Jesse Love – the youngest champion in a NASCAR-sanctioned series – proved his worth on the dirt in Springfield on Sunday, leading every single lap that was run to get the victory for himself and Venturini Motorsports.
Although we saw another ARCA race that was time-shortened, it was still a longer day than expected in Springfield. Rain hit the track overnight and left the track preparation crews with a lot to take care of before they could start the event, which was delayed by just over an hour.
Track conditions were tricky to start the race with drivers struggling for grip, including the dirt ringer Ryan Unzicker spinning out all by himself 17 laps into the race.
Here is video of Unzicker’s early-race incident:
Whoops!
Dirt track ringer Ryan Unzicker goes around to bring out the caution in Springfield@MAVTV | @FloRacing pic.twitter.com/Kvk7XCbA3j
— ARCA Menards Series (@ARCA_Racing) August 21, 2022
Once the first race break hit, it was announced that the race would be shortened and put on a time limit due to a Sammy Hagar concert, which was schedule for later in the evening at the fairgrounds.
State Fair time limits due to concert that follows the race will bring us to an early end at Springfield. Race will finish at or around 4 pm CT.
— Charles Krall (@ChasKrall) August 21, 2022
This, surprisingly, wouldn’t be the most unusual thing to take place on Sunday evening.
Not much else unfolded under green besides what could have been a battle for the win between Love and his biggest challenge Buddy Kofoid.
Before Kofoid got the chance to make anything happen when the 4PM CT white flag dropped, the slow car of Bryce Haugeberg would suddenly stop on the frontstretch directly in front of the leaders.
Love avoided him, Kofoid unfortunately did not.
The No. 12 of Haugeberg went sailing into the air off the front end of the No. 15, ultimately landing on its side and coming to a rest.
Both drivers walked exit the cars under their own power and walk away.
To view the scary crash, which fortunately saw both drivers walk away, click here:
Video: Buddy Kofoid and Bryce Haugeberg Collide in Vicious Crash, Haugeberg Goes Flipping
In the midst of all of the sparks and carnage, a young driver celebrated one of the most dominant wins in his career.
On the other side of that was the young Toyota driver, better known as the expert on dirt. Kofoid – although with a race car destroyed – will still be credited with a second place finish, according to the unofficial results from ARCA.
With the order still unofficial, it’s Unzicker who found himself in the third finishing spot, rebounding from his spin early in the race.
Sammy Smith – running his third race in three days – finished fourth, which would signify no finish outside of that spot in the last three days. An impressive stat for a driver that has shown a ton of promise this season all across the board.
Nick Sanchez will hold onto his points lead with his fifth place run, with his teammate and fellow title contender Rajah Caruth finishing just behind in sixth.
Daniel Dye, Taylor Gray, Ken Schrader, and what was left of Haugeberg’s car will round out the top ten.
Due to the results being unofficial, any changes to the finishing order once confirmed will be updated throughout the night.
The ARCA Menards Series continues their busy schedule with another race next weekend from the Milwaukee Mile, live on MAVTV and FloRacing on August 28th.
