Friday’s lightning-delayed ARCA Menards Series General Tire 100 at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course was not what we expected. After the only practice session at the course, which was filled with chaos, was canceled due to lightning earlier in the day, the race turned into an ultra clean event.
In the end, it was Michael Self in the No. 25 Sinclair Lubricants Venturini Motorsports car that reigned supreme. This win marks Self’s second of the 2020 season and it is his ninth-overall in ARCA Menards Series competition.
While Self won, 17-year old Ty Gibbs looked to be heading to victory. He led a race-high 25 laps, but down the stretch his car faded. With six laps remaining, Self scooted on by and pulled away.
Officially, Sam Mayer was credited with finishing third, but the driver who was driving with a fractured wrist stepped out of the No. 21 GMS Racing machine at the mid-way point of the race. Mayer, who was third, handed the reigns of the vehicle to Colin Braun.
Braun, a former NASCAR driver and now sports car road racer, competed admirably and kept Mayer’s entry in third at the finish.
Taylor Gray was fourth, Will Rodgers finished fifth.
Hailie Deegan, who got a little bit of experience at the Daytona Road Course in a sports car earlier in the season came home sixth.
Max McLaughlin, Bret Holmes, Chandler Smith and Parker Chase rounded out the top-10 finishers in the race.
By winning, Self now holds a 15-point lead over Bret Holmes in the overall ARCA Menards Series championship standings, here are those points:
- Michael Self, 591 points
- Bret Holmes, -15
- Drew Dollar, -56
- Hailie Deegan, -56
- Thad Moffitt, -92
- Brad Smith, -243
- Ty Gibbs, -250
- Sam Mayer, -264
- Chandler Smith, -296
- Ryan Huff, -336
This race was the sixth race of the 10-race Sioux Chief Showdown, which is an additional championship that ARCA competitors can claim in 2020.
Here are the Showdown Standings after this race:
- Michael Self, 238 points
- Chandler Smith, -2
- Sam Mayer, -3
- Ty Gibbs, -7
- Bret Holmes, -14
- Hailie Deegan, -22
- Thad Moffitt, -38
- Taylor Gray, -45
- Drew Dollar, -46
- Brad Smith, -99
The ARCA Menards Series is set to return at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway on August 29th.
