The ARCA Menards Series returns to the track for the first time since the season opener at Daytona International Speedway last month, as the series heads to Phoenix Raceway.
The General Tire 150 acts as a combination race, marking the second on the schedule for the ARCA national division and the first for the ARCA Menards Series West. The winner of the event will be credited with a win in both divisions.
Thirty-three cars are entered for the event, which is down from 39 that started at Daytona. Of the four main series events at Phoenix, it’s the second-highest total, down six from the 2022 edition.
The race will be the fourth ARCA event held at Phoenix, with the first occurring in 2020. The list of former winners of the race are notable, as each have gone onto higher levels of the sport, with Chandler Smith winning the inaugural race, Ty Gibbs taking the checkered flag in 2021 and Taylor Gray winning the event in 2022.
Current series points leader Greg Van Alst comes into Phoenix fresh off his first career win at Daytona, doing so after completing a pass on leader Jason White in turn 3 on the final lap. After the race, the 41-year-old had a celebratory dinner of pizza and Krispy Kreme donuts.
Venturini Motorsports driver Jesse Love enters the second race of his first full-time season 10 points out of the standings lead. After qualifying at the front row at Daytona, Love finished the race in seventh, but heads to a track in Phoenix that has been kind to him in the past.
Love has only finished outside of the top 15 once in six Phoenix starts, and clinched both of his West titles at the mile-long track.
Hollywood actor-turned-racecar driver Frankie Muniz will make his second career series start at Phoenix, which also acts as a home race for the driver. Muniz grew up in Scottsdale, Ariz., which is roughly a 48-mile drive from the racetrack. Muniz and his Rette Jones Racing team will also debut a new sponsor this week, as locally owned gaming bar The Hot Chick comes aboard the car for the weekend.
Sixteen-year-old William Sawalich is set to make his ARCA debut this weekend in the desert, driving the No. 18 for Joe Gibbs Racing. The youngster from Minnesota follows Connor Mosack, who brought the No. 18 to a runner up at Daytona.
The race also marks the first event of the West schedule. It’ll be the 50th time the series heads to Phoenix, with former winners including NASCAR Hall of Famers Richard Petty,
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