PIT BOX: ARCA Menards Series Gets Back Up To Speed At Talladega

The wait is over.

More than a month has passed since Ty Gibbs took the checkered flag at Phoenix Raceway in the second ARCA Menards Series race of the 2021 season. The third race, Saturday’s General Tire 200 at Talladega Superspeedway, has arrived.

RELATED LINKS:

• EVENT GUIDE: General Tire 200 at Talladega
• PHOTOS: ARCA Menards Racing at Talladega

The second and final superspeedway race of the 2021 season will be a test of speed, handling and, if February’s season-opener at Daytona is any indication, teamwork. Series points leader Corey Heim won at Daytona in part because he had help from fellow Venturini Motorsports driver and second-place finisher Drew Dollar on the final lap. The team will be aiming for another such finish at Talladega.

Fans will be able to attend Saturday’s race at Talladega (buy tickets) and can watch the race live on FS1 or Fox Sports Go.

General Tire 200

WHAT TO WATCH FOR:

Gibbs, who finished fourth at Daytona, left the track angry. Both the 18-year-old Gibbs and third-place finisher Bret Holmes, the defending ARCA Menards Series champion, were frustrated by their inability to race for the win after Heim cruised to victory in front of his teammate.

Saturday’s race at Talladega marks their only chance at superspeedway redemption in 2021.

Gibbs, who sits second behind Heim in championship points following his win at Phoenix, is still new to superspeedway racing. The opener at Daytona was his first ARCA Menards Series race on a 2.5-mile oval, and Saturday marks his first start at Talladega.

The 23-year-old Holmes, of course, will be racing at his home track Saturday. The Munford, Alabama, native has a top five and a pair of top-10s in five ARCA Menards Series starts at Talladega.

Heim and Dollar again will represent Venturini Motorsports at Talladega, with Dollar being the defending winner at the track. VMS also will field Gracie Trotter in the team’s No. 25 Mobil 1 Toyota. Trotter led eight laps at Daytona in February before she was involved in an accident.

Others in Saturday’s field include Jack Wood, who is driving for GMS Racing in the ARCA Menards Series this season. Kyle Sieg, who sits fourth in points with an average finish of 4.5 despite an average starting position of 17th, will race the No. 28 C2 Freight Chevrolet for his family-owned team.

Thad Moffitt, who is hoping to fill the back end of his 2021 schedule and run for an ARCA Menards Series championship, is entered in his No. 46 Clean Pacs-Chem Pacs Ford for David Gilliland Racing.

Nick Sanchez, the 19-year-old from Miami who is racing in the ARCA Menards Series this season as part of the NASCAR Drive for Diversity program, is entered in the No. 2 Honda Generators-Max Siegel Inc. Chevrolet for Rev Racing.

Toni Breidinger, who will become the first Arab-American female driver to compete in a NASCAR national series race when she runs for Young’s Motorsports in the Camping World Truck Series later this year, is entered at Talladega in the team’s No. 02 Huda Beauty Chevrolet.

The complete entry list for Saturday’s General Tire 200 at Talladega Superspeedway can be viewed here.

RACING REFERENCE:

• ARCA Menards Series Points
• Previous ARCA races at Talladega
• ARCA driver stats at Talladega

RACE FACTS

RELATED:

• Complete Talladega Event Schedule
• General Tire 200 Entry List

CREW CHIEF HANDOUT: The starting field for the General Tire 200 is limited to 30 plus provisional positions. This event will be run under the 2021 ARCA Menards Series rules, procedures, regulations and specifications.

QUALIFYING: No qualifying. Field will be set by 2020 car owner points plus provisionals.

RACE PIT STOP: Modified live pit stop procedure. There will be a competition caution at or near Lap 38. All cars will be required to make at least one pit stop prior to the last 10 laps of the race.

The maximum tire allotment available for this event is as follows: Per the ARCA Rulebook, the maximum number of tires allowed in pit box for use in race is eight (8). No adding or removing tires to or from pit box once started.