Taylor Gray only led three laps in his No. 17 David Gilliland Racing Ford, but he led when it mattered most at the end to win the Dawn 150 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. It was the second win of the 2022 ARCA Menards Series season for the 17-year-old Gray to go along with a victory at Phoenix Raceway back in March.
“I know Chad Johnston and all the boys back in the shop got my back,” Gray said post-race to Fox Sports 1. “It was an awesome call by Chad to come down for tires [on the last pit stop].”
Parker Chase piloted the No. 15 Toyota to second place while Sammy Smith in the No. 18 Toyota came home third.
John Hunter Nemechek was the dominant driver of the day, making his ARCA debut in the No. 55 Billy Venturini Racing Toyota. Nemechek led 31 of the 42 laps, but he had to settle for fourth after losing the lead and getting caught up in multiple incidents late in the race.
“It is what it is,” Nemechek said. “I learned a lot. Hopefully, we can take it to tomorrow. I look forward to racing tomorrow in the Truck Series and seeing what we got.”
Jesse Love rounded out the top five. Positions sixth through tenth went to Kris Wright, Stanton Barrett, Daniel Dye, Rajah Caruth, and Dale Quarterly, respectively.
ARCA officials delayed the green flag by about 30 minutes to clear away standing water and make the 2.258-mile road course at Mid-Ohio more raceable for the 25 drivers in the field.
Rain, rain, go away 🌧
We’re on a little bit of a hold right now before we kick off the #Dawn150. We’ll let you know when we’re ready to go racing! @ARCA_Racing
— Mid-Ohio (@Mid_Ohio) July 8, 2022
The wet conditions created chaos for the drivers, many of whom are inexperienced with road course racing. The first caution came out halfway through the opening lap, when the No. 3 Ford of Casey Carden had a brake issue and Amber Balcean spun in her No. 30 Ford. The No. 27 of Con Nicolopoulos also dropped out on lap one. Jack Wood confirmed via Twitter that he and the No. 21 team withdrew before the race due to mechanical issues.
Well, I wish our luck was a little better today, but unfortunately a mechanical failure has kept us from starting the @ARCA_Racing race at @Mid_Ohio @BMR_NASCAR
I’m here cheering on @danieldye43 and the rest of the @GMSRacingLLC group! Hopefully they can go for the win. pic.twitter.com/veKVaKs6lp— Jack Wood (@DriverJackWood) July 8, 2022
There were several other early-race incidents that did not bring out the…
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