PIT BOX: Champion-crowning moment looms as ARCA Menards Series reaches Salem Speedway for season’s penultimate race

For the 109th time, the ARCA Menards Series heads to one of the most historic venues on its schedule this Saturday night for the running of the Atlas 200 at Indiana’s Salem Speedway (7:30 p.m. ET on FS2/FloRacing).

Salem Speedway first hosted what is now the ARCA Menards Series in 1955, when Jack Harrison captured the fourth victory of his career. When ARCA returned for the opening race of the 1956 season a few months later, Harrison was again the man who stood in Victory Lane after claiming his seventh career triumph.

The 0.555-mile oval has been a fixture on the ARCA schedule since, with the venue typically hosting at least one ARCA event annually. Some of ARCA’s most legendary names have taken home checkered flags from Salem Speedway, including Frank Kimmel, Tim Steele, Jack Bowsher, Ramo Stott and Iggy Katona, as well as NASCAR champions like Benny Parsons and Bobby Allison.

In recent years, some of NASCAR’s brightest rising stars have enjoyed success at Salem, including drivers like Justin Allgaier, Chris Buescher, Alex Bowman, Grant Enfinger, Christopher Bell, Christian Eckes, Chandler Smith, Ty Gibbs, Jesse Love and defending race winner, Sammy Smith.

Tickets for Saturday’s Atlas 200 are available here. Below is everything to know about the event.

Atlas 200 at Salem Speedway

WHAT TO WATCH FOR:

The penultimate round of the 2023 ARCA Menards Series season brings the series back to Salem Speedway, which also happens to be an important location for ARCA Menards Series points leader Jesse Love.

Love scored the first of his now 11 career ARCA Menards Series triumphs at Salem in 2021, making this the appropriate location for Love to lock up the 2023 series championship.

All Love needs to do is start Saturday’s race to clinch the title in his rookie season.

A victory would be a perfect way to close the circle for Love at Salem, but he’ll be faced with stiff competition from drivers who are also looking to forge their own path.

That includes recently crowned 2023 ARCA Menards Series East champion William Sawalich, who will be looking for his fifth overall ARCA platform win of the 2023 campaign at Salem this Saturday night in the No. 18 for Joe Gibbs Racing.

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Andres Perez de Lara will once again attempt to break into the win column in Rev Racing’s No. 2 Chevrolet, and Brent Crews will make his first ARCA oval start on asphalt as a teammate to Love at Venturini Motorsports.

Local favorite Will Kimmel, fresh off a strong run at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds, will look to defend his home turf in the Kimmel Racing No. 69. Frankie Muniz will look to finish the season strong in the No. 30 for Rette Jones Racing, Toni Breidinger is back again in the No. 55 for Venturini Motorsports, and Christian Rose has his sights set on a top-five finish in the No. 32 for AM Racing.

Other notables include Salem Speedway regular Conner Popplewell, who is making his ARCA platform debut for MAN Motorsports, as well as Brayton Laster, Zachary Tinkle, Ed Pompa and Jon Garrett, among others.

The full entry list for Saturday’s Atlas 200 is available here.

RACING REFERENCE:

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

RACE FACTS:

CREW CHIEF HANDOUT: The starting field for the Atlas 200 is limited to 28 starters plus provisionals. This event will run under the 2023 ARCA Menards Series rules, procedures, regulations and specifications.

QUALIFYING: Two consecutive laps. No adjustments or repairs may be made on car after taking the green flag at Start/Finish line. All cars must make a qualifying attempt, and all drivers must practice before they can qualify.

RACE PIT STOP: Break pit stop procedure. Breaks at or near the conclusion of laps 75 and 125. All cars will be required to make at least one pit stop prior to last 10 laps of race. No adding or moving tires to or from pit box once race has started. (Learn about all of ARCA’s pit stop procedures here.)

TIRE ALLOTMENT: The maximum tire use at track (total, “from home” plus purchased at track) for the event is 14. Per ARCA Rulebook, maximum number of tires allowed in pit box for use in race is six (6).