NASCAR ARC Series
Posted: Tue Mar 28, 2017 9:06 pm
We're here at Michigan International Speedway to bring you the next ARC Series race! Michigan is a big, wide track with plenty of room to race, so we should get to see a lot of action this time around! On the pole is last race's winner Antonio Alberts looking for win number two, while on the outside pole is Bjorn Kristjansson, also hunting for his second win.
The field immediately stretches to three wide as all the cars battle for position. However the field doesn't even finish two laps before Aiko Asakura bounces off the wall and takes out a huge pack of cars including Robin Best, Alex Valentine, Ron Waffle and Timothy Victor. A number of cars opt to come in and top off on fuel, including the leaders. Both WTFM cars as well as Akira Queen stay on track, as well as five or six other cars. Ranger Joe leads the field to the restart.
Joe leads for several laps, but his teammate Snuffy McAirborne makes a move to pass. However he loses speed and is overtaken by Queen, giving up second. While those two battle for the lead, two other cars battle for a more important lead - the points lead. Kirk Kidd and Takumi Fujiwara are racing very close to each other, and this race could easily decide who takes the lead in points. With only 11 points separating them going into this race, it's anyone's game.
The second caution comes out on lap 17, when Pinky Machibuse loses control of his car coming out of turn 2 and spins out on the backstretch, collecting Johnny Rosales, Kyle Wood, Harold Cunningham and Tanner Grant.
A number of mid-pack cars pit on this caution, hoping fresh tires and car adjustments will help them race their way to the front. Ranger Joe still leads the field, with Akira Queen, Ruri Thomson, Snuffy McAirborne and Scott Jackson rounding out the top five. Thomson moves into second soon after the restart, and there's a 3-wide battle for third behind him. Evan Henderson takes advantage of this and uses it to pull into the top 5. Thomson tries to pass for the lead but he can't get it and McAirborne moves back into 2nd. Kirk Kidd sneaks into the top 5 on lap 28, hunting for his 7th win to distance himself from Fujiwara. Queen and McAirborne battle for the 2nd spot and a chance at the lead, but no one can pass Ranger Joe. Not to be outdone, Fujiwara enters the top 10 around lap 32, looking to make this an exciting battle for the points lead. Queen very nearly gets past Joe on lap 34, but he's outrun off of turn 2 and falls back in line. It soon becomes a 3-wide battle for 2nd as Queen, Henderson and McAirborne run the length of the track in a drag race for the position. On lap 41 a set of new faces enter the back half of the top 10 as the field continues to shuffle, including Karl Smith, George Plinkleton and Chase Spader. Despite Queen's best efforts it's still Ranger Joe's race. Smith and Plinkleton are both able to race their way into the top 5, with Plinkleton coming even further ahead and tries to challenge Queen for third. McAirborne, with help from Kristjansson, finally gets past his teammate on lap 49 to become the third leader of the race.
It's still neck and neck for the points lead, as Kidd and Fujiwara race side by side in 8th and 9th. Green flag stops begin on lap 54, which really gives the field a chance to shake up. The cars that pit on the second caution do not pit on this cycle, and Scott McHale leads the field as the pit stops cycle through. Ranger Joe picked up the lead over the rest of the cars that did pit, meaning that when McHale finally pits he will have the lead once again. McHale pulls into pit road on lap 65, but one car still does not pit: the 7 of Timothy Victor. Before Joe or any of the others could catch up to McHale and the other cars that didn't pit, Antonio Alberts spins trying to muscle past the slow car of Mike Hunt, bringing out caution number three on lap 67.
This puts almost the entire field on the tail-end of the lead lap, with McHale, Timothy Victor, Ji-Sung Ki and Matthew Vincent in a 4-car shootout behind them to decide the leader. The restart causes another yellow however, as Jaelon Sapp and Will Harvey get together. Harvey tries to merge back into the pack but instead collides with Dave Davies, also taking out Seth Martin and Hoyte Burnett.
This resets the field so that all the cars can actually challenge McHale for his lead. Joe quickly maneuvers past the two V-Raptor cars and Ki, hoping to get his lead back before the race ends. Also maneuvering through the pack of pit strategists is Kirk Kidd, looking to rain on everyone's first-win parade. Joe, with help from Ki, is able to push past McHale with 12 to go, but McHale isn't giving up the ghost just yet, and he hangs on to challenge for the lead once again! Behind them, most of the rest of the field is very strung out, with no one in any position to make a surprise move to the front. McHale gets to Joe's back bumpet several times, but he just isn't able to make the pass. And despite his and Kidd's best efforts, Ranger Joe is able to hold out and win at Michigan! Congrats to Brian!
The field immediately stretches to three wide as all the cars battle for position. However the field doesn't even finish two laps before Aiko Asakura bounces off the wall and takes out a huge pack of cars including Robin Best, Alex Valentine, Ron Waffle and Timothy Victor. A number of cars opt to come in and top off on fuel, including the leaders. Both WTFM cars as well as Akira Queen stay on track, as well as five or six other cars. Ranger Joe leads the field to the restart.
Joe leads for several laps, but his teammate Snuffy McAirborne makes a move to pass. However he loses speed and is overtaken by Queen, giving up second. While those two battle for the lead, two other cars battle for a more important lead - the points lead. Kirk Kidd and Takumi Fujiwara are racing very close to each other, and this race could easily decide who takes the lead in points. With only 11 points separating them going into this race, it's anyone's game.
The second caution comes out on lap 17, when Pinky Machibuse loses control of his car coming out of turn 2 and spins out on the backstretch, collecting Johnny Rosales, Kyle Wood, Harold Cunningham and Tanner Grant.
A number of mid-pack cars pit on this caution, hoping fresh tires and car adjustments will help them race their way to the front. Ranger Joe still leads the field, with Akira Queen, Ruri Thomson, Snuffy McAirborne and Scott Jackson rounding out the top five. Thomson moves into second soon after the restart, and there's a 3-wide battle for third behind him. Evan Henderson takes advantage of this and uses it to pull into the top 5. Thomson tries to pass for the lead but he can't get it and McAirborne moves back into 2nd. Kirk Kidd sneaks into the top 5 on lap 28, hunting for his 7th win to distance himself from Fujiwara. Queen and McAirborne battle for the 2nd spot and a chance at the lead, but no one can pass Ranger Joe. Not to be outdone, Fujiwara enters the top 10 around lap 32, looking to make this an exciting battle for the points lead. Queen very nearly gets past Joe on lap 34, but he's outrun off of turn 2 and falls back in line. It soon becomes a 3-wide battle for 2nd as Queen, Henderson and McAirborne run the length of the track in a drag race for the position. On lap 41 a set of new faces enter the back half of the top 10 as the field continues to shuffle, including Karl Smith, George Plinkleton and Chase Spader. Despite Queen's best efforts it's still Ranger Joe's race. Smith and Plinkleton are both able to race their way into the top 5, with Plinkleton coming even further ahead and tries to challenge Queen for third. McAirborne, with help from Kristjansson, finally gets past his teammate on lap 49 to become the third leader of the race.
It's still neck and neck for the points lead, as Kidd and Fujiwara race side by side in 8th and 9th. Green flag stops begin on lap 54, which really gives the field a chance to shake up. The cars that pit on the second caution do not pit on this cycle, and Scott McHale leads the field as the pit stops cycle through. Ranger Joe picked up the lead over the rest of the cars that did pit, meaning that when McHale finally pits he will have the lead once again. McHale pulls into pit road on lap 65, but one car still does not pit: the 7 of Timothy Victor. Before Joe or any of the others could catch up to McHale and the other cars that didn't pit, Antonio Alberts spins trying to muscle past the slow car of Mike Hunt, bringing out caution number three on lap 67.
This puts almost the entire field on the tail-end of the lead lap, with McHale, Timothy Victor, Ji-Sung Ki and Matthew Vincent in a 4-car shootout behind them to decide the leader. The restart causes another yellow however, as Jaelon Sapp and Will Harvey get together. Harvey tries to merge back into the pack but instead collides with Dave Davies, also taking out Seth Martin and Hoyte Burnett.
This resets the field so that all the cars can actually challenge McHale for his lead. Joe quickly maneuvers past the two V-Raptor cars and Ki, hoping to get his lead back before the race ends. Also maneuvering through the pack of pit strategists is Kirk Kidd, looking to rain on everyone's first-win parade. Joe, with help from Ki, is able to push past McHale with 12 to go, but McHale isn't giving up the ghost just yet, and he hangs on to challenge for the lead once again! Behind them, most of the rest of the field is very strung out, with no one in any position to make a surprise move to the front. McHale gets to Joe's back bumpet several times, but he just isn't able to make the pass. And despite his and Kidd's best efforts, Ranger Joe is able to hold out and win at Michigan! Congrats to Brian!