PIT BOX: Penultimate ARCA Menards Series race of 2021 doubles as Showdown finale at Salem

Salem Speedway is a half-mile paved oval that features the kind of high banking known to produce impressive speed and exciting racing.

In other words, the venue in Salem, Indiana, is the perfect place for the ARCA Menards Series to settle one 2021 championship and tee up the finale for another.

The series’ penultimate event this season, Saturday’s Sioux Chief PowerPEX 200 doubles as the last race of the Sioux Chief Showdown, a 10-race series that allows ARCA Menards Series East and West drivers a chance to compete with ARCA Menards Series regulars for a championship on short tracks and road courses.

As is the case for the overall ARCA Menards Series championship battle, this year’s Sioux Chief Showdown comes down to Ty Gibbs vs. Corey Heim.

Tickets to Saturday’s Sioux Chief PowerPEX 200 are available. The race will be shown live on MAVTV Motorsports Network with a live stream available on NBC Sports Gold’s TrackPass starting at 8 p.m. ET.

Sioux Chief PowerPEX 200 at Salem Speedway

WHAT TO WATCH FOR:

Gibbs is sitting pretty in both the ARCA Menards Series standings and the Sioux Chief Showdown standings entering Saturday’s Salem race.

He has a larger points lead over Heim in the former series, but the latter is the closer carrot to chase.

Gibbs holds a 17-point edge over Heim in the Showdown standings, and 18 cars appeared on the initial entry list for Saturday’s race. That means Gibbs, 18, simply needs to finish 17th or better at Salem to clinch his first ARCA title.

If Gibbs were to finish last, the 19-year-old Heim would need to win at Salem to steal the Showdown championship.

As for the overall ARCA Menards Series championship race, for Heim, Saturday is all about closing the gap to Gibbs ahead of the season finale at Kansas Speedway on Oct. 23. Gibbs carries a 26-point lead in the standings.

The good news for Heim is he does have a short-track win on his resume this season; he got the best of Gibbs at Minnesota’s Elko Speedway in July. The bad news for Heim is Gibbs has three short-track wins this season, including at Indiana’s Winchester Speedway and at Bristol Motor Speedway, a pair of half-mile ovals similar to Salem in their configuration.

Further, Gibbs won the last time the ARCA Menards Series raced at Salem, in the fall of 2019. And he did so in dominating fashion, leading 196 of 200 laps after starting on the General Tire Pole.

Heim at least will be able to rely on the help of a couple Venturini Motorsports teammates at Salem. Both Jesse Love and Gracie Trotter are entered in VMS Toyotas.

Another driver who could challenge Gibbs and Heim for the win at Salem is Taylor Gray, who has 10 top-five finishes in his last 11 ARCA Menards races. Gray is coming off back-to-back wins in the West Series.

The entry list also features Landen Lewis, one of two drivers not named Gibbs or Heim who has won an ARCA Menards Series race this season (at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds on Sept. 5).

Additionally, Rev Racing will field two entries at Salem with Nick Sanchez and Rajah Caruth racing as teammates.

The complete entry list for Saturday’s Sioux Chief PowerPEX 200 at Salem can be found here.

RACING REFERENCE:

• ARCA Menards Series points
• ARCA drivers at Salem

RACE FACTS

CREW CHIEF HANDOUT: The starting field for the Sioux Chief PowerPEX 200 is limited to 24 plus provisional positions. This event will be run under the 2021 ARCA Menards Series rules, procedures, regulations and specifications.

QUALIFYING: Two consecutive laps qualifying. No adjustments or repairs may be made on car after taking the green flag at start/finish line. All cars must make a qualifying attempt, and all drivers must practice before they can qualify.

RACE PIT STOP: Break pit stop procedure. Breaks at or near the conclusion of Laps 75 and 125. All cars will be required to make at least one pit stop prior to last 10 laps of race. No adding or moving tires to or from pit box once race has started.

The maximum tire allotment available for this event is as follows: The maximum tire use at track (total, “from home” plus purchased at track) for the event is 14. Per ARCA Rulebook, maximum number of tires allowed in pit box for use in race is six (6).