Trevor Huddleston
Trevor Huddleston signs autographs for fans ahead of the NAPA Auto Parts 150 for the ARCA Menards Series West at California's Irwindale Speedway on Aug. 21, 2021. (Meg Oliphant/ARCA Racing)

NOTEBOOK: Trevor Huddleston looks to recapture Irwindale magic in milestone West Series start

www.arcaracing.com March 24, 2022

Trevor Huddleston enters Saturday’s NAPA Auto Parts 150 presented by West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame at Irwindale Speedway (7 p.m. PT / 10 p.m. ET on FloRacing) as the only driver on the entry list with a victory at the historic California half-mile paved oval in ARCA Menards Series West competition.

His win, which came in 2019 when he was driving for Sunrise Ford Racing and team owner Bob Bruncati, came in dramatic fashion. He led only the final seven laps and survived a late battle with current NASCAR Camping World Truck Series competitor Tanner Gray that saw the two cross the finish line in unison.

Huddleston was scored the winner by 0.030 seconds, but contact as the duo were coming to the checkered flag sent Huddleston careening into the Turn 1 wall post-race.

That didn’t matter to Huddleston, who still got to celebrate in Victory Lane after his first West Series victory at his home track.

“I’m still in shock,” Huddleston said immediately after the race. “That was absolutely insane. Me and him were bouncing off each other, we were bouncing off the wall. I mean, I didn’t know if we won. I hit the wall and got the freaking wind knocked out of me and I was like, ‘Did we win?’ And we won. Unbelievable.”

Fast forward to 2022, and Huddleston is back at his home track for Saturday’s West Series race. This time he will drive a car fielded by his father, Irwindale Speedway president Tim Huddleston, as he hopes to earn his third career West Series triumph.

Following his maiden West Series victory at Irwindale, Huddleston added a second victory in 2019 at Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, Washington.

His return to Irwindale also marks a milestone for Huddleston in West Series competition. Saturday’s race will be Huddleston’s 50th West Series start. With any luck, he will be celebrating that milestone with a return trip to Victory Lane.

The odds certainly appear in his favor. The 25-year-old from Agoura Hills, California, is the all-time wins leader at Irwindale after earning his record 68th career victory at the track last season. He is also a three-time track champion in the headlining LKQ Pick Your Part Late Model division.

Cole Moore focused on getting first West Series win

Cole Moore
Cole Moore (Adam Glanzman/ARCA Racing)

With his rookie season in the West Series behind him, now seems to be as good a time as ever for Bill McAnally Racing driver Cole Moore to earn his first West Series victory.

Moore finished last season ranked third in the West Series standings after earning four top-five and seven top-10 finishes in nine events, which helped him claim the West Series Bounty Rookie of the Year honors. He earned a best finish of fourth on two occasions, with those results coming at Sonoma Raceway and Colorado National Speedway in Erie, Colorado.

“I felt like I was probably the strongest car the last three races at the end of the year,” Moore told FloRacing this week. “We only missed the championship by two points, so a lot of drive to make it happen. So I’m excited.”

One of his four top-five finishes last season came at Irwindale, where he finished fifth during the third race of the season. Moore believes Irwindale presents one of the trickier challenges on the West Series schedule, with the 24-year-old pinpointing Turn 3 as one of the most challenging parts of the track.

“Irwindale is pretty tricky for me. Just getting into Turn 3 you really have to be conscious of your line choice because a lot of people would get too high into three and get into the marbles and end up putting the car in the fence,” Moore said. “I’ve done it probably three or four times in Super Late Models. I always kind of have that in the back of my head there, just making sure I get through turns three and four safely.

“It’s a tricky track, but racing is fun. You can go low, you can go high, restarts are insane. It’s almost like Phoenix on the restarts, it just fans out four-wide. It’s pretty cool.”

Nick Joanides looks to defend his home turf

Nick Joanides has limited experience in the West Series during his career, but he has plenty of experience at Irwindale Speedway.

The veteran racer is a multi-time track champion at Irwindale, and he finished third in the LKQ Pick Your Part Late Model division standings last year while also scoring one victory.

The 52-year-old Joanides has made 13 West Series starts during his lengthy career, earning a best finish of fourth at All American Speedway in Roseville, California, in 2018. He earned a top-10 finish last season at Irwindale in West Series action, starting and finishing ninth.

In addition to his West Series starts, he also competed in the now defunct NASCAR Southwest Series. In his only full season with the tour in 2001, he finished fourth in the standings.

He will once again drive the No. 77 Toyota owned by Joe Nava this weekend in an effort to defend his home turf against the West Series invaders.

Notes:

  • Prior to Saturday’s NAPA Auto Parts 150 presented by West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame, there will be a driver autograph session under the Irwindale Speedway grandstands from 6-6:30 p.m. PT.
  • In addition to West Series competition, Saturday’s event also features Irwindale’s popular Night of Destruction program. The Night of Destruction includes a Jet Car Burndown as well as Trailer Destruction Races, Skid Plate Races, Tucker Tire Enduro Races and Figure 8 Races. The program will close with a fireworks show for fans in attendance. Fans can purchase tickets here.
  • Drivers from three states and three foreign countries (Australia, Japan and Colombia) are among the 18 competitors entered for Saturday’s race.