ARCA Menards Series standings: Breaking down the top 10 in points after Michigan

With eight races left in the 2022 ARCA Menards Series season, there is a new driver on top of the championship standings following Saturday’s Henry Ford Health 200 at Michigan International Speedway.

Nick Sanchez’s third ARCA Menards Series victory of the season Saturday evening allowed the Rev Racing driver to take control of the battle for the series championship ahead of teammate Rajah Caruth and GMS Racing’s Daniel Dye.

RELATED: Complete Michigan International Speedway results

However, Sanchez’s lead at the top of the standings is far from substantial. He leads Caruth by seven points, while Dye is only nine points back in third with eight races left on the schedule.

Below is a breakdown of the how the top 10 drivers in the standings fared in the Henry Ford Health 200, as well as a complete look at the ARCA Menards Series standings.

Nick Sanchez, driver of the #2 Max Siegel Inc Chevrolet, and Daniel Dye, driver of the #43 Helm Chevrolet, race during the Henry Ford Health 200 for the ARCA Menards Series at Michigan International Speedway on August 6, 2022 in Brooklyn, Michigan. (Nic Antaya/ARCA Racing)
Nick Sanchez, driver of the No. 2 Max Siegel Inc Chevrolet, and Daniel Dye, driver of the No. 43 Helm Chevrolet, race during the Henry Ford Health 200 for the ARCA Menards Series at Michigan International Speedway on August 6, 2022. (Photo: Nic Antaya/ARCA Racing)
  1. Nick Sanchez: 561 points

He may not have had the fastest car during Saturday’s Henry Ford Health 200, but that didn’t stop Sanchez from finding a way to win. Using a late restart to take the lead from Corey Heim, Sanchez was able to use some impressive defensive driving skills to fend off Daniel Dye and Heim in the final laps to earn his third victory of the season. The win catapulted him past teammate Rajah Caruth into the ARCA Menards Series championship lead by seven points.

  1. Rajah Caruth: 554 points

Entering Saturday’s race as the ARCA Menards Series championship leader, Caruth raced within the top 10 throughout the Henry Ford Health 200. However, he didn’t have the same speed and luck that teammate Sanchez had. Caruth started fourth and only managed to earn a sixth-place finish, a result that dropped him out of the ARCA Menards Series championship lead with eight races left in the season.

  1. Daniel Dye: 552 points

Still in search of his first victory of the season, Dye was in the hunt for the victory in the final laps of the race despite bad luck earlier in the day that forced him to miss qualifying and start at the rear of the field. He was able to get up to second during the final restart and challenged Sanchez for the lead, but he couldn’t complete the pass and lost second to Heim on the final lap. He settled for third and is now nine points behind Sanchez in the battle for the ARCA Menards Series championship.

  1. Greg Van Alst: 477 points

The Henry Ford Health 200 was a quiet and uneventful race for veteran Van Alst, who started 10th and finished ninth to earn his seventh top-10 finish of the season. The result was enough to move Van Alst from fifth to fourth in the ARCA Menards Series standings ahead of Toni Breidinger.

  1. Toni Breidinger: 476 points 

Avoiding any on-track issues, Breidinger started 12th during the Henry Ford Health 200 and crossed the finish line 11th, two laps off the pace set by winner Sanchez. She fell one point behind Van Alst in the battle for fourth in the ARCA Menards Series standings after the 12th race of the season.

  1. Amber Balcaen: 441 points

If Amber Balcaen didn’t have bad luck, she’d have no luck at all. She crashed out of the Henry Ford Health 200 at Michigan after only completing 23 laps, marking the third straight race in which she has been involved in an accident. In a social media post, Balcaen said her No. 30 Ford suffered a mechanical failure that led to the crash at Michigan.

  1. Brad Smith: 400 points 

Brad Smith started and finished 16th in the Henry Ford Health 200 at Michigan International Speedway, 24 laps off the pace set by race winner Sanchez. He remains seventh in the ARCA Menards Series standings.

  1. Sammy Smith: 394 points

Sammy Smith’s march up the ARCA Menards Series standings continued Saturday evening at Michigan International Speedway. He started second and led two laps before ultimately finishing fourth. His seventh top-five finish of the year allowed him to close to within six points of Brad Smith for seventh in the ARCA Menards Series standings.

  1. Taylor Gray: 339 points 

Three-time ARCA Menards Series race winner Taylor Gray sat out Saturday’s Henry Ford Health 200 because he wasn’t old enough to compete at Michigan International Speedway. He remains ninth in the ARCA Menards Series standings.

  1. D.L. Wilson: 328 points

With Jesse Love unable to compete in Saturday’s race at Michigan International Speedway due to age restrictions, D.L. Wilson was able to move back into the top 10 in the ARCA Menards Series standings following a 13th-place finish.

ARCA Menards Series standings

Pos.  Driver Races Wins Top fives Top 10s Poles Laps Laps led Average start Average finish Points Diff.
1    Nick Sanchez 12 3 4 9 0 1497 113 6.8 6.8 561  —
2    Rajah Caruth 12 0 5 10 0 1501 34 9.1 6.4 554 -7
3    Daniel Dye 12 0 7 10 1 1442 224 7.8 6.7 552 -9
4    Greg Van Alst 12 0 1 7 0 1352 0 11.7 12.6 477 -84
5    Toni Breidinger 12 0 0 4 0 1385 0 12.4 12.7 476 -85
6    Amber Balcaen 12 0 0 3 0 854 0 14.9 15.6 441 -120
7    Brad Smith 12 0 0 1 0 954 0 22.6 19 400 -161
8    Sammy Smith 8 2 7 7 4 1159 476 2.4 3.5 394 -167
9    Taylor Gray 7 3 6 6 0 975 84 4.3 4.6 339 -222
10    D.L. Wilson 11 0 0 0 0 691 0 19.3 18.7 328 -233
11    Zachary Tinkle 11 0 0 0 0 638 0 19.6 19.6 318 -243
12    Jesse Love 7 0 3 5 1 1054 80 3.3 6.9 314 -247
13    Connor Mosack 6 0 4 6 0 768 11 6.3 5.5 273 -288
14    Corey Heim 5 1 4 4 3 407 210 2.6 4.8 209 -352
15    Bryce Haugeberg 8 0 0 0 0 935 0 22.8 18.6 203 -358
16    Parker Chase 6 0 2 3 0 487 1 6 11 199 -362
17    Alex Clubb 7 0 0 0 0 541 0 22.9 19.6 171 -390
18    Gus Dean 4 0 4 4 0 348 0 8.8 4.8 157 -404
19    Brandon Jones 3 2 3 3 1 314 64 4 1.7 137 -424
20    Ryan Huff 4 0 0 2 0 317 0 19 11.3 131 -430
21    Tim Monroe 6 0 0 0 0 81 0 19.8 24.3 118 -443
22    Andy Jankowiak 4 0 0 1 0 241 0 14 15 116 -445
23    Drew Dollar 4 0 0 1 1 218 51 3.5 16.3 114 -447
24    Tom Hessert III 3 0 1 2 0 648 0 6.3 6.3 113 -448
25    Sean Corr 4 0 1 2 0 244 6 15.3 16.8 110 -451
26    Jason Kitzmiller 4 0 0 1 0 280 0 14.5 17.3 107 -454
27    Ron Vandermeir, Jr. 3 0 0 3 0 494 0 11 9 105 -456
28    Christian Rose 5 0 0 0 0 378 0 16.6 23.6 102 -459
29    Willie Mullins 3 0 0 1 0 394 0 15.3 12.7 94 -467
30    Scott Melton 4 0 0 0 0 270 0 18.8 21 92 -469
31    Bret Holmes 2 0 1 2 0 168 9 9.5 4.5 80 -481
32    Tim Richmond 3 0 0 0 0 130 0 12.3 23.3 80 -481
33    Dallas Frueh 3 0 0 0 0 9 0 14.3 18.7 76 -485
34    Kris Wright 2 0 0 2 0 106 3 8.5 7 75 -486
35    Bryan Dauzat 4 0 0 0 0 143 0 20.8 25.8 73 -488
36    Will Kimmel 3 0 0 1 0 180 0 14.3 20 72 -489
37    Dale Quarterley 2 0 0 1 0 120 0 12.5 11 66 -495
38    Tony Cosentino 2 0 0 1 0 106 0 15.5 14.5 59 -502
39    Rita Thomason 2 0 0 0 0 68 0 19 15.5 57 -504
40    Arnout Kok 1 0 0 0 0 38 0 17 14 55 -506
41    Jon Garrett 2 0 0 0 0 128 0 14.5 17.5 53 -508
42    Ed Pompa 1 0 0 0 0 52 0 24 20 51 -510
43    Brayton Laster 2 0 0 0 0 128 0 24 19.5 49 -512
44    Chandler Smith 1 1 1 1 0 200 111 3 1 48 -513
45    Stephanie Moyer 2 0 0 0 0 80 0 20 20 48 -513
46    Max Gutierrez 2 0 0 1 0 131 0 21.5 21 46 -515
47    John Hunter Nemechek 1 0 1 1 1 42 31 1 4 43 -518
48    Landon Pembelton 1 0 1 1 0 250 0 3 3 41 -520
49    Thad Moffitt 1 0 1 1 0 68 0 25 4 40 -521
50    Jonathan Shafer 1 0 1 1 0 150 0 7 4 40 -521
51    Jake Drew 1 0 1 1 0 154 0 9 5 39 -522
52    Conner Jones 1 0 1 1 0 150 0 3 5 39 -522
53    Leland Honeyman 1 0 0 1 0 150 0 12 6 38 -523
54    Mason Diaz 1 0 0 1 0 80 0 4 7 37 -524
55    Stanton Barrett 1 0 0 1 0 42 0 14 7 37 -524
56    Jake Finch 1 0 0 1 0 64 0 8 7 37 -524
57    Dave Mader III 1 0 0 1 0 80 0 24 8 36 -525
58    Josh Berry 1 0 0 1 0 154 0 11 8 36 -525
59    Cody Coughlin 1 0 0 1 0 100 0 8 8 36 -525
60    Brian Kaltreider 3 0 0 0 0 87 0 35.7 32 36 -525
61    Derek Kraus 1 0 0 1 0 154 0 14 9 35 -526
62    Dylan Smith 1 0 0 1 0 199 0 8 9 35 -526
63    Con Nicolopoulos 2 0 0 0 0 76 0 28.5 26.5 35 -526
64    Morgen Baird 1 0 0 1 0 100 0 13 10 34 -527
65    Cole Moore 1 0 0 0 0 154 0 19 11 33 -528
66    Todd Souza 1 0 0 0 0 154 0 13 12 32 -529
67    Matt Wilson 1 0 0 0 0 95 0 15 12 32 -529
68    Dylan Fetcho 1 0 0 0 0 198 0 12 12 32 -529
69    Joey Iest 1 0 0 0 0 154 0 12 13 31 -530
70    Colton Collins 2 0 0 0 0 431 0 15 13.5 31 -530
71    Austin Herzog 1 0 0 0 0 154 0 16 14 30 -531
72    Colton Collins 2 0 0 0 0 431 0 15 13.5 30 -531
73    Jeffery MacZink 1 0 0 0 0 95 0 21 14 30 -531
74    Chuck Hiers 1 0 0 0 0 80 0 10 15 29 -532
75    Tanner Reif 1 0 0 0 0 154 0 17 16 28 -533
76    Ed Bull 1 0 0 0 0 35 0 20 16 28 -533
77    Jason White 1 0 0 0 0 80 0 25 17 27 -534
78    Paul Pedroncelli, Jr. 1 0 0 0 0 153 0 15 17 27 -534
79    Colby Howard 1 0 0 0 0 32 0 6 17 27 -534
80    Takuma Koga 1 0 0 0 0 151 0 20 18 26 -535
81    Blaine Perkins 1 0 0 0 0 27 0 13 18 26 -535
82    Mandy Chick 1 0 0 0 0 120 0 16 18 26 -535
83    Tim Spurgeon 1 0 0 0 0 150 0 18 19 25 -536
84    Thomas Praytor 1 0 0 0 0 67 0 29 19 25 -536
85    Eric Caudell 2 0 0 0 0 69 0 24.5 31.5 25 -536
86    Tanner Allen 1 0 0 0 0 52 0 19 20 24 -537
87    Michael Lira 1 0 0 0 0 79 0 18 21 23 -538
88    Tommy Vigh, Jr. 1 0 0 0 0 17 0 21 21 23 -538
89    Ryan Roulette 1 0 0 0 0 144 0 30 22 22 -539
90    Dick Doheny 1 0 0 0 0 16 0 23 22 22 -539
91    Chris Martin, Jr. 1 0 0 0 0 45 0 21 22 22 -539
92    Bridget Burgess 1 0 0 0 0 142 0 27 23 21 -540
93    A.J. Moyer 1 0 0 0 0 61 0 33 23 21 -540
94    Casey Carden 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 21 23 21 -540
95    Benny Chastain 1 0 0 0 0 78 0 35 25 19 -542
96    Sebastian Arias 1 0 0 0 0 126 0 26 25 19 -542
97    Richard Garvie 1 0 0 0 0 48 0 6 25 19 -542
98    Josh White 1 0 0 0 0 3 0 24 25 19 -542
99    Jack Wood 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 16 25 19 -542
100    Bobby Hillis, Jr. 1 0 0 0 0 124 0 31 26 18 -543
101    Chris Lowden 1 0 0 0 0 54 0 34 31 13 -548
102    Kyle Keller 1 0 0 0 0 45 0 24 32 12 -549
103    Andrew Tuttle 1 0 0 0 0 26 0 37 35 9 -552