After crowning an ARCA Menards Series East Champion and racing the high banks in the hills of Tennessee, the ARCA Menards Series travels to the high banks of southern Indiana for the penultimate race of the 2023 season at Salem Speedway and the Atlas 200.
The track has been a staple in the series since 1979, and this weekend’s Atlas 200 will be the 109th ARCA Menards Series race at the half-mile speedway.
The 33-degree banked track has had winners the likes of Marvin Smith, Bob Keselowski, Tim Steele, Frank Kimmel, Billy Venturini, Justin Allgaier, Chris Buescher, Chandler Smith, Ty Gibbs, and last year’s winner Sammy Smith.
As we head into the last few races in the 2023 season, it’s been a season of Love…mostly for Jesse Love and the Venturini Motorsports No. 20. Heading into Salem, he and the team are looking to lock up the driver’s title for the 2023 season and looking for their 10th win on the season.
All Love has to do is start the race, and he will clinch the ARCA Menards Series title in his rookie season.
Looking to shut Love’s No. 20 out of double digits in wins is the No. 18, with William Sawalich piloting the car. He’ll look to close the 2023 ARCA Menards Series on a continued high note after taking home the East Series title and the race win at Bristol Motor Speedway.
After a tough few weeks, full of gremlins and accidents, Frankie Muniz is looking to turn the tide around and have some solid runs to redeem his rookie season driving for Rette Jones Racing in the No. 30.
Also joining the field, two Indiana natives look to show off in their home state. Brayton ‘The Pizza Man’ Laster is once again teaming up with Rise Motorsports in the No. 31. The Greenwood, IN native is looking for his third straight top-ten and his first on the pavement.
His fellow statesman Zachary Tinkle will also join him at the half-mile in the No. 11 for Fast Track Racing. The Speedway, IN native, is coming off his fourth place in the ARCA Menards Series East points standings, which is a career-best for the 21-year-old.
.@ZacharyTinkle has announced he’ll be behind the wheel of the No. 11 for @FastTrack_11 for the Atlas 200 @Salem_Speedway.
Tinkle is coming off a 4th place points finish in the East Series, a career best.#ARCAMenards pic.twitter.com/podbS3vxWd
— old ben (gone and forgotten) (@BrBranscum43) September 21, 2023
Joining the two, and looking to make his ARCA Menards Series debut is local driver Conner Popplewell. The Diesel Boys GAS Series driver is teaming up with MAN Motorsports in the No. 95.
Other drivers looking for short-track success include Toni Breidinger and Brent Crews for VMS, Christian Rose, Will Kimmel, Jon Garrett, among others.
Official Entry List for the Atlas 200 at Salem Speedway
| Entry | No. | Driver | Team | Crew chief |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 03 | Alex Clubb | Clubb Racing Inc Ford | Brian Clubb |
| 2 | 06 | Nate Moeller | Wayne Peterson Racing Toyota | Michael Peterson |
| 3 | 2 | Andres Perez | Rev Racing Max Siegel Inc Chevrolet | Jamie Jones |
| 4 | 10 | Tim Monroe | Fast Track Racing FastTrackRacing.com Ford | Tim Monroe |
| 5 | 11 | Darrell Basham | Fast Track Racing Double H Ranch / Vampire State LLC Toyota | Anna Harenberg |
| 6 | 12 | Stephanie Moyer | Fast Track Racing Women's Boutique & Consignment Ford | Jeremy Petty |
| 7 | 15 | Dylan Smith | Venturini Motorsports Toyota | Cayden Lapcevich |
| 8 | 18 | William Sawalich | Joe Gibbs Racing Starkey / Sound Gear Toyota | Matt Ross |
| 9 | 20 | Jesse Love | Venturini Motorsports JBL Toyota | Shannon Rursch |
| 10 | 25 | Sean Hingorani | Venturini Motorsports GEARWRENCH Toyota | Kevin Reed, Jr. |
| 11 | 30 | Frankie Muniz | Rette Jones Racing Ford | Mark Rette |
| 12 | 31 | Rita Goulet | Rise Motorsports BackTheLane.com Chevrolet | Tim Goulet |
| 13 | 32 | Christian Rose | AM Racing West Virginia Department of Tourism Ford | Ryan London |
| 14 | 45 | Tony Cosentino | Tamayo Cosentino Racing Ford | Ethan Hutchens |
| 15 | 48 | Brad Smith | Brad Smith Motorsports Copraya.com Chevrolet | Jeff Smith |
| 16 | 63 | Mason Ludwig | Spraker Racing Bell Wire / Speednut Chevrolet | Jeff Spraker |
| 17 | 66 | Jon Garrett | Fort Worth Screen Printing Chevrolet | Mike Sroufe |
| 18 | 73 | Andy Jankowiak | KLAS Motorsports Sbarro Pizza Toyota | Mike Dayton |
You can catch the Atlas 200 live from Salem Speedway on Saturday, September 30th on FS2 and FloRacing at 7:30 P.M. ET.
