NOTEBOOK: Max Reaves chasing an Elko Speedway first Saturday night

In 11 ARCA Menards Series races at Elko Speedway to date, no driver has won multiple times.

Max Reaves has as good a chance as any to break that streak during Saturday’s Shore Lunch 250 presented by Dutch Boy (8 p.m. CT / 9 p.m. ET on FS2).

Reaves enters Saturday’s race as the defending winner at Elko Speedway, but his victory one season ago was hardly a foregone conclusion.

He spent most of the race battling with eventual 2025 ARCA Menards Series champion Brenden Queen as well as Lavar Scott before finally taking the lead for the final time on Lap 204.

Reaves is not yet old enough to race on the larger tracks on the ARCA Menards Series schedule, but he’s shown his talent at several short tracks throughout the last two seasons.

In addition to his victory at Elko, which was his first with the national ARCA Menards Series, Reaves added victories last year at Madison International Speedway and Toledo Speedway. He also won ARCA Menards Series East races at Five Flags Speedway, Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway and Flat Rock Speedway.

This year Reaves has already won twice. He scored his first victory of the year in East Series competition at Nashville in May before scoring a win one weekend ago in ARCA Menards Series competition at Berlin Raceway.

Based on his past results, it’ll be hard to bet against Reaves and the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 Toyota this Saturday night at Elko Speedway.

Ty Fredrickson returns for an Elko home game

One year after making his ARCA Menards Series debut at Elko Speedway, Ty Fredrickson is back.

The 17-year-old from Webster, Minnesota will make his second ARCA Menards Series start during Saturday’s Shore Lunch 250 presented by Dutch Boy. He’ll drive the No. 25 Toyota for Nitro Motorsports.

One season ago, Fredrickson, who is the son of ASA Midwest Tour Super Late Model champion Dan Fredrickson, drove the No. 25 Toyota for Venturini Motorsports to a fourth-place finish in his ARCA Menards Series debut.

Since then, Fredrickson has kept busy, racing at multiple events across the Midwest. Last season, he scored two ASA Midwest Tour wins, with victories coming at Grundy County Speedway and – conveniently – Elko Speedway last September.

Don’t be surprised if Fredrickson makes an appearance at the front of the field Saturday night.

Consistent approach paying dividends for Jake Bollman

No one has been more consistent in ARCA Menards Series competition this year than Jake Bollman.

While the of the pilot of the No. 20 Nitro Motorsports Toyota has failed to find Victory Lane so far this year, Bollman has consistently put himself near the front of the field every week.

He began the season with a runner-up finish at Daytona International Speedway, which set the tone for Bollman’s first nine races of the year ahead of Saturday’s event at Elko Speedway.

Since the opening race of the year, Bollman has only finished outside of the top 10 once. That circumstance came at Talladega Superspeedway, where Bollman spun while leading the race with fewer than 10 laps to go.

So far Bollman boasts an average finish of 5.8 through the first nine races of the season to go along with six top-five and eight top-10 finishes. He leads Nitro Motorsports teammate Thomas Annunziata by 18 points entering the Shore Lunch 250 presented by Dutch Boy.