ARCA Menards rewind: Takeaways from Five Flags Speedway

www.arcaracing.com March 21, 2022

The ARCA Menards Series East ventured back to Florida on Saturday for Round 2 of the 2022 season at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Florida.

Three drivers shared time leading the field during the Pensacola 200, with defending East Series champion Sammy Smith eventually emerging as the winner for the second straight year at the at the half-mile paved oval.

RESULTS: Pensacola 200 at Five Flags Speedway

While Smith was the driver who visited Victory Lane, it wasn’t without a fight from his chief rival, Taylor Gray. The two traded the lead multiple times in the final portion of the race, with Gray eventually fading to third after a late-race restart penalty.

Below are the key takeaways from Saturday’s Pensacola 200, beginning with the battle between Smith and Gray for the victory.

Smith and Gray fight for supremacy

Saturday’s Pensacola 200 served as the third round of what will likely be a season-long battle between Smith and Gray. The opening round of the battle went to Smith in February at Florida’s New Smyrna Speedway, with Gray taking Round with an emotional victory on March 11 at Phoenix Raceway in an ARCA Menards Series/West Series combination event.

Gray got the upper hand in qualifying at Five Flags, setting the second fastest lap behind polesitter Leland Honeyman. Smith qualified fourth, with the debuting Jake Finch separating him from Gray in the starting lineup.

Once the race got underway, it was Gray who got to the lead first with a pass of Honeyman on Lap 28. Smith was in his tire tracks soon enough, but it took him until Lap 88 to make his way under Gray to take the race lead.

Gray faded as far back as fifth by the time the caution flag waved for the second race break on Lap 126, but his battle with Smith wasn’t done.

Following a round of adjustments and acquiring new tires from his David Gilliland Racing crew, Gray set off in pursuit of Smith. The two battled for the lead during a pair of restarts on Laps 171 and 182, with Gray managing to lead a few laps at the start/finish line before Smith would ultimately regain the lead.

However, when the caution flag waved again on Lap 184, ARCA officials penalized Gray for jumping the previous restart on Lap 182 and moved him to the back of the lead lap. That put Smith out front and forced Gray to battle his way back through the field. Smith ultimately won the race while Gray settled for third after the penalty.

“The whole time I felt good about it,” Smith said in Victory Lane. “Thanks to the whole team for making the car better all day. We struggled there in practice and really worked hard to get it good and here we are.”

The victory by Smith, combined with Gray’s third-place finish, means Smith has a 12-point edge in the battle for the East Series championship after two events.

Leland Honeyman scores surprise pole

Honeyman, who is wheeling the No. 02 Chevrolet this year for Young’s Motorsports in the East Series, surprised the field by securing the pole for the Pensacola 200 Saturday afternoon with a 104.517 mph lap.

He then led the first 27 laps of the race before giving up the lead to Gray. He ran in the top five for the entire race and ultimately finished second, a career-best for the driver from Phoenix, Arizona. His performance drew rave reviews from Young’s Motorsports team principal Tyler Young on Twitter.

“It was a great race. Good job to Sammy Smith on the win,” Honeyman said post-race. “Young’s Motorsports came out here and gave me a good car today. I think we did have a shot to win it there at the end, just came up a little bit short.

“Those Young’s Motorsports guys will get it done at Dover, and I know they will.”

Mullins sets goal, accomplishes it

Entering the Pensacola 200, Willie Mullins said his goal was to earn a top-five finish at Five Flags Speedway.

The driver from Fredericksburg, Virginia, had never finished inside the top five on a short track in ARCA competition, but he was confident in his abilities and in the combined efforts of Fast Track Racing and Mullins Racing ahead of Saturday’s race.

His race was hampered early by a spin in Turn 2 on Lap 30 that dropped the driver of the No. 11 Toyota two laps down. However, Mullins took advantage of a pair of mid-race cautions to get back on the lead lap.

From there, he slowly and methodically began picking off positions, ultimately making it to fifth by the time the checkered flag waved.

“This really means a lot,” Mullins said. “So many people came together and Saturday showed that we had the capability of running with the big teams. If we put a great car out there that stays in one piece, we’re more than capable of running in the top five now.”

The fifth-place finish elevated Mullins to fourth in the East Series standings, but at this time he is unsure if he’ll join the series for the next race at Dover Motor Speedway on April 29.

His next scheduled ARCA Menards Series event is the General Tire 200 at Talladega Superspeedway on April 23, when he will again be joined by Mullins Racing teammate Brayton Laster.

NOTES:

  • In his East Series debut, Daniel Escoto earned a solid fourth-place finish in a car fielded by NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Josh Williams. Escoto was involved in multiple incidents during the Pensacola 200, including a spin in Turn 2 on Lap 92, but he was able to overcome the adversity to secure a strong result. He is expected to compete in the remainder of the East Series events this year for Williams.
  • Jake Finch, the son of former NASCAR team owner Jake Finch, made his East Series debut Saturday and ran in the top three for much of the race. He ran as high as second after using his front bumper to work his way past Gray on Lap 115, but a flat tire late in the race forced him to the pits and dropped him to to eighth at the finish. His pass on Gray was voted the Reese’s Sweet Move of the Race.
  • The two drivers who battled for the ARCA Menards Series championship last season enjoyed a good day Saturday, with Ty Gibbs winning the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at the recently reconfigured Atlanta Motor Speedway. It was his second victory of the season and sixth Xfinity triumph of his career. His 2021 championship rival, Corey Heim, also visited Victory Lane at Atlanta Saturday after winning his maiden NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race in his sixth series start.
  • Benny Chastain crashed hard in General Tire Pole Qualifying, doing terminal damage to Andy Hillenburg’s No. 10 car. Chastain, who was uninjured in the crash, withdrew from the event. Wayne Peterson withdrew his No. 0 car from the lineup and renumbered it as the No. 10 car, with Nate Moeller taking the green to keep Hillenburg up in the East Series owners standings. 
  • Saturday’s East Series race at Five Flags featured nine caution flags for 39 laps and six lead changes among three drivers.