Four drivers split ARCA’s special awards at Bristol

The Bush’s Beans 200 marked a banner evening for Joe Gibbs Racing’s ARCA Menards Series outfit, as Ty Gibbs broke into the double digits with his 10th victory of the 2021 AMS season while runner-up Sammy Smith rolled to the ARCA Menards Series East championship.

To further add to the occasion, which the pair of young stars celebrated with a slick, nose-to-nose burnout on the Bristol Motor Speedway frontstretch, the JGR drivers clinched both single-race and seasonlong ARCA special awards victories thanks to their stellar performances.

General Tire Pole Qualifying brought the familiar sight of Gibbs topping the charts. He posted a fast lap of 14.859 seconds/129.134 mph and became the only driver to turn a lap under 15 seconds in qualifying, setting a new track record for both the ARCA Menards Series and the ARCA Menards Series East.

The previous track record for East Series competitors was set by Sam Mayer in 2019. This year’s Bush’s Beans 200 was just the fourth ARCA Menards Series race at Bristol, and with qualifying rained out last year, the previous AMS track record dates back more than 50 years. In 1969, the late Benny Parsons won the pole with a lap of 20.610 seconds/93.100 mph, a mark every driver who turned a qualifying lap Thursday exceeded.

For Gibbs, the pole was his 12th in AMS competition and his fourth in East competition this season. Gibbs has been virtually unchallenged in that department in both series, with Corey Heim standing out as the only other driver to claim multiple AMS poles this year (three).

Four drivers ended the 2021 East season with one General Tire Pole Award each: Taylor Gray (New Smyrna), Smith (Five Flags), Mason Mingus (Nashville Fairgrounds) and Mason Diaz (Southern National).

The JGR duo of Gibbs and Smith was virtually untouched as the first and second place drivers for nearly the entire length of the Bush’s Beans 200. Gibbs was the Valvoline Lap Leader awardee for leading 197 of the 200 laps, with the only blemish coming when Thad Moffitt stayed out to lead three laps during the caution period for the first scheduled break for pit stops. It was the second occasion that Moffitt led laps this year, having led five at Phoenix Raceway in March, as well.

Gibbs has led an astounding 1,435 laps through 18 AMS races this season, more than the entire rest of the field combined. No driver has led as many laps over the course of a single season since Frank Kimmel led 1,474 in 2001, a feat he accomplished in 25 races. Gibbs still has two raced remaining on the AMS schedule.

Gibbs clinched the yearlong Valvoline Lap Leader title for AMS drivers several weeks ago, and at Bristol, he locked up the same honors in the ARCA Menards Series East. Gibbs led 621 laps in East competition this year, and Smith ended the season second with 396 laps led.

For leading at the crossed flags on Lap 100, Gibbs also became the Richmond Water Heaters Halfway Leader at Bristol. Gibbs has earned halfway leader status in 10 AMS races and four East races this season, the high mark for both series.

Gibbs and Smith were each named the Bounty Rookie of the Race for their respective full-time series. For Gibbs, he closed to within four points of Heim in the AMS Bounty Rookie of the Year battle following Heim’s fifth-place result.

For Smith, the Iowa native ended the East season atop the rookie point standings, compiling 318 points across eight races. He finished 18 points ahead of Daniel Dye, who split the season between Ben Kennedy Racing and GMS Racing.

Smith is in line to be named the ARCA Menards Series East Bounty Rookie of the Year for 2021. In addition to accumulating the most points in the Bounty Rookie Challenge, the Bounty Rookie of the Year should be considered a positive example of demeanor, conduct and character, following a code of ethics that best represents the ARCA Menards Series.

Smith has had the crew chief duties for his car split this year between Mark McFarland and Jamie Jones, the latter of whom was on top of the pit box for Smith at Bristol while McFarland worked with Gibbs. McFarland earned the Cometic Crew Chief of the Race award for the Bush’s Beans 200, and he extended his lead in the Cometic Crew Chief of the Year standings to 19 points over Shannon Rursch, the crew chief for Venturini Motorsports’ No. 20 Toyota piloted by Heim.

Perhaps the biggest rally Thursday came courtesy of Drew Dollar, who qualified 20th but managed to stay on the lead lap the entire night and come home eighth despite a run-in with Moffitt while the pair battled for a top-10 spot. Dollar was the K&N Filters Hard Charger for his rise of 12 positions by the end of the race.

Rajah Caruth had a night to remember at Bristol, and that went beyond the sixth-place finish he recorded that became his new career-best mark in AMS competition. In what has become a recurring theme in 2021, Caruth nearly spun out during a spirited duel with Heim, and the Rev Racing rookie narrowly avoided disaster by making a spectacular save.

For the fourth time in 2021, a nifty Caruth save was voted as the Reese’s Sweet Move of the Race.

The ARCA Menards Series will return to Salem Speedway for the 107th time Saturday, Oct. 2 for the running of the Sioux Chief PowerPEX 200, the penultimate AMS event of the 2021 season. It will serve as the championship race for the Sioux Chief Showdown, which can be clinched by Gibbs with a finish of 18th or better. Gibbs leads Heim by 17 points in the Showdown standings.

The green flag at Salem is scheduled to fly at 8 p.m. ET. The race will broadcast live on MAVTV Motorsports Network with a live stream available on NBC Sports Gold’s TrackPass.

Information regarding the presentation of year-end awards for the ARCA Menards Series East will be announced at a later date.