Jesse Love Captures Third Consecutive ARCA West Victory at Irwindale Speedway, Second Victory of 2021

2020 ARCA Menards Series West Champion Jesse Love, must have something special when it comes to Irwindale Speedway, as the Bill McAnally Racing driver captured his third consecutive victory at the half-mile oval, holding off a hard charge from Jake Drew and Paul Pedroncelli Jr.

Love was able to wrestle the lead away from race dominator Trevor Huddleston with 62 laps to go, and never looked back, picking up his second ARCA Menards Series West victory of the year, further boosting his chances at scoring back-to-back championships in the series.

Jake Drew finished in the runner-up position, with Paul Pedroncelli Jr in third. Joey Iest and Ryan Partridge rounded out the top-five finishers in the event. Cole Moore, Todd Souza, Takuma Koga, Eric Nascimento and Trevor Huddleston rounded out the top-10. Huddleston led the entire first-half of the event, before losing the lead to eventual winner Jesse Love and later experiencing a mechanical issue, which forced the Sunrise Ford Racing driver to stop entering turn three, drawing a caution with 20 to go.

With only four races to go until the series crowns it’s second champion under the ARCA sanction, Jesse Love is making a strong case for a second title, leading the points by 11 markers over Bill McAnally Racing teammate Cole More. Todd Souza and Jake Drew are tied for third in points, 14 points behind, with Joey Iest and Paul Pedroncelli Jr tied for fifth-place in standings, 20 points behind.

Dean Thompson, who entered the event in the picture for the 2021 ARCA Menards Series West Champion, was forced to sit out Saturday’s NAPA Auto Parts 150 after testing positive for COVID-19 on Friday. Ryan Partridge got behind the wheel of the High Point Racing No. 51 at Irwindale Speedway, recording a top-five run for the entry.

The ARCA Menards Series West will take a couple of weekends off before returning to action at Portland International Raceway, where the series will make their return for the first-time since 2012, and only the sixth time ever.

2021 NAPA Auto Parts 150 Presented by Sunrise Ford Results:

1. No. 16 – Jesse Love
2. No. 9 – Jake Drew (-0.572)
3. No. 33 – Paul Pedroncelli Jr (-0.736)
4. No. 54 – Joey Iest (-1.049)
5. No. 51 – Ryan Partridge (-1.336)
6. No. 99 – Cole Moore (-1.530)
7. No. 13 – Todd Souza (-2.157)
8. No. 7 – Takuma Koga (-2.728)
9. No. 4 – Eric Nascimento (-2 Laps)
10. No. 6 – Trevror Huddleston (-3 Laps)
11. No. 19 – Amber Balcaen (-5 Laps)
12. No. 27 – Bobby Hillis Jr. (-5 Laps)
13. No. 77 – Mariah Boudrieau (-9 Laps)
14. No. 88 – Bridget Burgess (-11 Laps)
15. No. 08 – John Wood (-11 Laps)
16. No. 38 – Hiroyuki Ueno (-16 Laps)
17. No. 80 – Brian Kamisky (OUT)
18. No. 8 – Johnny Borneman (OUT)
19. No. 31 – Paul Pedroncelli (OUT)
20. No. 5 – Sebastian Arias (OUT)

ARCA Menards Series West Point Standings After 5 of 9 Races:

1. Jesse Love  201pts
2. Cole Moore (-11)
3. Todd Souza (-14)
4. Jake Drew (-14)
5. Joey Iest (-21)
6. Paul Pedroncelli Jr (-21)
7. Trevor Huddleston (-27)
8. Bridget Burgess (-47)
9. Bobby Hillis Jr (-54)
10. Takuma Koga (-54)