ARCA Menards rewind: What we learned at Las Vegas Bullring

The Star Nursery 150 at The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway arrived Thursday as an important event for the overall ARCA Menards Series West championship battle.

So, of course, a driver who is not competing for the series’ 2021 title stole the show at the 0.375-mile paved oval in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Despite efforts from Jesse Love, Jake Drew and other West Series regulars to stop him, Taylor Gray led 123 of 150 laps at The Bullring and cruised to his second consecutive series victory. He did so despite interruptions from seven cautions.

Gray’s domination Thursday was impressive, especially in the context of what has been a trying year for the 16-year-old.

Leading with Gray’s red-hot run of late, below are the takeaways from the seventh of nine races for the ARCA Menards Series West this season.

LVMS Bullring: Race Recap | Race Highlights | Awards

Taylor Gray’s tear

Driving the No. 17 Ford Performance Ford for David Gilliland Racing, Gray’s win at The Bullring marked his second West Series win of the season and third overall dating back to last year.

The victory was his second consecutive triumph in the West Series, as he also took the checkered flag at Portland International Raceway two weeks prior. But Gray’s recent run of success on the ARCA Menards platform extends beyond his back-to-back West Series wins.

Gray in the spring was sidelined from racing for 13 weeks while he recovered from injuries sustained in an early-April street car accident. When he returned for the ARCA Menards Series race at Elko Speedway on July 10, he finished fifth.

Since then, he has finished outside the top five in an ARCA Menards race just once.

The Bullring race for the West Series marked Gray’s 11th ARCA Menards start following his return. His finishes in those 11 races: fifth at Elko (AMS), fourth at Berlin Raceway (AMS), third at Iowa Speedway (AMS and East Series), fifth at Winchester Speedway (AMS), seventh at Watkins Glen (AMS), third on the Springfield Mile (AMS), fourth at the Milwaukee Mile (AMS and East Series), fifth at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds (AMS), first at Portland (West Series), third at Bristol Motor Speedway (AMS and East Series) and first at The Bullring.

Including the event at Phoenix Raceway he started in March, Gray has a top-10 finish in all 10 of the ARCA Menards Series races he has entered this season. In East Series competition, he has five top-five finishes in five starts. In the West Series, he has two wins and three top-10 finishes in three starts.

If not for Gray’s 13-week absence, he would be in contention for one if not multiple ARCA Menards driver championships this season.

When he has been available to race, Gray has been as good as anybody on the ARCA Menards platform in 2021.

West Series title race tightens

Drew, the driver of the No. 9 Sunrise Ford / Lucas Oil / Stilo USA / Offset Ford for Bob Bruncati’s Sunrise Ford Racing operation, was disappointed to finish second to Gray at The Bullring. The 21-year-old rookie was that close to his first ARCA Menards win.

But in the context of the overall West Series championship battle, Drew knew Thursday night’s run was a success.

Jake Drew, driver of the No. 9 Sunrise Ford-Lucas Oil-Offset Sport-Stilo USA Ford, wins the General Tire Pole Award ahead of the Star Nursery 150 for the ARCA Menards Series West at The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Sept. 23, 2021. (Miranda Alam/ARCA Racing)

More impactful to the standings than Drew’s runner-up finish was points-leader Love’s 13th-place run. The driver of the No. 16 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota for Bill McAnally Racing entered The Bullring with a 19-point lead on Drew. He left with just a seven-point cushion.

Love was running well in Vegas, even leading five laps, before bad luck struck. His right front tire went down, and by the time he was able to utilize a couple cautions to get back to race pace, the 16-year-old defending West Series champion found himself several laps down.

Luck was not on our side tonight. We had the fastest car on the track and gained the lead halfway into the race. Sadly the RF tire went down causing us to pit under green and put us 4 laps down. Thankfully we still have the points lead going into the next race! #TeamToyota #NAPA pic.twitter.com/5Rf8oLFLSs

— Jesse Love Racing (@JesseLoveRacing) September 24, 2021

“(Love) had an unfortunate night,” Drew said after the race. “I wish he was up there battling with us.”

Chances are, Love will indeed be there over the final pair of West Series races.

Next on the schedule is another bullring, this time the 0.375-mile All American Speedway in Roseville, California, on Saturday, Oct. 9. Driven by Gio Scelzi, Love’s No. 16 BMR car won the West Series race at All American last season. Love himself finished fourth in that event.

The series will then conclude at Phoenix on Nov. 6 in a race that typically attracts multiple non-West Series regulars for a field packed with talent. Which makes the event at All American that much more important for the title contenders.

Drew is within striking distance sitting seven points behind Love, but Cole Moore, Joey Iest and P.J. Pedroncelli are lurking in third through fifth just 14 and 15 points — Iest and Pedroncelli are tied for fourth place — behind the leader.

Here are the special award winners from last week’s race at the @LVMotorSpeedway Bullring!

🏆: https://t.co/zNTusKth5P pic.twitter.com/sdBzLTAoto

— ARCA Menards Series (@ARCA_Racing) September 28, 2021

Notes

Gray’s third West Series victory moved him into a tie for 66th on the all-time ARCA Menards Series West winner’s list. Others with three series wins include Allen Adkins, Herb Thomas, Danny Graves, Jack D. McCoy, Marty Kinerk, Chuck Bown, Gary Johnson, Richard Petty, Bobby Allison, Dirk Stephens, Gary Smith, Eric Norris, Johnny Borneman, Brian Ickler, Paulie Harraka, Hailie Deegan and Blaine Perkins.
Drew’s Sunrise Ford Racing teammate, Trevor Huddleston, scored his best finish of 2021 on Thursday at The Bullring when he crossed the stripe third. The result marked his first top-five finish of the season.
Christian Rose made his ARCA Menards debut in Thursday’s West Series race at the Bullring. Driving for Bruce Cook and partnered with West Virginia Tourism, he scored a top-10 finish (10th) in his debut.
Driving for Jerry Pitts, Kyle Keller finished fifth in his first West Series start of 2021.
Josh Fanopoulos picked up his first top-10 finish (ninth) of the West Series season at The Bullring despite starting last. He was named the K&N Filters Hard Charger of the race.
NASCAR’s Cup, Xfinity and Truck Series also competed at Las Vegas Motor Speedway over the weekend, on the venue’s 1.5-mile tri-oval. In the Truck Series race, 2019 ARCA Menards Series champion Christian Eckes scored his first NASCAR win.