Practice for Friday night’s General Tire 150 at Phoenix Raceway – a combination race between the ARCA Menards Series and ARCA Menards Series West — continued a great start to the season for Kyle Busch Motorsports and Sammy Smith.
Smith, who started his title defense in the ARCA Menards Series East with a victory at New Symrna, paced the hour-long practice-qualifying session for the series on Friday Afternoon, posting a lap of 26.912 seconds (133.769mph).
The No. 18 TMC Toyota Camry was the only entry to break into the 26-second bracket during the hour-long session, after making a qualifying run in the closing minutes to top the session.
Taylor Gray, whose David Gilliland Racing team continues to mourn the loss of hauler driver Steven Stotts after a traffic accident en-route to Phoenix, posted the second-fastest time in the session, just under two-tenths slower than Smith.
Jesse Love – the two-time and defending ARCA West champion — posted the third-fastest time in the session, with Nick Sanchez and Connor Mosack rounding out the top-five times.
The fastest driver of those competing for the ARCA West championship was Jake Drew in ninth-place, who lost the title to Love in a tiebreaker last season. Daniel Dye (sixth), Rajah Caruth (seventh), Parker Chase (eighth), and Toni Breidinger (10th) joined Drew in the top-10.
Other ARCA Menards Series championship-contenders, included: Greg Van Alst (21st), Amber Balcean (25th), and Brad Smith (35th).
Other ARCA Menards Series West championship-contenders, included: Joey Iest (12th), Todd Souza (13th), PJ Pedroncelli (15th), Austin Herzog (16th), Tanner Reif (17th), Cole Moore (19th), Takuma Koga (20th), Kyle Keller (24th), Bridget Burgess (27th), Chris Lowden (31st), Andrew Tuttle (33rd), and Bobby Hillis Jr. (36th).
Brian Kaltrieder (No. 07) and Nick Joaindes (No. 77) did not take time in the hour-long session in advance of Friday’s General Tire 150 at Phoenix Raceway.
GENERAL TIRE 150 – ARCA / ARCA WEST – PRACTICE RESULTS:
| Pos | Car | Driver | Sponsor | Make | Lap | Diff | Best Lap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 | Sammy Smith | TMC | Toyota | 26.912 | -- | 20 | 20 |
| 2 | 17 | Taylor Gray | Ford Performance | Ford | 27.090 | -0.178 | 31 | 32 |
| 3 | 20 | Jesse Love | Crescent Tools | Toyota | 27.153 | -0.241 | 30 | 31 |
| 4 | 2 | Nick Sanchez | Universal Technical Institute | Chevrolet | 27.220 | -0.308 | 18 | 19 |
| 5 | 23 | Connor Mosack | Nic Taylor | Chevrolet | 27.292 | -0.380 | 28 | 28 |
| 6 | 43 | Daniel Dye | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 27.331 | -0.419 | 31 | 32 |
| 7 | 61 | Rajah Caruth | Max Siegel Inc. | Chevrolet | 27.426 | -0.514 | 29 | 30 |
| 8 | 15 | Parker Chase | Vertical Bridge | Toyota | 27.611 | -0.699 | 15 | 16 |
| 9 | 6 | Jake Drew | Sunrise Racing | Ford | 27.660 | -0.748 | 29 | 30 |
| 10 | 25 | Toni Breidinger | Hairclub | Toyota | 27.776 | -0.864 | 25 | 29 |
| 11 | 17W | Josh Berry | MMI | Chevrolet | 27.777 | -0.865 | 17 | 18 |
| 12 | 54 | Joey Iest | Richmond Meats / Basila Farms | Ford | 27.826 | -0.914 | 18 | 23 |
| 13 | 13 | Todd Souza | Central Coast Cabinets | Ford | 27.912 | -1.000 | 9 | 16 |
| 14 | 19 | Derek Kraus | NAPA AutoCare | Chevrolet | 28.181 | -1.269 | 1 | 24 |
| 15 | 33 | Paul Pedroncelli Jr | Select Mobile Bottlers | Toyota | 28.208 | -1.296 | 18 | 19 |
| 16 | 16 | Austin Herzog | NAPA Auto Parts | Chevrolet | 28.276 | -1.364 | 29 | 32 |
| 17 | 9 | Tanner Reif | Vegas Fastener Manufacturer | Ford | 28.413 | -1.501 | 46 | 51 |
| 18 | 86 | Tim Spurgeon | Davids Racing Products / Nascimento | Toyota | 28.456 | -1.544 | 32 | 32 |
| 19 | 99 | Cole Moore | BBB Industries | Chevrolet | 28.464 | -1.552 | 9 | 16 |
| 20 | 7 | Takuma Koga | Rise Up | Toyota | 28.530 | -1.618 | 32 | 32 |
| 21 | 35 | Greg Van Alst | CB Fabricating | Ford | 28.553 | -1.641 | 25 | 26 |
| 22 | 42 | Christian Rose | Visit WV | Toyota | 28.755 | -1.843 | 21 | 26 |
| 23 | 10 | Zachary Tinkle | Wayne Peterson Racing / Fast Track | Toyota | 28.794 | -1.882 | 13 | 14 |
| 24 | 70 | Kyle Keller | Third3ye / Eros Environmental / Battle Born | Chevrolet | 29.118 | -2.206 | 14 | 20 |
| 25 | 30 | Amber Balcaen | Icon | Ford | 29.238 | -2.326 | 23 | 33 |
| 26 | 4 | Sebastian Arias | Rubbermaid Commercial Prod. / Brady IFS | Toyota | 29.319 | -2.407 | 29 | 29 |
| 27 | 88 | Bridget Burgess | HMH Construction | Chevrolet | 29.321 | -2.409 | 34 | 35 |
| 28 | 12 | D.L. Wilson | Leggott Trailers of Waco | Chevrolet | 29.877 | -2.965 | 16 | 17 |
| 29 | 66 | Eric Rhead | Jones Racing | Chevrolet | 30.727 | -3.815 | 6 | 9 |
| 30 | 85 | Ryan Roulette | Bellator Recruiting Academy | Toyota | 30.738 | -3.826 | 16 | 25 |
| 31 | 21 | Chris Lowden | Stoney's Roadhouse / Blue Valor Whiskey | Ford | 30.919 | -4.007 | 24 | 39 |
| 32 | 01 | Tim Monroe | Fast Track High Performance Driving | Chevrolet | 31.250 | -4.338 | 5 | 5 |
| 33 | 39 | Andrew Tuttle | Gearhead Coffee | Chevrolet | 31.993 | -5.081 | 1 | 4 |
| 34 | 11 | Bryce Haugeberg | Magnum Contracting | Toyota | 32.148 | -5.236 | 3 | 8 |
| 35 | 48 | Brad Smith | PSST | Chevrolet | 32.312 | -5.400 | 2 | 7 |
| 36 | 27 | Bobby Hillis Jr | First Impression Press | Chevrolet | 35.145 | -8.233 | 2 | 2 |
| 37 | 31 | Paul Pedroncelli | Rancho Victoria Weddings | Chevrolet | 43.809 | -16.897 | 1 | 1 |
| 38 | 03 | Alex Clubb | Flowers with Jazz & Jane Martin | Ford | 0.000 | -- | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | 07 | Brian Kaltreider | Mystic Motorsports | Ford | 0.000 | -- | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | 77 | Nick Joanides | Jan's / Wallace Sign | Toyota | 0.000 | -- | 0 | 0 |
