PIT BOX: Multiple newcomers to join West Series regulars at The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

The 2022 ARCA Menards Series West season reaches its penultimate round Friday night when the tour invades The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the running of the Star Nursery 150.

The race serves as the 10th event of the 2022 West Series schedule and will be the 11th visit by the series to the 3/8-mile paved oval.

Entering Friday’s race, Jake Drew has a comfortable, 51-point lead in the West Series championship standings. He’ll look to add to his advantage as he pursues his fifth victory of the season for Sunrise Ford Racing.

The West Series made its first visit to The Bullring in 1994, when NASCAR Hall of Famer Ron Hornaday Jr. triumphed in a 200-lap event. Other drivers to secure visits to Victory Lane at the short track in the years since include Ernie Cope, Mark Reed, Austin Cameron, Jim Inglebright, Greg Pursley, Sam Mayer, Gracie Trotter and Taylor Gray.

Tickets to the Star Nursery 150 are available. Below is everything to know about Friday night’s event.

Star Nursery 150 at The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

WHAT TO WATCH FOR:

While the racing seasons for the ARCA Menards Series and ARCA Menards Series East have come to a close, the ARCA Menards Series West still has some racing left on the calendar.

The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway welcomes the series Friday night for the running of the Star Nursery 150, and Drew, the championship leader, will look to continue his strong season at the front of the West Series field.

Tanner Reif, Drew’s Sunrise Ford Racing teammate, will be chasing his third victory of the season after securing wins at Irwindale Speedway and Evergreen Speedway earlier this year.

Cole Moore, fresh off his first West Series victory at All American Speedway on Oct. 1, will look to carry his momentum into Friday’s event in Las Vegas. His Bill McAnally Racing teammate Landen Lewis will also be looking for his second victory of the 2022 season.

Elsewhere in the field, history will be made when Bridget Burgess races against her mother, Sarah Burgess, who is making her West Series debut Friday. It will mark the first time in ARCA or NASCAR history that a mother and daughter will race against each other in the same event.

MORE LAS VEGAS: Schedule | Streaming

There will be several other drivers making their West Series debuts Friday. They include Tyler Reif, the brother of the aforementioned Tanner Reif, who will be driving the No. 41 for team owner Chris Lowden. Madera Speedway Late Model competitor Jacob Smith will also make his series debut aboard the No. 5 Ford fielded by team owner Jerry Pitts.

Katie Hettinger, who was recently announced as part of the Advance Auto Parts Drive for Diversity Combine, is slated for her West Series debut in the No. 02 Chevrolet for Young’s Motorsports. Mexico’s Andres Perez de Lara, another Drive for Diversity Combine invitee, makes his West Series debut in the No. 54 for David Gilliland Racing.

Taylor Gray, who won the West Series opener earlier this year at Phoenix Raceway, will return to West Series competition in the No. 71 Ford for David Gilliland Racing. Gray is the most recent West Series winner at The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and will look to become just the second multi-time race winner in West Series history at the track.

Other notable entries include Takuma Koga, who is making his 100th West Series start Friday, as well as Buddy Shepherd, Todd Souza and R.J. Smotherman, among others.

The complete entry list for Friday’s Star Nursery 150 is available here.

RACING REFERENCE:

• Previous ARCA West races at Las Vegas
• ARCA Menards Series West drivers at Las Vegas

RACE FACTS

CREW CHIEF HANDOUT: The starting field for the Star Nursery 150 is limited to 20 plus provisional positions. This event will run under the 2022 ARCA Menards Series West rules, procedures, regulations and specifications.

QUALIFYING: Starting position will be set by each car’s fastest recorded lap in the practice / qualifying session.

RACE PIT STOP: Pitting during any caution period in this event will be for making repairs and adjustments only; no tires can be changed unless approved by ARCA Officials. Positions will not be gained or lost among those pitting on the same lap unless penalty or going a lap down on pit road.

The maximum tire allotment available for this event is as follows: The maximum tire use at track for the event is eight (8). Per ARCA Rulebook, maximum number of tires allowed in pit box for use in race is four (4).