For the second straight year, Connor Mosack won the ARCA Menards Series race at Kansas Speedway. Not only did he go back-to-back there, but Pinnacle Racing Group also now has back-to-back ARCA victories with the winning driver named Connor in both triumphs.
Mosack continued the series’ run of drivers earning their first win of the season, now five straight. As such, the Frontstretch ARCA power rankings saw some changes, though points leader Andres Perez de Lara remained on top.
1. Andres Perez de Lara
For the fourth straight race, Perez de Lara started inside the top 10 and finished inside the top 10. And that’s been his career: putting together top-10 performances that have him atop the points.
In his last 10 races dating back to last season, Perez de Lara has five top fives and eight top 10s. That’s a recipe for success, but as we saw back in 2022 with the championship fight between Nick Sanchez and Daniel Dye, leading laps and winning makes an enormous difference. In those 10 races, Perez de Lara has zero laps led and he is still seeking that first victory.
Looking ahead to Charlotte Motor Speedway, over the last three years, Rev collectively has two top fives, five top 10s and 40 laps led. As such, Perez de Lara has a prime opportunity to earn bonus points and increase his precarious six-point lead.
2. Amber Balcaen
While yours truly has been fortunate not to break a bone, I’ve had a pair of car crashes. Driving afterward in physical pain is not enjoyable. Amber Balcaen impressively finished eighth while driving with a broken foot at Kansas.
“My foot’s throbbing, but happy to come home with a top-10 finish,” she told Frontstretch post-race. “We wanted a top five. We really thought we could get a career-best today. But my team made all the right calls all day long. Made sure we followed the rules and kept it on the lead lap. Made the right changes during the breaks so this ICON Direct No. 22’s in one piece and we like that, keeping that for the guys at the shop, keeping it clean and decent day.
“I just wanted to have a clean race. I just wanted to be consistent and I think maybe I could have pushed it a little bit harder. But that’s the name of the game with racing, right? Finding that edge so I think we learned a lot today which we want to do and overall solid for the ICON Direct No. 22.”
Balcaen has made significant…
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