It was a chaotic race in the heartland at Kansas Speedway for the ARCA Menards Series, but as the dust settled, it was the Connor Mosack taking his first career win in the Sioux Chief Fast Track 150.
Mosack was a contender from the start and made a great power move on the high side early to take the lead on lap three, and he led 63 laps on the day.
FINALLY!
After many close calls, @connormosack collects his first ARCA Menards Series victory during the #SiouxChief150 at @kansasspeedway! pic.twitter.com/LY3ZmGnHtK
— ARCA Menards Series (@ARCA_Racing) September 8, 2023
“We’ve worked really hard all year, had some bad luck, Made plenty of mistakes, and this one came together for us…I feel like we earned that one,” the Charlotte native said post-race.
“We just went to work with getting the balance where it needed to be…We were pretty free in practice, but Matt (Ross) made a great change at the halfway break, and this thing was pretty dialed in,” he added.
Mosack wasn’t the only one happy after the race, as the top seven either matched or earned their career best in the ARCA Menards Series.
Rookie Carson Kvapil fought hard all race long and came home second in his first career ARCA Menards Series start after just one prior start in the ARCA Menards East Series.
“You drive a race car the same. Minor differences here and there, but a track this big is. It’s something I’ve never been on. Practice today was quite an eye-opener,” he said after his runner-up finish.
Toni Breidinger came home third. Lavar Scott and Jake Finch rounded out the top five.
Christian Rose (sixth) and Scott Melton (seventh) were the other two top-seven finishers, who scored their career-best finishes on Friday evening.
Official Results from the Sioux Chief 150 at Kansas Speedway
| Fin | St | No. | Driver | Team | Laps | Diff | Status | Best Lap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 18 | Connor Mosack | Joe Gibbs Racing Mobil 1 Toyota | 100 | -- | Running | 31.427 |
| 2 | 3 | 28 | Carson Kvapil | Pinnacle Racing Group Chevrolet Performance Chevrolet | 100 | 3.202 | Running | 31.863 |
| 3 | 12 | 55 | Toni Breidinger | Venturini Motorsports Raising Canes Toyota | 99 | 1 lap | Running | 32.793 |
| 4 | 6 | 6 | Lavar Scott | Rev Racing Max Siegel Inc. Chevrolet | 99 | 1 lap | Running | 31.980 |
| 5 | 8 | 15 | Jake Finch | Venturini Motorsports Phoenix Construction Toyota | 99 | 1 lap | Running | 32.392 |
| 6 | 9 | 32 | Christian Rose | AM Racing West Virginia Department of Tourism Ford | 99 | 1 lap | Running | 32.285 |
| 7 | 15 | 69 | Scott Melton | Kimmel Racing Melton McFadden Insurance Toyota | 98 | 2 laps | Running | 32.833 |
| 8 | 2 | 25 | Dean Thompson | Venturini Motorsports MCM Transportation Toyota | 98 | 2 laps | Running | 31.747 |
| 9 | 13 | 74 | Mandy Chick | Chick Motorsports Dynamic Drivelines Chevrolet | 98 | 2 laps | Running | 32.606 |
| 10 | 11 | 73 | Andy Jankowiak | KLAS Motorsports Whelen Toyota | 97 | 3 laps | Running | 32.632 |
| 11 | 10 | 72 | Cody Coughlin | Cody Coughlin Racing JEGS Ford | 95 | 5 laps | Out | 32.434 |
| 12 | 16 | 66 | Jon Garrett | Veer Motorsports Fort Worth Screen Printing Chevrolet | 95 | 5 laps | Running | 33.404 |
| 13 | 19 | 03 | Alex Clubb | Clubb Racing, Inc. Ford | 86 | 14 laps | Running | 36.590 |
| 14 | 20 | 48 | Brad Smith | Smith Brothers Motorsports Copraya.com Chevrolet | 86 | 14 laps | Running | 36.634 |
| 15 | 14 | 12 | Ryan Huff | Fast Track Racing Southeastern Services Ford | 86 | 14 laps | Running | 32.761 |
| 16 | 21 | 06 | Kevin Hinckle | Wayne Peterson Racing TBA | 57 | 43 laps | Out | 35.822 |
| 17 | 5 | 2 | Andres Perez de Lara | Rev Racing Max Siegel Inc. Chevrolet | 57 | 43 laps | Out | 32.031 |
| 18 | 7 | 30 | Frankie Muniz | Rette Jones Racing Ford | 48 | 52 laps | Out | 32.672 |
| 19 | 1 | 20 | Jesse Love | Venturini Motorsports JBL Toyota | 24 | 76 laps | Out | 31.632 |
| 20 | 17 | 11 | Matt Kemp | Fast Track Racing Toyota | 10 | 90 laps | Out | 33.937 |
| 21 | 18 | 10 | Tim Monroe | Fast Track Racing Ford | 4 | 96 laps | Out | 34.801 |
While several drivers were all smiles after the checkered flag flew, others were not as happy with their day.
All top three in the points standings faced issues. Both Jesse Love and rookie Frankie Muniz were hit with blown right front tires that ended their days early. Love finished 19th, while Muniz ended 18th on the night.
Trouble for Jesse Love at Kansas!@kansasspeedway | @ARCA_Racing pic.twitter.com/xU7V4zBGmg
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) September 8, 2023
More bad luck for Frankie Muniz. He's done for the night in Kansas. pic.twitter.com/LarakdyQTS
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) September 8, 2023
Not much farther ahead on the results page was Andres Perez de Lara slapped the wall early and got busted with a speeding penalty. He ended up 17th.
Other drivers who had issues on the night were Andy Jankowiak after he couldn’t get the car to refire off the race break. Dean Thompson, who had to pit late in the race, and Cody Coughlin, after he ran out of fuel with seven laps to go.
Even after all the issues, Love managed to gain points, now 127 ahead of second place. And after coming home quietly in sixth place, Christian Rose has worked his way past Muniz for third in points.
STANDINGS – #ARCA Menards (After 17/20):
1. Jesse Love 869pts
2. Andres Perez de Lara (-127)
3. Christian Rose (-146)
4. Frankie Muniz (-150)
5. Jon Garrett (-224)
6. Brad Smith (-303)
7. AJ Moyer (-316)
8. William Sawalich (-449)
9. Toni Breidinger (-452)
10. Tim Monroe (-562)— Joseph Srigley (@joe_srigley) September 8, 2023
Up next for the ARCA Menards Series, they hit the high banks of Bristol Motor Speedway for the Bush’s Beans 200. You can catch the race live on Thursday at 6 p.m. ET on FS1 and FloRacing.
