Parity reigns supreme among ARCA Menards Series champions as Nick Sanchez became the 16th straight different series champion.
Daniel Dye entered the season finale at Toledo Speedway only trailing by two points, but a broken right-front ball joint ended his bid at winning the title.
Rajah Caruth led the points for several races, but his three DNFs in the final five races relegated him to third in the standings.
Remarkably, even though he missed four races early in the season due to not being 18 at the time, Sammy Smith drove his way up to a fourth-place finish in the standings.
Greg Van Alst only tallied one top five in his first full-time ARCA campaign, but the 41-year-old still wound up fifth in the championship standings, and he’s seeking to improve upon that in the 2023 ARCA season.
The top five drivers were forces to be reckoned with in 2022, but what stood out and who took home the third annual Frontstretch ARCA awards?
Top Storyline
In 2022, the ARCA Menards Series saw an increase in its level of competition, a boost that was undoubtedly the top storyline of the season.
To compare, in 2021, champion Ty Gibbs and runner-up Corey Heim were the only drivers to win multiple races. In 2022, five drivers captured at least two victories in 2022.
The field depth strengthened so much that NASCAR Xfinity Series regular Brandon Jones won three out of his five starts. Meanwhile, dirt regular Ryan Unzicker earned his second career ARCA victory, dispatching the series regulars without trouble as Unzicker led 63 of the 78 laps after starting 20th.
Ryan Unzicker’s win was one of my favorite moments on the year.
He’s been a long-time dirt competitor in ARCA and took home a checkered flag in Bill Hendren’s final race as an owner.
A storybook ending if there ever was one. https://t.co/RI2riQw6cc
— Brandon White (@BrandonWhite95) December 2, 2022
Four drivers led more than 100 laps in 2021; seven accomplished that feat in 2022. Of those seven, only Dye was shut out of victory lane, and he very well could have scored one, if not more, wins in 2022.
Gibbs, Heim, Brad Smith and Sanchez were the only four drivers to run 90% of the 2021 schedule. Nine drivers ran 90% of the 2022 season, and that number doesn’t include Sammy Smith’s 16 starts.
The increased competition quality is also evidenced by 10 drivers who led at least 10 laps in 2021 to 13 drivers who led double-digit laps.
Can ARCA retain that upward trajectory in 2023? Difficult to say…
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