General Tire 150 at Phoenix Raceway
Cars in action during the General Tire 150 for the ARCA Menards Series and ARCA Menards Series West at Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Arizona, on March 12, 2021. (Adam Glanzman/ARCA Racing)

The Early 2021 ARCA Menards Series Season By The Numbers

www.arcaracing.com March 23, 2021

Four races down, 29 to go.

The 2021 ARCA Menards racing season is off to a gripping start. The schedule began in early February with 18-year-old rookie Max Gutiérrez’s unforgettable win in the ARCA Menards Series East opener at Florida’s New Smyrna Speedway. The three-wide finish marked an exhilarating start to the year.

ARCA Menards stayed in Florida for the start of the ARCA Menards Series season at Daytona International Speedway and for the second race of the East Series season at 5 Flags Speedway in Pensacola. Corey Heim picked up his second ARCA Menards win in the AMS opener at Daytona, and Sammy Smith avenged his loss to Gutiérrez at New Smyrna with a convincing win at 5 Flags.

The show then moved West for the one and only ARCA Menards Series / ARCA Menards Series West combo race of the season, as the March 12 event at Phoenix Raceway doubled as the West Series season-opener. Ty Gibbs won that race in dominating fashion and celebrated accordingly.

Ty Gibbs
Ty Gibbs celebrates winning the General Tire 150 for the ARCA Menards Series and ARCA Menards Series West at Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Arizona, on March 12, 2021. (Adam Glanzman/ARCA Racing)

As ARCA Menards racing takes a break until the April 24 running of the General Tire 200 at Talladega Superspeedway, below are some defining numbers of the season thus far.

RACE PHOTO GALLERIES:

0.046 РThe margin of victory for Max Guti̩rrez in the season-opening Jeep Beach 175 at New Smyrna for the ARCA Menards Series East. Guti̩rrez beat Sammy Smith and Taylor Gray to the line in a three-wide finish.

1.5 – The average finish for ARCA Menards Series points leader Corey Heim through two races. He won the season-opener at Daytona and finished second to Ty Gibbs at Phoenix.

1.5 РThe average finish for ARCA Menards Series East points leader Sammy Smith, who won at 5 Flags after finishing second to Max Guti̩rrez in the opener at New Smyrna.

2.0 – The average starting position for Drew Dollar through two ARCA Menards Series races. He won the General Tire Pole Award for the season-opener at Daytona and started third at Phoenix. He sits third in points with an average finish of 4.5.

3 – The margin between ARCA Menards Series points leader Corey Heim and second-place Ty Gibbs through two races. Both have won races, but Heim’s edge comes from his second-place run at Phoenix following Gibbs’ fourth-place finish at Daytona.

Corey Heim
Corey Heim, driver of the No. 20 JBL Toyota, celebrates winning the Lucas Oil 200 Driven by General Tire for the ARCA Menards Series at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida, on Feb. 13, 2021. (Adam Glanzman/ARCA Racing)

3 – The number of wins for Toyota through four races across all three series. Corey Heim, Sammy Smith and Taylor Gray have won in Toyotas. Max Gutiérrez’s win at New Smyrna came in a Ford.

4 РThe number of race winners through four events over the three series. Corey Heim (Daytona), Max Guti̩rrez (New Smyrna), Sammy Smith (5 Flags) and Ty Gibbs (Phoenix) each have reached victory lane in 2021.

4 – The number of Reese’s Sweet Move of the Race winners through four events across the three series. Max Gutiérrez’s winning pass at New Smyrna, Bret Holmes’ crash avoidance at Daytona, Rajah Caruth’s save at 5 Flags and Ty Gibbs’ burnout at Phoenix are the four winning moves. Fans vote for the Reese’s Sweet Move of the Race on the official ARCA Twitter page (@ARCA_Racing) after each event.

7 – The number of drivers who have earned at least one top-five finish through two ARCA Menards Series races.

9 РThe number of drivers who have completed all possible laps through four races across all three series. Corey Heim, Ty Gibbs, Drew Dollar and Kyle Sieg have run all 232 laps in the ARCA Menards Series, including the West Series combo race at Phoenix. Sammy Smith, Taylor Gray, Max Guti̩rrez, Mason Diaz and Joey West have completed all 387 laps in the ARCA Menards Series East.

12.5 – The difference between average starting position and average finish for Kyle Sieg through two ARCA Menards Series races. Sieg’s average finish is 4.5 despite an average starting position of 17th. He won the K&N Filters Hard Charger award at Phoenix when he finished fourth after starting 16th. He finished fifth at Daytona after starting 18th.

Kyle Sieg
Kyle Sieg, driver of the No. 28 RSS Chevrolet, looks on during practice for the General Tire 150 for the ARCA Menards Series and ARCA Menards Series West at Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Arizona, on March 12, 2021. (Adam Glanzman/ARCA Racing)

15 – The number of cars that have led laps in 2021 through four races across all three series. The General Tire 150 at Phoenix featured the most lead changes among those races with eight among five drivers.

16 – The number of drivers who have earned at least one top-10 finish through two ARCA Menards Series races.

35 – The length (in seconds) of Ty Gibbs’ celebratory burnout at Phoenix. His epic celebration was voted the Reese’s Sweet Move of the Race.

52 – The number of drivers who have accumulated points through two ARCA Menards Series Races.

111 – The number of laps led by Taylor Gray across all three series, the third most behind the totals of Ty Gibbs and Sammy Smith. Gray has led 96 laps through two ARCA Menards Series East races, and he led 15 laps in the ARCA Menards Series / ARCA Menards Series West combo race at Phoenix. He sits second in the East Series standings after finishing third in each of the first two races.

347 – The number of laps led across all three series by the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Ty Gibbs has led 124 laps in the car through two ARCA Menards Series races (including the ARCA Menards Series West combo race at Phoenix). Sammy Smith has led 223 laps in the car through the two ARCA Menards Series East races thus far this season.