The ongoing fight for the ARCA Menards Series championship couldn’t get any tighter after the 11th race of the 2022 ARCA Menards Series season Friday at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.
Rajah Caruth continues to lead the standings following the Reese’s 200, but his lead has been whittled down to two points by his Rev Racing teammate Nick Sanchez. Meanwhile, a top-five result for GMS Racing’s Daniel Dye also allowed him to narrow his gap to Caruth.
RELATED: Complete Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park results
With nine races left in the 20-race season, literally any of the top-three in the series standings could emerge as the ARCA Menards Series champion during the finale at Ohio’s Toledo Speedway on Oct. 8.
Below is a breakdown of the how the top 10 drivers in the standings fared in the Reese’s 200, as well as a complete look at the ARCA Menards Series standings.
- Rajah Caruth: 516 points
Caruth struggled for speed during Friday’s Reese’s 200 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. He qualified seventh in his No. 2 Gainbridge-Max Siegel Inc. Chevrolet, but was unable to make much headway during the 200-lap event. He ultimately finished eighth, one lap off the pace set by eventual race winner Chandler Smith. It was his ninth top-10 finish of the season.
- Nick Sanchez: 514 points
Much like his Rev Racing teammate Caruth, Sanchez wasn’t able to keep up with the race leaders during Friday’s Reese’s 200 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. He started and ran as high as fifth, but faded late in the race to a seventh-place finish, one position ahead of Caruth. His eighth top-10 finish of the year leaves him just a single point behind Caruth in the battle for the ARCA championship.
- Daniel Dye: 511 points
Things started off strong for Dye on Friday as he led the only practice of the day for the Reese’s 200 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. He qualified sixth and ran fifth for much of the race before nearly crashing while racing three-wide with Taylor Gray and Jesse Love. He was able to recover and fell back to eighth. From there he slowly worked his way back through the field, eventually crossing the finish line in fourth.
- Toni Breidinger: 443 points
Friday was not a good day for Bredinger, who was involved in two different incidents that eventually ended her day. The first came on Lap 52, when she turned Christian Rose around coming out of Turn 4 and onto the frontstretch. That second incident was significantly worse, with Bredinger and Rose involved again. Both cars were severely damaged, with Bredinger ultimately retiring from the race due to crash damage after completing 122 laps.
- Greg Van Alst: 442 points
The Reese’s 200 was a quiet and uneventful race for Greg Van Alst, which is exactly what he was looking for. He qualified 13th and advanced to the 10th position by the time the checkered flag waved. His sixth top-10 finish of the year allowed him to close to within one point of Breidinger for fourth in the ARCA Menards Series standings.
- Amber Balcaen: 415 points
Bad luck continues to follow Balcaen. She was one of three competitors involved in a pileup during a restart on Lap 82 and she was forced to retire from the race as a result of the damage. Balcaen was credited with a 21st-place finish.
- Brad Smith: 372 points
Starting 23rd, Brad Smith advanced seven positions to record a 16th-place finish during the Reese’s 200 despite retiring from the race early due to a vibration.
- Sammy Smith: 353 points
Besides winner Chandler Smith, the only other driver to lead laps during Friday’s Reese’s 200 was polesitter Sammy Smith. The driver of the No. 18 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota led 89 laps, but was unable to track down Chandler Smith to earn his third victory of the season. He instead settled for second, his sixth top-five finish in seven races this year.
- Taylor Gray: 339 points
After winning the last two ARCA Menards Series events, Gray put together a quiet race Friday at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. He started fourth and finished third during the 200-lap event.
- Jesse Love: 314
Things got off to a good start for Love during the Reese’s 200 after he qualified second, but he was unable to maintain that track position. When the checkered flag waved he crossed the line in sixth, the last driver on the lead lap.
