Moving the race to Sunday morning didn’t affect the speed on Corey Heim’s No. 20 Venturini Motorsports Toyota one bit, as the 19-year-old dominated to score his second ARCA Menards Series win of the season at Kansas Speedway.
The Marietta, Georgia-native has run a part-time schedule in both the ARCA Menards Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series this season, and now has secured a pair of victories in each series.
Due to a heavy amount of rain throughout the afternoon on Saturday, ARCA officials elected to throw a competition caution at Lap 25 – in addition to the pre-scheduled race break at Lap 50 – so teams could make adjustments and check tire wear.
Those tires would end up being a talking point throughout the race, more for Rajah Caruth than any other driver in Sunday’s 20-car field.
After electing to stay on the track at the Lap 25 competition caution, Caruth would be forced to make an unscheduled pit stop at lap 40, to service the No. 6 Chevrolet SS, which had cut down a tire.
Just a couple of laps after Caruth’s pit stop, Greg Van Alst and Matt Wilson collided in turn two, bringing out the first non-scheduled yellow flag of the event just eight laps short of the mid-race break – which would be moved to lap 55.
More problems at @kansasspeedway.@GregVanAlst35 and Matt Wilson crash in Turn 2, all while @danieldye43 makes an unschedule stop.@MAVTV | @FloRacing pic.twitter.com/tfAkYbKLBT
— ARCA Menards Series (@ARCA_Racing) September 11, 2022
Daniel Dye, who entered Kansas only 10 points behind Nick Sanchez for the points lead, scrambled down pit road with his GMS Racing crew, so that the team could fix a fuel pump issue on the No. 43 Chevrolet.
Only four laps of Sunday’s 150-mile contest were led by somebody other than Corey Heim, when Cody Coughlin – back in the series for the second time this season – stayed on the track to stay the lead, only to be passed on the restart in turn one.
The decision to stay out for @cody_coughlin doesn't pay off.@CoreyHeim_ quickly goes back to the lead at @kansasspeedway.@MAVTV | @FloRacing pic.twitter.com/BRsc119Q5r
— ARCA Menards Series (@ARCA_Racing) September 11, 2022
From that point onward, things were looking pretty cut and dry for Heim and Venturini Motorsports, until a caution was displayed with three laps to go, for an incident involving championship contender Rajah Caruth.
Big trouble for @rajahcaruth_!
He crashes hard in Turns 1 and 2 to set up a green-white-checkered finish at @kansasspeedway.
Caruth will now lose more ground in the point standings.@MAVTV | @FloRacing pic.twitter.com/UCT7tFnrLP
— ARCA Menards Series (@ARCA_Racing) September 11, 2022
Running third-place at the time of the incident, Caruth blew a right-front tire heading into the first corner, taking a significant impact to the outside wall and ending his race just a few laps before the race’s scheduled competion.
The field would be racked back up for a green-white-checkered restart, where Heim – on fresh tires – would fly off with the lead and cap his 101st lap led of the morning with the victory at Kansas.
Nick Sanchez, entering the race with the points lead, didn’t quite have the speed to challenge Heim for the victory but managed to hold the runner-up spot throughout the majority of the event, further extending his points lead.
Sammy Smith JUST edged out Daniel Dye for a third-place finish, after a side-by-side race to the start-finish line. The fourth-place result for Dye, marks another race where the No. 43 team rebounded from mid-race setbacks to score a top-five.
It's Heim Time in @kansasspeedway!@CoreyHeim_ holds off the field on the green-white-checkered to claim his ninth career ARCA victory!@MAVTV | @FloRacing pic.twitter.com/xxsMGRzvL4
— ARCA Menards Series (@ARCA_Racing) September 11, 2022
Rounding out the top-five for Andy Hillenburg and Fast Track Racing was Ryan Huff, who also scored a career-best result in the No. 11.
After mechanical issues on the race’s final restart, Parker Chase would finish sixth, followed by Christian Rose, Amber Balcaen, Toni Breidinger, and Jon Garrett inside the top-10.
Finishing 13th, Rajah Caruth now sits 38 points behind teammate Nick Sanchez for the ARCA Menards Series title, while Daniel Dye loses a little bit of ground heading into the final three races of the year at Bristol, Salem, and Toledo.
POINTS – #ARCA (After 17/20):
1. @Nicksanchez080 812pts
2. @danieldye43 (-12)
3. @rajahcaruth_ (-38)
4. @GregVanAlst35 (-123)
5. @ToniBreidinger (-132)
6. @sammysmithSS (-155)
7. @amberbalcaen10 (-170)
8. @DriverBradSmith (-232)
9. @ZacharyTinkle (-317)
10. @TaylorGray17_ (-326)— Joseph Srigley (@joe_srigley) September 11, 2022
Once again the ARCA Menards Series finds itself with an intense turnaround, as the series’ next event will take place in just four days, at Bristol Motor Speedway on Thursday, September 15 at 6:30 pm ET on FOX Sports 1.
