The ARCA Menards Series season finale is upon us. Twenty-one drivers are entered to compete in Saturday’s (Oct. 5) 200-lap race at Toledo Speedway. So what are the storylines ahead of the 84th race at the half-mile short track?
Two championships will be awarded: the driver and owner titles.
On the driver’s side, once Andres Perez takes the green flag, he’ll clinch the title. The sophomore Rev Racing pilot is on track to become the second champion to go winless in a season, joining 1980 titlist Bobby Dotter.
Perez will happily take home the championship trophy, but he wants to add a race-winning trophy to his collection too.
“Last week was disheartening but the No. 2 Max Siegel Youth Foundation Chevrolet team didn’t give up,” he said in a team release. “We learned and ensured our point lead. Our eyes are on Toledo and earning the championship. We have been consistent and strategic this season, we have one more chance at parking the No. 2 in victory lane. I plan on giving my all.”
In his lone start at Toledo in 2023, Perez started and finished fourth. He finished as the last driver on the lead lap too, so he’ll need to be quicker if he wants a shot at victory too.
Perez’s Rev Racing teammate Lavar Scott will take home runner-up honors in the driver’s standings. One and a half of the Frontstretch ARCA panelists, including yours truly, picked him to win the title. Instead, his first five races of the season are the races he’d like to redo, and now he’s both happy for Rev whilst disappointed not to have a shot at the title on Saturday.
“I’m happy, but it sucks because I want to win the championship,” he told ARCA Racing. “We all work hard to achieve that goal at some point in our careers, but I’m happy with how the year went. We had a lot of good races. Situational stuff made [a championship] not happen, but as long as Rev Racing wins it, I’ll be happy no matter what.”
“We have competed up front, contended for wins and I’ve learned a lot,” he added in the team release. “We have one more chance to bring home a win for Rev Racing this year and I plan on giving it my all.”
On the owner’s side, Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 18 has a 93-point lead over Venturini Motorsports’ No. 20 for that crown. Like Perez, all William Sawalich must do to win the owner’s title for his team is start the race.
Sawalich is undoubtedly the favorite to win the race, though. He won it last…
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