Tanner Gray had just about everything thrown at him during Friday’s ARCA Menards Series Reese’s 150 at Kansas Speedway, but the Joe Gibbs Racing driver wasn’t to be denied.
With a left-rear tire going down, Gray was able to carry his No. 18 Place of Hope Toyota Camry across the start-finish line in the lead, beating Connor Zilisch after a chaotic late-race restart.
That restart came with three laps to go, and instead of being in the lead, like he had been throughout much of the afternoon, the Artesia, New Mexico native was slotted second, behind Amber Balcaen.
Balcaen was running on older tires and with Connor Zilisch directly on her bumper, the No. 22 struggled to get launched, being shoved hard into the left side of Gray, causing the tire to rub.
Gray was fortunate to complete the final three laps of the race without cutting a tire, but didn’t make it much further after his left rear tire went flat heading into the first corner on the cooldown lap.
The victory marks the second for the NASCAR Truck Series regular in the ARCA Menards Series, both this season for Joe Gibbs Racing. Gray scored his first victory earlier in the season at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Connor Zilisch drove through the chaos of the final three laps to finish runner-up for Pinnacle Racing Group, his eighth top-two result in nine career starts.
Lavar Scott managed to score a third-place finish, making major ground on REV Racing teammate Andres Perez, who blew a right-front tire and finished 21st, after retiring from the event early.
In his third ARCA Menards Series start, Corey Day finished in fourth place, after a pair of incredible saves throughout the event, including one on the final lap with Andy Jankowiak.
Giovanni Ruggiero, who started on the outside of the front row, rounded out the top five in the No. 20 Toyota Camry for Venturini Motorsports.
After staying out during the race’s final caution Amber Balcaen managed to match a career-best of sixth-place. Balcaen also had an incredible save during the race, while driving through the pack after getting the free pass.
Andy Jankowiak, Lawless Alan, Isaac Johnson, and Jason Kitzmiller rounded out the top-10.
Leaving Kansas Speedway, the ARCA Menards Series heads to Toledo Speedway for the season finale next Saturday, where a champion will be crowned. Andres Perez has a 35-point lead over teammate Lavar Scott, which will likely be enough to clinch the title once taking the green flag next week.
RACE RESULTS:
| Fin | St | No. | Driver | Team | Laps | Diff | Status | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | 18 | Tanner Gray | Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota | 100 | Running | 48 | |
| 2 | 4 | 28 | Connor Zilisch | Pinnacle Racing Group Chevrolet Performance / Silver Hare Development Chevrolet | 100 | 0.312 | Running | 42 |
| 3 | 8 | 6 | Lavar Scott | Rev Racing Max Siegel Inc Chevrolet | 100 | 1.803 | Running | 41 |
| 4 | 9 | 82 | Corey Day | Pinnacle Racing Group HendrickCars.com Chevrolet | 100 | 2.108 | Running | 40 |
| 5 | 2 | 20 | Giovanni Ruggiero | Venturini Motorsports First Auto Group Toyota | 100 | 2.382 | Running | 40 |
| 6 | 10 | 22 | Amber Balcaen | Venturini Motorsports ICON Toyota | 100 | 3.494 | Running | 39 |
| 7 | 6 | 73 | Andy Jankowiak | KLAS Motorsports Acacia Energy Toyota | 100 | 7.482 | Running | 37 |
| 8 | 11 | 33 | Lawless Alan | Reaume Brothers Racing AutoParkIt Ford | 99 | 1 lap | Running | 36 |
| 9 | 13 | 34 | Isaac Johnson | Greg Van Alst Motorsports Vector CAG / Endress+Hauser Ford | 98 | 2 laps | Running | 35 |
| 10 | 16 | 97 | Jason Kitzmiller | CR7 Motorsports A.L.L. Construction Chevrolet | 98 | 2 laps | Running | 34 |
| 11 | 19 | 74 | Mandy Chick | Team Chick Racing Dynamic Drivelines / FK Rod Ends / Fragola Perf Chevrolet | 98 | 2 laps | Running | 33 |
| 12 | 12 | 25 | Toni Breidinger | Venturini Motorsports Boozy Jerky Toyota | 98 | 2 laps | Running | 32 |
| 13 | 15 | 32 | Christian Rose | AM Racing West Virginia Department of Tourism Ford | 96 | 4 laps | Running | 31 |
| 14 | 23 | 7 | Eric Caudell | CCM Racing Coble Enterprises / Doug Design Chevrolet | 96 | 4 laps | Running | 30 |
| 15 | 21 | 12 | Takuma Koga | Fast Track Racing Ikedo / Magnica / Mac Systems Toyota | 95 | 5 laps | Running | 29 |
| 16 | 24 | 99 | Michael Maples | Fast Track Racing Don Ray Petroleum LLC / Maples Motorsports Chevrolet | 95 | 5 laps | Running | 28 |
| 17 | 20 | 9 | Sebastian Arias | Rev Racing Max Siegel Inc Chevrolet | 93 | 7 laps | Running | 27 |
| 18 | 3 | 15 | Kris Wright | Venturini Motorsports Warranty Solutions Toyota | 90 | 10 laps | Out | 26 |
| 19 | 25 | 31 | Rita Goulet | Rise Motorsports NationalPolice.org Chevrolet | 64 | 36 laps | Out | 25 |
| 20 | 14 | 35 | Greg Van Alst | Greg Van Alst Motorsports CB Fabricating Ford | 62 | 38 laps | Out | 24 |
| 21 | 7 | 2 | Andres Perez | Rev Racing Max Siegel Inc Chevrolet | 47 | 53 laps | Out | 23 |
| 22 | 22 | 11 | Cody Dennison | Fast Track Racing Timcast.com Toyota | 25 | 75 laps | Out | 22 |
| 23 | 18 | 17 | Marco Andretti | Cook Racing Technologies Group 1001 Chevrolet | 23 | 77 laps | Out | 21 |
| 24 | 17 | 10 | Christopher Tate | Fast Track Racing T-Top Manufacturing / Cash Customs Toyota | 20 | 80 laps | Out | 20 |
| 25 | 27 | 48 | Brad Smith | Brad Smith Motorsports Copraya.com Ford | 12 | 88 laps | Out | 19 |
| 26 | 26 | 06 | Kevin Hinckle | Wayne Peterson Racing KH Automotive Ford | 10 | 90 laps | Out | 18 |
| 27 | 28 | 03 | Alex Clubb | Clubb Racing Inc. Race Parts Liquidators Ford | 9 | 91 laps | Out | 17 |
| 28 | 1 | 55 | Isabella Robusto | Venturini Motorsports Mobil 1 Toyota | 1 | 99 laps | Out | 17 |
