ARCA Menards Series visited the one-mile oval for the General Tire 150. Love finished 16th after a late incident.

RELATED: Blaine Perkins’ career stats

Perkins, on the other hand, has no experience at Phoenix. Which is why the Bakersfield, California, native spent is off week last week traveling to Charlotte, North Carolina, and logging time on a simulator at the Ford Performance Technical Center.

It was a vital exercise for Perkins to familiarize himself with such a unique track ahead of the most important race of his career thus far.

“I think that’s going to play huge into helping me speed along with the one-hour practice,” said Perkins, referencing the West Series’ practice/qualifying session that will take place Saturday a couple hours before the race at Phoenix. “I feel pretty confident going there after four hours of sim time.”

Blaine Perkins completes a victory lap after winning the ENEOS/NAPA Auto Parts 100 for the ARCA Menards Series West on Aug. 7, 2020, at Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, Washington. (Lindsey Wasson/ARCA Racing)
Blaine Perkins completes a victory lap after winning the ENEOS/NAPA Auto Parts 100 for the ARCA Menards Series West on Aug. 7, 2020, at Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, Washington. (Lindsey Wasson/ARCA Racing)

Regardless of Saturday’s results, Perkins will end the 2020 season having set new career highs in wins (at least three), top-five finishes (at least eight), laps led (at least 282), poles (at least two) and average finish (currently 4.1) for a year. If he gets a top 10, Perkins will match his high mark of 10 such finishes in 2016.

Which is why, despite the issues he has experienced in the week leading up to Saturday’s finale, he will sleep fine if he doesn’t leave Phoenix with the title.

“Whatever happens, we’ve had a great year,” he said. “I can’t be thankful enough for Bob Bruncati for letting me drive his No. 9 Sunrise Ford race car this year.”