Survival Of The Fittest: Previewing The General Tire 200 at Talladega Superspeedway

It’s time for the ARCA Menards Series to make its annual trip to the daunting 2.66-mile oval known as the “biggest and baddest” track on the NASCAR schedule, Talladega Superspeedway, for the General Tire 200.

Brenden Queen, the winner of the season-opening Ride The ‘Dente 200 at Daytona International Speedway, leads the charge in the ARCA points standings, holding an 11-point gap on Lavar Scott entering the weekend and looks to add more hardware into his trophy case on drafting style tracks in the No. 28 Pinnacle Racing Group Chevrolet SS entry.

The 38-car entry list will feature all entries in the race, with several drivers making their debuts alongside some heavy hitters in the field.

Defending Talladega winner from the 2024 event, Jake Finch, will run the No. 25 Phoenix Toyota Camry for Venturini Motorsports. He is teamed up with Patrick Starapoli in the No. 15 as well as Lawless Alan in the No. 20, followed by rookie Isabella Robusto in the No. 55.

Garrett Mitchell, better known as Cleetus McFarland in the YouTube world, is returning for his second of three scheduled ARCA Menards Series races, piloting the No. 30 Kenetik Ford Mustang for Rette Jones Racing.

Patrick Starapoli will get back behind the wheel of the No. 15 Toyota Camry for Venturini Motorsports. Starapoli is fresh off a fourth-place effort at Rockingham Speedway last Saturday in the ARCA East series.

William Sawalich is on back-to-back double duty weekends, piloting both No. 18 entries for Joe Gibbs Racing in the ARCA Menards Series as well as the NASCAR Xfinity Series Ag-Pro 300.

Spencer Gallagher, a former Talladega winner in the Xfinity Series, rolls on with the second of his four-race deal for Sigma Performance Services in the No. 23 Chevrolet SS entry.

Amber Balcaen returns to the ARCA field with Nitro Motorsports in the No. 70 Toyota Camry. The Canadian-born driver finished 29th in her season debut at Daytona after retiring from the race with an early crash.

Nick White will be making his first official start in the ARCA Menards Series, driving the No. 22 car for Drew White Motorsports. Earlier this year, he withdrew from the Daytona race.

Drivers that are looking to make their first starts of 2025 include Dale Shearer, Ryan Huff, Steve Lewis Jr., and Matt Kemp, to name a few, who look to shine in the 76-lap Saturday showing.

Benjamin Peterson, the grandson of ARCA team owner Wayne Peterson Racing will drive under the team banner in the No. 0 Ford entry.

Other notable drivers in the field running for the points include Thad Moffitt, Jason Kitzmiller, Michael Maples, and Alex Clubb.

The General Tire 200 at Talladega Superspeedway will air live on FS1 at 12:30 pm EST on Saturday, April 26. Motor Racing Network (MRN), SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90 and ARCARacing.com will provide the radio broadcast of the event.

General Tire 200 Entry List