ARCA Menards rewind: What we learned at Elko

www.arcaracing.com July 13, 2021

Corey Heim had won four ARCA Menards Series races in his short career heading into Saturday night’s Menards 250 at Elko Speedway. All had come on intermediate tracks or superspeedways; none had come on short tracks.

That changed Saturday with the 19-year-old’s fourth win of 2021 and fifth victory overall. The Venturini Motorsports driver cut his teeth racing and winning on short tracks, so there was little doubt he could find such success in the ARCA Menards Series.

The only question was whether he would do what was needed to beat Ty Gibbs on the 3/8-mile oval in Elko New Market, Minnesota, in the closing laps. The answer was a resounding yes.

A caution on Lap 241 of 250 at Elko set up a restart with three laps to go. Lining up third on the inside behind the leader Gibbs, Heim knew this was his chance to steal another win from his challenger in the ARCA Menards Series championship race.

Heim wasted no time; he nudged Gibbs out of the way in the first turn after the drop of the green flag and went on to Victory Lane. Gibbs salvaged a fourth-place finish.

We knew Heim and Gibbs were inevitably becoming rivals as the unquestioned top two drivers in the title hunt.

But that rivalry intensified significantly Saturday night.

ELKO: Race Recap | Highlights | Photos

Corey Heim
Corey Heim, driver of the No. 20 Craftsman Toyota, celebrates winning the Menards 250 for the ARCA Menards Series at Elko Speedway in Elko New Market, Minnesota, on July 10, 2021. (David Berding/ARCA Racing)

Gibbs-Heim rivalry heats up

Heim’s win in Saturday night’s Menards 250 at Elko Speedway made it two consecutive ARCA Menards Series races in which Gibbs dominated before Heim emerged victorious.

Gibbs led 236 of 250 laps at Elko despite multiple legitimate challenges from other drivers on restarts throughout the race. Heim was the only driver to briefly take the lead from Gibbs; the former technically led for 11 laps as the two ran side-by-side battling for P1 after a restart on Lap 52.

Gibbs eventually took back the lead and kept it for 185 laps before that final restart. And it was the way Gibbs did so that prompted Heim’s aggression later in the event.

“Just paid back what he did to me earlier in the race,” said Heim in his Victory Lane interview after pointing at the damage on his No. 20 Craftsman Toyota he said came from the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. “That’s all it comes down to.”

The Elko race was similar to the Pocono race last month, when Gibbs led the most laps (33 of 80) but Heim won. The difference is Heim was simply the beneficiary at Pocono, where an incident involving Gibbs and Chandler Smith propelled him to the victory.

At Elko, Heim took matters into his own hands for the first time this season.

Gibbs took the high road in his post-race interview Saturday night, but he did seem to suggest the aggression between himself and Heim could continue as the season reaches and passes its halfway point.

“He’s got (it) planned out for me, so I’ll just follow along,” said Gibbs.

Heim’s victory combined with Gibbs’ fourth-place run extended the championship standings leader’s edge to seven points even though the former has won more races (five to Heim’s four).

Heim has led only 125 laps compared to Gibbs’ 794 through nine of 20 races in the series. But as the last two races have shown, that doesn’t matter if Heim leads the laps that matter.

And Saturday night’s Menards 250 at Elko proved Heim is willing to do whatever it takes to lead the laps that matter.

RELATED: Updated ARCA Menards Series Points

Gracie Trotter bounces back

There was no doubt Gracie Trotter had the talent and speed to compete for wins entering her first season racing part-time for VMS in the ARCA Menards Series.

But given how her first four races of 2021 played out, at Elko, she simply needed luck on her side, too.

Gracie Trotter
Gracie Trotter, driver of the No. 25 Calico Coatings Toyota, pictured ahead of the Menards 250 for the ARCA Menards Series at Elko Speedway in Elko New Market, Minnesota, on July 10, 2021. (David Berding/ARCA Racing)

Trotter got collected in accidents in her first three ARCA Menards Series races this season at Daytona, Phoenix and Talladega. She finally picked up a top-10 finish when she ran seventh at Toledo Speedway in May.

Her third-place finish Saturday night at Elko is closer to what’s expected from the 19-year-old from Denver, North Carolina. Especially on a short track.

Trotter qualified second in her No. 25 Calico Coatings Toyota at Elko and competed in or near the top five all night. She restarted fifth on the final restart and was in position to capitalize when Gibbs collected Taylor Gray while attempting to get back to the front.

Trotter’s third-place finish marked a new career-high in the ARCA Menards Series.

This as she closes in on the one-year anniversary of her becoming the first female to win a race on the ARCA Menards platform; she won the West Series race at The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in September for Bill McAnally Racing.

Assuming her performance Saturday night is more indicative of her ability to compete than those first few races were, she’ll continue to have chances to become the first female ARCA Menards Series winner.

Taylor Gray picks up where he left off

Gray spent the early months of the 2021 season competing for wins and top-five finishes in both the ARCA Menards Series and the East Series.

That was before injuries sustained in an April street car accident sidelined the 16-year-old for 13 weeks.

Taylor Gray
Taylor Gray, driver of the No. 17 Ford Performance Ford, looks on before the Menards 250 for the ARCA Menards Series at Elko Speedway in Elko New Market, Minnesota, on July 10, 2021. (David Berding/ARCA Racing)

Saturday night’s Elko race marked Gray’s return to ARCA Menards racing, and he immediately found himself competing for the victory before settling for his ninth top-five finish in 14 ARCA Menards Series races dating back to last season.

Though he ultimately settled in line behind Gibbs, Gray on a restart midway through the race proved he could run with the most dominant car at Elko. And he would have finished higher than fifth had he not tangled with Gibbs on the final lap.

Saturday began a stretch of five straight weeks of racing for Gray. He will follow the ARCA Menards Series schedule through Watkins Glen International, where he intends to pull double duty and make his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series start for David Gilliland Racing.

That’s at least four more ARCA Menards Series races (including three at short tracks) in which Gray will be a factor to pick up his first win.

Notes

  • Gibbs may be stuck behind Heim in the ARCA Menards Series standings, but he holds a four-point lead over Heim in the 2021 Sioux Chief Showdown standings with two victories to his rival’s one. The Menards 250 was the third round of the 10-race series within the series that combines the best of the ARCA Menards Series, the ARCA Menards Series East and the ARCA Menards Series West. Round 4 is Saturday’s Zinsser Smart Coat 200 at Michigan’s Berlin Raceway.
  • Daniel Dye finished seventh in his ARCA Menards Series debut for GMS Racing, but he consistently ran in or near the top five at Elko. “The finish of seventh doesn’t at all correctly reflect on the quality of the car the team unloaded for me today and how we ran almost all race,” he said. “Still, it was another really good learning experience for me as we continue building on our communication and overall balance that I like in my cars.”
  • Jesse Love, the defending ARCA Menards Series West champion who’s running part-time for VMS in the ARCA Menards Series this season, set a new career high in the series with his second-place run at Elko.
  • With Heim winning, Love finishing second and Trotter crossing the finish line third, Venturini Motorsports completed a podium sweep at Elko.
  • Adam Lemke, an 18-year-old from Hollister, California, got a top-10 finish (10th) in his ARCA Menards Series debut running for Rette Jones Racing.
  • ARCA Menards Series veteran Willie Mullins partnered with Fast Track Racing owner Andy Hillenburg for the Elko race, and the driver finished eighth. It was his best run on a short track in his 21-race AMS career dating back to 2008.