NOTEBOOK: ARCA points leader Andres Perez feels his breakthrough victory is imminent

Halfway through the 2024 ARCA Menards Series season, Andres Perez holds firm control over the championship point standings despite having yet to visit Victory Lane.

There have been several near misses for Perez, but he is maintaining an optimistic outlook. He feels confident in continuing his strong season Saturday night at Salem Speedway, a track where Perez has recorded one of his three second-place finishes.

“I think everybody at Rev [Racing] has good momentum,” Perez said. “The season is finally turning our way, and the points lead is a very big deal. We’re trying to have very smart races so we can keep it. Salem was good to us last year, and I think we can be even better this year.”

Aside from the season-opener at Daytona International Speedway, in which he finished 12^th following a last-lap crash, Perez has not recorded a finish outside the top 10. This consistency has only made missing out on wins for Perez sting even more.

Perez has been doing everything possible to get more comfortable with the ARCA Menards Series cars in his sophomore season, particularly when it comes to handling dirty air and side drafting at big tracks. The knowledge acquired over the past couple years has Perez convinced his breakthrough victory is imminent.

After visiting Salem for the first time last year, Perez sees the facility as an ideal opportunity to visit Victory Lane and bolster his points lead. The high speeds of Turns 3-4 initially surprised Perez in practice, but he found a rhythm and managed to bring home a runner-up showing behind defending champion Jesse Love.

A change of season from fall to summer for the Salem ARCA 200 is not the only challenge Perez is faced with this weekend. Both Joe Gibbs Racing and Pinnacle Racing Group, teams that have won eight of 10 events in the ARCA Menards Series this year, have a car on the preliminary entry list.

Perez feels his second-place run to PRG’s Connor Zilisch at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park last Friday highlights the strides Rev Racing is making with overall speed. He knows both PRG and Gibbs will bring strong cars to Salem, but he remains determined to usurp both and finally obtain a cathartic first victory.

“The No. 18 and 28 are going to be good,” Perez said. “We’ve been getting closer to them, and splitting [those two] at IRP on the last restart was great. We need to put ourselves in the front pack and see how the race goes.

“That first win would be a huge weight off our shoulders. Our focus is on [the championship], but it wouldn’t taste the same without that win.”

Perez’s pursuit of an ARCA Menards Series victory starts Saturday evening when the green flag waves for the Salem ARCA 200 at 8 p.m. ET. FS1 will have live coverage of all the on-track action.

Corey Day making ARCA Menards Series debut with Pinnacle Racing Group

One of the brightest young stars in dirt sprint car competition is taking his talents to the ARCA Menards Series this weekend.

Corey Day, a five-time winner this year in the High Limit Sprint Car Series, is making his debut at one of the ARCA Menards Series’ oldest and toughest facilities, Salem Speedway. He will have plenty of speed and knowledge on his side by piloting the No. 28 for Pinnacle Racing Group.

Praised by 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson as a burgeoning prospect, Day made his pavement debut at Hickory Motor Speedway earlier this year driving a Late Model Stock for JR Motorsports. He caught the attention of many in the motorsports industry that evening by winning the second feature of the night.

Pinnacle Racing Group provides Day another chance to make a strong impression. The organization has visited Victory Lane four times in the national ARCA Menards Series this season between Connor Zilisch and Connor Mosack.

Salem’s fast, unique layout will present plenty of challenges for Day, who is seeking to gain experience and keep his car in one piece through all 200 laps.

Will Kimmel determined to find Victory Lane in team’s 75^th season

Kimmel Racing has been a staple of motorsports in the Midwest since Bill Kimmel Sr. founded the operation in 1949.

With family accomplishments that include his dad Bill Kimmel Jr. winning multiple Louisville Motor Speedway track titles and his uncle Frank Kimmel being a 10-time ARCA Menards Series champion, Will Kimmel has his eyes set on his first career ARCA national victory in Saturday’s Salem ARCA 200.

Will has come close to claiming a checkered flag on numerous occasions following his ARCA Menards Series debut in 2008. Of his 21 career top-five finishes, three of them have been in the runner-up position, his most recent being at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds back in 2018.

Although Kimmel Racing now operates on a part-time basis, the General Tire 150 at Charlotte Motor Speedway earlier this year showed the family team still has plenty of speed. After starting in 10^th, Will maintained solid track position all evening in the No. 69 Ford before settling for a strong fourth-place run.

With two victories in Salem Speedway’s Halloween 200 for Crown Vics on his resume, Will is determined to carry over his past success into Victory Lane as a proper way to celebrate 75 years of competition for Kimmel Racing.

NOTES:

• MAN Motorsports earned a top-five finish at Salem Speedway last year with local favorite Conner Popplewell behind the wheel of their No. 95 Toyota. The team looks to replicate that performance on Saturday with Andrew Patterson, who is coming off a 12^th-place run at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.
• After opening the year with two top-five finishes in three races, Christian Rose has struggled to find momentum during the summer. Rose seeks to rebound from a crash at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park on Saturday at Salem Speedway, where he tallied a career-best finish of third last year.
• Toni Breidinger’s solid outing at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park was undone after she was tangled up in two separate late-race incidents. With Salem Speedway being the site of one of her four top-five finishes from the 2023 season, Breidinger heads into Saturday night seeking her best performance of the year.
• Isaac Johnson returned to Greg Van Alst’s second car at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park after a seven-race absence and finish 10th despite being a lap behind winner Connor Zilisch. Johnson is back with Van Alst for the Salem ARCA 200 with the goal of improving upon his career-best run from last weekend.