UPDATE: A source at the track has confirmed that series officials announced to teams that the final restart would be a one-lap dash instead of a two-lap green white checkered for tonight’s ARCA Menards Series West Race at Irwindale Speedway.
This source also says that there were some tempers between the Venturini Motorsports crew and Irwindale Speedway promoter Tim Huddleston during the tracks “Night of Destruction” on Thursday, July 4th.
ORIGINAL STORY:
ARCA Menards Series officials called Sean Hingorani the winner of Saturday night’s West Coast Stock Car Motorsports Hall of Fame 150 at Irwindale Speedway, but the ending of the race was full of confusion and some controversy.
As the race was coming to a close, with five laps to go the caution flew after contact between pole winner Nick Joanides and Venturini Motorsports driver Jake Finch. This incident sent the race into overtime.
Bumping and banging.
Finch goes around. #ARCAWest
pic.twitter.com/vVFc3qEsl6— Ben Branscum (The New/Real One) (@benbranscum) July 7, 2024
On the restart, which was scored as lap 151, Hingorani jumped to the lead and then took home the checkered flag after the yellow flag was waved.
Once the cars came to a stop on the front stretch after Hingorani did his burnout to celebrate, confusion ensued as the track PA announcer said, “This race is under review. They might take it away from him. Cause he (Hingorani) jumped the start…So NASCAR is trying to figure out what happened here.”
After a few moments of back and forth and some comments made on the PA, officials confirmed the win for the No. 15 Venturini Motorsports team and Hingorani.
However, as Hingorani began to celebrate, a hot mic caught tensions on the sound system.”They made the decision. Picking it up tonight. Climbing the fence. Hey, fuck you buddy,” Tim Huddleston the PA announcer shouted.
After a few more moments of silence, and Hingorani’s celebration, the Huddleston moved on to interview second-place finisher Jack Wood.
“P2 tonight. What a gentleman. Class act. Ladies and Gentlemen, they’re (the 15 team) so disrespectful I’m not interviewing them. They don’t need it.” Huddleston also said at one point that Jack Wood was also the winner of the race.
Here’s the full 47-second clip of the post-race debacle (??) between the track announcer and Sean Hingorani/Venturini Motorsports.
“Hey, f*ck you buddy.”
“They’re so disrespectful, we’re not interviewing them, they don’t need it.”#ARCA pic.twitter.com/mReVfY0hnR
— Joseph Srigley (@joe_srigley) July 7, 2024
Huddleston would then interview the third-place finisher Tyler Reif, and the broadcast went back to talk to Hingorani, but the FloRacing Broadcast was wrapping up, and Hingorani never got his victory interview on the broadcast.
After the win, Hingorani jumps to the points lead by three over Tyler Reif in the standings.
It is worth noting that Tim Huddleston owns and operates Irwindale Speedway in addition to his PA announcer duties for the race track, and his son Trevor Huddleston was in the event on Saturday night. The younger Huddleston finished ninth after a late-race incident while battling for the win.
