After almost two months of being off, the ARCA Menards Series returns this weekend, and in a big way at the series’ biggest track. The General Tire 200 at Talladega Superspeedway is set to go green at 12:30. It’s been a bit though, so let’s look at this weekend and look back at past trends.
Heading into this weekend, the 2023 winners are still guys you wouldn’t have predicted. Greg Van Alst looks to repeat the magic on the Superspeedways after his upset win at Daytona to open the 2023 season.
Currently, Van Alst leads the points, with rookie Frankie Muniz sitting second 10 points back. Tony Cosentino, Jesse Love, and Christian Rose round out the rest of the top five.
Looking back at the history of ARCA at the 2.66-mile superspeedway, the patterns are that there isn’t one with unpredictability. Previous winners include Charlie Glotzbach, Tim Steele, Frank Kimmel, Justin Haley, Zane Smith, and last year’s ARCA Champion Nick Sanchez.
Venturini Motorsports won two of the last three races with Drew Dollar in 2020 and last week’s Truck Series winner Corey Heim in 2021. VMS will try to reestablish itself after a rocky start to the 2023 ARCA campaign. Jesse Love will make his Talladega debut and is joined by Amber Balcaen, Gus Dean, and Toni Breidinger flying the V for the race weekend.
After a stellar top-five finish in her first superspeedway race, Mandy Chick will hop back behind the wheel for her second ARCA start of the season and look to continue the great start to 2023.
Rev Racing hopes to go back-to-back at Talladega with Andres Perez de Lara and Jack Wood driving for the team. This will be Perez de Lara’s first career superspeedway start after not starting the race at Daytona.
Former ARCA Winner and part-time Truck Series driver Taylor Gray will come back for the event. Making his season debut, and debut with Joe Gibbs Racing driving the no. 18. Gray racked up three wins last year at Phoenix, Mid-Ohio- and Phoenix. This also marks his first-ever Superspeedway start.
Other notable drivers are former ARCA Champion Brett Holmes, Jason White who finished ninth in the season opener at Daytona, Whelen Modified Tour driver Patrick Emerling, who will make his ARCA debut, and several others.
The General Tire 200 goes green at 12:30 PM EST on Saturday. You can watch the race live on FS1, and listen on the Fox Sports App and MRN. Tickets are still available for the race here.
Entry List: ARCA Menards Series General Tire 200 at Talladega
| No. | Driver | Team | Crew chief |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Kevin Hinckle | Wayne Peterson Racing Parsons Farm Ford | Nate Moeller |
| 03 | Alex Clubb | Clubb Racing Inc | Brian Clubb |
| 06 | A.J. Moyer | Wayne Peterson Racing River’s Edge Cottages & RV Park / JRC Transport Chevrolet | Michael Peterson |
| 2 | Andres Perez de Lara | Rev Racing Max Siegel Inc Chevrolet | Jamie Jones |
| 6 | Jack Wood | Rev Racing Velocity Racing / Max Siegel Inc Chevrolet | Steve Plattenberger |
| 7 | Eric Caudell | CCM Racing Coble Ent / RedTide Canopies / Bellator Cyber Guard Toyota | Jeremy Petty |
| 8 | Sean Corr | Empire Racing Chevrolet | Mike Cheek |
| 10 | Ed Pompa | Fast Track Racing HYTORC of New York / Double H Ranch Chevrolet | Todd Parrott |
| 11 | Bryce Haugeberg | Fast Track Racing Magnum Contracting Toyota | Dick Doheny |
| 12 | TBA | Fast Track Racing TBA Toyota | Tim Monroe |
| 15 | Amber Balcaen | Venturini Motorsports ICON Direct Toyota | Dave Leiner |
| 18 | Taylor Gray | Joe Gibbs Racing Mobil 1 Toyota | Matt Ross |
| 20 | Jesse Love | Venturini Motorsports Yahoo Toyota | Shannon Rursch |
| 23 | Bret Holmes | Bret Holmes Racing Golden Eagle Chevrolet | Jerry Baxter |
| 25 | Gus Dean | Venturini Motorsports Dean Custom Air Toyota | Kevin Reed Jr |
| 27 | Tim Richmond | Richmond Motorsports Immigration Legal Center Toyota | David Richmond |
| 30 | Frankie Muniz | Rette Jones Racing Ford | Mark Rette |
| 32 | Christian Rose | AM Racing West Virginia Department of Tourism Ford | Ryan London |
| 35 | Greg Van Alst | Greg Van Alst Motorsports CB Fabricating Chevrolet | Jim Long |
| 44 | Jason White | Ferrier McClure Racing Powder Ventures Excavating Chevrolet | Jeff McClure |
| 45 | Tony Cosentino | Tamayo Cosentino Racing Peppers Polarized Sunglasses Chevrolet | Tony Cosentino |
| 48 | Brad Smith | Brad Smith Motorsports Copraya.com Chevrolet | Terry Strange |
| 53 | Patrick Emerling | Emerling Gase Motorsports Ford | Wayne Carroll |
| 55 | Toni Breidinger | Venturini Motorsports Rootly Toyota | Cayden Lapcevich |
| 57 | Hunter Deshautelle | Brother-in-Law Motorsports Brother In Law Motorsports Chevrolet | Dick Rahilly |
| 62 | Steve Lewis Jr. | Steve Lewis Jr. Telco Construction / Jeffery Machine Chevrolet | Steve Lewis Sr |
| 63 | Logan Misuraca | Spraker Racing Enterprises CELSIUS Chevrolet | Jeff Spraker |
| 66 | Jon Garrett | Veer Motorsports Weinstein Law Firm Chevrolet | Mike Sroufe |
| 69 | Scott Melton | Kimmel Racing Melton McFadden Agency / Donna’s Donuts Ford | Bill Kimmel |
| 73 | Andy Jankowiak | KLAS Motorsports Whelen Ford | Mike Dayton |
| 74 | Mandy Chick | Team Chick Motorsports Rose Hulman Institute of Technology Chevrolet | Steve Chick |
| 75 | Bryan Dauzat | Brother-In-Law Motorsports Chevrolet | Bob Rahilly |
| 82 | Kevin Campbell | KC Motorsports MU Tigers Chevrolet | Mason Campbell |
| 93 | Caleb Costner | Costner Weaver Motorsports Innovative Tiny Houses / Lickety Lew’s Chevrolet | Derek Kearns |
| 97 | Jason Kitzmiller | CR7 Motorsports A.L.L. Construction Chevrolet | Todd Myers |
