Andres Perez appreciates the significance of another Rev Racing championship in the ARCA Menards Series

For the second time in three seasons, a Rev Racing driver will hoist the ARCA Menards Series championship trophy at Toledo Speedway.

That distinction is expected to belong to Mexico City’s Andres Perez, who enters the season finale with a 41-point advantage over his Rev Racing teammate Lavar Scott. With 21 cars entered for Saturday’s Owens Corning 200, all Perez needs is to show up and race at Toledo to become the first Mexican-born ARCA Menards Series champion.

Being able to all but secure the title with one race remaining is something Perez credits to the environment curated by Rev Racing and NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity development program that has enabled him to find consistency across a variety of tracks.

“[Rev Racing] has been great for my development,” Perez said. “Surrounding myself with people who know so much about this sport, having the opportunity to be in [the Rev Racing] ARCA car for two years now and having a shot at the championship is great. I’m very proud of the place I’m at now with all the work that has been put in behind the doors.”

Perez and Scott have enjoyed solid seasons under the Rev Racing banner despite an inauspicious start in the February opener at Daytona International Speedway.

Both had survived an eventful evening to put themselves in a position for a top-five finish. While holding steady on the bottom line during the last lap, Perez was turned into the outside retaining wall and sent airborne, collecting Scott and several others in the process.

Perez shook off the disappointment at Daytona to put together an efficient year. Although he has not yet found Victory Lane, Perez’s stat line includes two poles, 10 top fives and only three finishes worse than 10^th, which occurred at Daytona, the Illinois State Fairgrounds and the second outing at Kansas Speedway.

Scott has accumulated the same number of top fives as his teammate, but an inconsistent streak at the start of the year prevented him from staying within reach of Perez’s points lead. Scott nearly obtained his first ARCA Menards Series triumph at Elko Speedway, where he lost in a photo finish to William Sawalich after leading 100 laps.

While he would love to re-do the first five races of 2024, Scott finds himself content with the 2024 season he has experienced. Scott emphasized how much strenuous work has gone in to make Rev Racing competitive and is thrilled to see everyone get rewarded for their efforts.

“I’m happy, but it sucks because I want to win the championship,” Scott said. “We all work hard to achieve that goal at some point in our careers, but I’m happy with how the year went. We had a lot of good races. Situational stuff made [a championship] not happen, but as long as Rev Racing wins it, I’ll be happy no matter what.”

Scott also finds solace over Perez being the anticipated champion. The two have developed a close relationship during their time at Rev Racing, where they constantly engage in fun banter while also sharing ideas on how to improve their own cars.

Building relationships with everyone in the shop is a standard Scott has embodied over the past few years. By placing an emphasis on camaraderie, Scott said the cohesion naturally flows at Rev Racing, which translates to on-track success.

“We all just care,” Scott said. “Everybody in the shop wants to do well, so I think that naturally increases the attention to detail that you need to be good at this level. Me and Andres have to do simulator work all the time, [along with] prep in the gym. Everybody here cares so much, and it makes the year go well.”

Such a high standard of teamwork at Rev Racing has been prevalent since Max Siegel founded the operation in 2010. The qualities instilled within the company have been passed down to drivers like Bubba Wallace, Daniel Suarez and Kyle Larson, the last of whom earned an East Series title with Rev Racing in 2012.

Perez understands the significance behind joining Larson and Nick Sanchez as championship-winning drivers for Rev Racing. He expected the fight for the ARCA Menards Series title to be a grind from the opening race, which is why the impending accomplishment comes as both a relief and an honor.

“We started the season knowing we had a chance to fight for [the championship], but it was going to be tough.” Perez said. “Our consistency and the results on track have put us in a position to be with a comfortable lead.

“I’ve had enough races to soak it in and really think about how big of a deal it is. It’s so great to accomplish this, and I’m happy for everybody involved.”

Toledo is all that remains before Perez will formally celebrate the 2024 ARCA Menards Series title with his Rev Racing crew. The only thing that could make Perez’s stellar sophomore campaign better is if he earns his first victory Saturday afternoon.

Obtaining that triumph will be a challenge with many other strong cars in the field, but Perez said 2024 has taught him valuable lessons about dealing with and overcoming adversity. Every challenge has paid dividends for Perez, who looks forward to adding to Rev Racing’s growing legacy in the industry.

“There’s going to be bad moments and good moments, but you have to keep going,” Perez said. “Eventually, things will start working your way. When you have good momentum, take advantage of it, which has been our case. You can’t fall back when things aren’t going great.”

Perez and Rev Racing will put a bow on their ARCA Menards Series championship run when the green flag waves for the Owens Corning 200 at Toledo Speedway on Saturday afternoon. FS2 has live coverage of the race starting at 4 p.m. ET.