Kansas Speedway hosts the ARCA Menards Series for the second time this season with Saturday’s (Sept. 10) running of the Kansas Lottery 150. It’s the only track the series visits twice in 2022, a 100-lap race with 21 drivers entered to compete for the checkered flag.
Points leader Nick Sanchez unquestionably is a favorite for this one. Sanchez has won back-to-back ARCA Kansas events, and he also won the series’ most recent event at a big track, Michigan International Speedway.
“Our team excels on 1.5-mile tracks,” Sanchez said in a team release. “Even though we won the last two races in Kansas, we still could have made improvements to our car, and I’m looking forward to competing for the win this Saturday.”
If Sanchez indeed is victorious, he will become the first ARCA driver to win three straight events at a track since Sam Mayer swept the three 2020 Toledo Speedway races.
Kansas this Saturday in the @GainbridgeLife Chevy. 👊 pic.twitter.com/WtUhkreidU
— Nicholas Sanchez (@Nicksanchez080) September 8, 2022
Sanchez leads GMS Racing’s Daniel Dye by 10 points with four races left in the 2022 season. Dye started sixth and finished third in the earlier ARCA Kansas race this season, his first at the 1.5-mile track.
Dye’s crew chief Chad Bryant has been at Kansas three times as an ARCA crew chief. Bryant’s drivers have progressively improved their results; can Bryant guide Dye to his first ARCA victory of 2022?
Sanchez’s Rev Racing teammate Rajah Caruth suffered his career-worst day in the most recent ARCA race this season at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds. Caruth collided with Dye to bring out the first caution flag, but Caruth’s troubles were far from over.
On lap 18, smoke poured out of Caruth’s No. 6, and his day was over, winding up with a DNF and a 17th place finish.
Caruth’s misfortune cost him dearly in the championship standings as he now trails Sanchez by 28 points. Caruth’s championship hopes are not over, but his odds of winning it are not good. He would need to gain an average of seven points per race to usurp the lead from Sanchez. Nevertheless, Caruth is highly confident heading into Kansas, a track where he has finished ninth and second in his two trips there.
“I feel like we are the one to beat this weekend,” Caruth said in a team release. “I feel extremely confident, the highest it’s been all year.”
Sammy Smith joins Caruth as the two drivers who will compete in both events at Kansas on…
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