Lavar Scott hopes to ride his early momentum into his first ARCA victory Friday at Dover

Both of Lavar Scott’s ARCA appearances in 2023 have resulted in top-five finishes.

Those two races could not have been further apart on the spectrum for the Carney’s Point, New Jersey native, as Scott ended up fifth at the half-mile Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Florida for the ARCA Menards Series East opener, which was preceded by a fourth-place run at Daytona International Speedway in a 39-car field for the main ARCA division.

Scott came into that weekend intending to gain as much respect and experience as possible in the draft, but he departed Daytona Beach elated over leading 14 laps and being in contention for the victory during the race’s closing stages.

“It was a dream come true to do [Daytona],” Scott said. “It’s the track we all look up to when we’re little, so being able to run that race and come away with a fourth-place finish was kind of surreal to be quite honest, but I’m looking forward to bringing the momentum to Dover [Motor Speedway] this weekend.”

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While most rookies would feel apprehension toward racing on the high banks of Daytona, Scott was calm and composed when he arrived at the massive complex.

The weeks leading into the season-opener saw Scott work closely with Rev Racing on preparing an ideal setup and studying past ARCA drafting races that included Nick Sanchez’ triumph with the organization at Talladega Superspeedway the previous April.

Rev Racing’s strategy with Scott and his teammate Jack Wood was executed to near perfection. Scott and Wood spent plenty of time at the front of the pack and both managed to keep their cars clean for solid performances, all while Scott gained the trust of both young drivers and veterans alike.

Scott found himself side-by-side with leader Jason White at the white flag before losing momentum after Jesse Love took him three-wide. Despite this, Scott felt a sense of validation knowing he could hold his own in one of the most mentally demanding races on the ARCA schedule.

“I honestly didn’t know what to expect,” Scott said. “With group qualifying, your starting position is dependent on other cars and how fast they are. All I knew was that if I did my job and listened to what my spotter Tyler Green said, we had a chance to be at the front, and sure enough, we were.”

Although Scott would have loved to share the track at Talladega last Saturday with Wood and Andres Perez de Lara, the latter of which led 28 laps, Scott was more than happy to support Rev Racing throughout the weekend and looks forward to having another chance at a big track soon.

Until that day arrives, Scott is centering his focus on the East Series title as he looks to improve upon a solid first outing with Rev Racing at Five Flags.

For Scott to earn a championship, he and Rev Racing will have to figure out how to disrupt the efficiency of the No. 18, which has sat atop the East Series point standings the last two seasons with Sammy Smith as its driver.

William Sawalich picked up where Smith left off by leading every lap at Five Flags. Scott does not envision Sawalich winning every race, but he knows his championship aspiration will be a moot point if he does not keep him within striking distance on track and, by extension, the point standings.

“Joe Gibbs Racing has a lot of resources, and they put them to good use, but William is also a great kid,” Scott said. “He works really hard and is awesome driver. I know we can still beat them, but we just have to work extra hard to be able to compete with them.”

Friday’s General Tire 125 at Dover would be the perfect race for Scott and Rev Racing to establish themselves as title contenders.

The event serves as Scott’s homecoming with Dover being the closest track to his hometown, which means Scott will have plenty of family and friends in attendance to watch him battle Sawalich and a four-car armada from Venturini Motorsports for the victory.

Scott said there are plenty of aspects about Dover that make it challenging for younger drivers like himself, but he expects to get acclimated to the Monster Mile quickly with the goal of becoming another winner under the Rev Racing banner.

“[Dover] is so much different compared to other tracks on [the ARCA East] schedule,” Scott said. “There’s a big bump in Turn 1 and Turn 3, so you have to be aggressive and smooth at the same time. It’s a tricky track, but a win there would be just like winning at Daytona for me because just about everyone I know is going to be there.”

Opening his season by traveling to three unique facilities has provided Scott plenty of knowledge on how to get the most out of his car, which he hopes translates into becoming the first Black champion on the ARCA platform.