PRACTICE: Joey Iest fastest at Southern National

LUCAMA, N.C. — Joey Iest is still looking for his first win on the ARCA Menards platform.

The speed he displayed in a 75-minute practice session Saturday afternoon at Southern National Motorsports Park suggests the evening’s Southern National 200 presented by Solid Rock Carriers for the ARCA Menards Series East could deliver that moment.

Driving the No. 54 ASN/Basila Ranch Ford for David Gilliland Racing, Iest logged the best lap time of the session at 15.594 seconds / 92.343 mph.

Iest, the 18-year-old from Madera, California, ranks fourth in ARCA Menards Series East points heading into Saturday night’s race, the fifth of eight on the 2021 series schedule.

Iest barely edged Mason Diaz for the top spot of the chart in practice. Diaz, who is racing at his home track Saturday, logged a lap time of 15.674 seconds / 91.872 mph on the 34th and final lap he ran in the session.

Sammy Smith (15.697 91.737), Mason Mingus (15.962 90.214) and Parker Retzlaff (16.013 89.927) finished the session in third through fifth, respectively.

General Tire Pole Qualifying (single car; two laps) ahead of Saturday night’s Southern National 200 presented by Solid Rock Carriers is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. ET.

The race, which marks the first at Southern National for the ARCA Menards platform, is scheduled to start at 8 p.m. ET. It will be shown live on NBC Sports Gold’s TrackPass.

Practice Results: Southern National 200 presented by Solid Rock Carriers