Michael Self showed everyone why he is undoubtedly the 2020 ARCA Menard’s Series Championship favorite on Saturday Night, winning the Lucas Oil 200 Driven by General Tire. It was Self’s eighth career ARCA Menard’s Series win, moving him ahead of Venturini Motorsports teammate Chandler Smith for the most ARCA Menard’s Series Wins of any active driver, and his second race win at the historic Daytona International Speedway.
Self’s impressive sixty circuits out front, is the most laps led by any driver in a ARCA Race at Daytona, since Brandon McReynolds led sixty-four laps en route to a eleventh place finish, and the most by a race winner since Bobby Gerhart in 2011 (sixty-one laps led).
Hailie Deegan, Drew Dollar, Sean Corr & Thad Moffitt round out the top five finishers, all four of which secured their career best finish, along with sixth place finisher Jason White, allowing all of the top six finishers to tie (Self) or improve their career best finishes.
Michael Self leaves Daytona International Speedway with a seven point advantage over Hailie Deegan, with nineteen races left to go in the season. The series moves to Phoenix, Arizona for it’s next race and the first race of the Sioux Chief Showdown (a ten race championship series, comprised of ten short tracks throughout the 2020 ARCA Menard’s Series schedule). Phoenix boasts an advantage for Michael Self over his competitors, as Self visited victory lane in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West (now ARCA West) Series race in Arizona back in 2020, when he was contesting the West Series championship for Sunrise Ford Racing.