PIT BOX: Tight early ARCA Menards Series points race reaches Charlotte for General Tire 150

For the fourth time in the last five seasons, the ARCA Menards Series invades Charlotte Motor Speedway on Memorial Day weekend for the General Tire 150 this Friday afternoon.

The General Tire 150 at the 1.5-mile tri-oval is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. ET and will be broadcast live on FS1 with a live stream available on the Fox Sports App.

Friday’s race at America’s Home for Racing is the fifth of 20 on the ARCA Menards Series schedule this year. It will be the 24th visit by the series to Charlotte, with Ty Gibbs winning the most recent ARCA event at the venue last season.

Tickets to Friday’s General Tire 150 are available. Below is everything to know about the event.

General Tire 150 at Charlotte Motor Speedway

WHAT TO WATCH FOR:

Nick Sanchez is riding a wave of momentum into Friday’s General Tire 150 at Charlotte.

Sanchez, the driver of the No. 2 Rev Racing Chevrolet, has won the last two ARCA Menards Series events on the schedule at Talladega Superspeedway and Kansas Speedway.

Those victories have catapulted him into a tie with his Rev Racing teammate, Rajah Caruth, for the ARCA Menards Series championship points lead.

Both Caruth and Sanchez are entered in Friday’s General Tire 150, but if either hopes to win, he will have to beat a field of expected entries that includes a current NASCAR Xfinity Series competitor from Joe Gibbs Racing.

Brandon Jones, who won the ARCA Menards Series race at Charlotte in 2018, will pilot the No. 81 Toyota on Friday as he chases his sixth ARCA Menards Series victory. He is the lone ARCA winner at Charlotte expected to be in the field.

Additionally, Drew Dollar and Corey Heim are both among the expected entries for Friday evening. The last time Dollar and Heim raced against each other in ARCA competition was at Kansas, where the duo wrecked while racing for the lead.

MORE CHARLOTTE: Schedule | Tickets

Daniel Dye, who sits only a few points behind Sanchez and Caruth in the ARCA title fight, will chase his first win of the season at Charlotte in GMS Racing’s No. 43 Chevrolet.

Sean Corr returns for his third start of the season in the No. 8 for the Empire Racing Group, while Parker Chase is set for his fourth start of the season in the No. 15 Toyota for Venturini Motorsports.

Will Kimmel will make his second straight ARCA Menards Series start in place of injured driver Scott Melton in the No. 69 Toyota. Christian Rose is back again in the No. 42 Chevrolet owned by Bruce Cook, and Andy Jankowiak is set for his third start of the season in his own No. 73 Ford.

Series regulars Amber Balcaen, Toni Breidinger and Greg Van Alst also will be in action Friday, as will returning competitors Connor Mosack, Bryan Dauzat, Tim Richmond and Ryan Huff, among others.

The complete entry list for Friday’s General Tire 150 can be found here.

RACING REFERENCE:

• Previous ARCA races at Charlotte
• ARCA Menards Series drivers at Charlotte

RACE FACTS

CREW CHIEF HANDOUT: The starting field for the General Tire 150 is limited to 30 plus provisional positions. This event will be run under the 2022 ARCA Menards Series rules, procedures, regulations and specifications.

QUALIFYING: Starting lineup set by each car’s fastest lap recorded during combined practice / qualifying session.

RACE PIT STOP: Modified live pit stop procedure. There will be an ARCA competition caution at or near Lap 50. All cars will be required to make at least one pit stop prior to last 10 laps of race.

The maximum tire allotment available for this event is as follows: Per ARCA Rulebook, maximum number of tires allowed in pit box for use in race is eight (8).