A handful of ARCA Menards Series competitors are set for busy weekends at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
Along with taking part in Friday’s Zinsser SmartCoat 150, Brent Crews, Gio Ruggiero, Connor Mosack and Thomas Annunziata are also competing in the CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 support event for the Trans Am National Championship on Saturday afternoon.
RELATED: Watch the Zinsser SmartCoat 150 on FloRacing
Crews brings the most success from the TA2 platform into the ARCA Menards Series. The defending TA2 champion, Crews has won seven races in the division over the past two years and utilized that knowledge to score a third-place finish in his ARCA Menards Series debut at Watkins Glen International last year.
Despite not possessing as much road-course experience as his Venturini Motorsports teammate, Ruggiero has started to find his comfort zone making both left and right turns. His accomplishments include a TA2 class victory at Sonoma Raceway in April as part of the Trans Am West Coast Championship.
Ruggiero, Crews and the rest of the Venturini Motorsports armada will have to contend with Mosack if they want to win the Zinsser SmartCoat 150. Mosack has been an active competitor in TA2 since the 2020 season, with both of his victories in the series occurring at Watkins Glen in 2021 and 2022, respectively.
Annunziata, who has one TA2 victory, is the newest of the four to the ARCA Menards Series. The season-opener at Daytona International Speedway saw Annunziata make his series debut; he avoided trouble and survived a last-lap crash to come home second in the No. 44 Chevrolet fielded by Jeff McClure.
Combined, Crews, Ruggiero, Mosack and Annunziata have four wins across the ARCA Menards Series platform, Mosack leading that group with two at Kansas Speedway. The four young prospects have an ideal opportunity to add onto that total when they arrive at Mid-Ohio for the Zinsser SmartCoat 150.
Friday’s green flag at the historic Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course will wave at 6 p.m. ET. FS2 and FloRacing are providing live coverage of the on-track action.
William Sawalich looks to shake off Iowa disappointment
The end to last Friday’s Atlas 150 at Iowa Speedway left a bitter taste in William Sawalich’s mouth.
Once again, he was denied a victory courtesy of Pinnacle Racing Group. For the second straight ARCA Menards Series event, it occurred against Connor Zilisch, who exchanged contact and mind games with Sawalich before pulling away on the final restart.
Fending off PRG for his second ARCA Menards Series victory of 2024 will not be an easy task for Sawalich. PRG has enlisted the help of road-course ace Connor Mosack for Friday’s Zinsser SmartCoat 150. Mosack earned a victory at Kansas Speedway in Mayafter passing the No. 18 of Tanner Gray with 13 laps remaining.
Despite this, Sawalich is no stranger to success on road courses himself. He picked up his maiden road-course victory on the ARCA Menards Series platform when the West Series visited Portland International Raceway on May 31, which he accomplished by leading the final 31 laps.
Sawalich is still chasing his first road-course checkered flag in the premier ARCA Menards Series and will look to do so by defeating PRG and the rest of a talented field Friday afternoon.
Points leader Andres Perez still chasing elusive first win
Andres Perez enters the Zinsser SmartCoat 150 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course with a comfortable, 33-point advantage over Greg Van Alst.
He has built this margin without visiting Victory Lane through seven races in 2024.
In his second full-time ARCA Menards Series campaign with Rev Racing, Perez has come close to breaking through on several occasions. His nearest miss occurred at Michigan International Raceway last year, when he led a race-high 43 laps before being sidelined with a blown engine with just 14 to go.
Despite not being able to win yet on the ARCA Menards Series platform, Perez knows how to put together a complete race. He has won twice in his home country as part of the NASCAR Mexico Series, the most recent of which occurred on June 9 at Ovalo Aguascalientes Mexico in a 32-car field.
Breaking through for that elusive first ARCA Menards Series win on Friday at Mid-Ohio would provide Perez some much-needed momentum as he looks to extend his series points lead during the summer.
NOTES:
- IndyCar Series competitor Conor Daly will test his luck in the ARCA Menards Series at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course driving the No. 30 for Rette Jones Racing. Daly has made infrequent appearances across NASCAR’s top three divisions, but Friday’s Zinsser SmartCoat 150 will serve as his ARCA Menards Series debut.
- Marco Andretti hopes to turn around an inconsistent start to his rookie ARCA Menards Series season with a strong performance at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Andretti has 15 Mid-Ohio starts in the IndyCar Series, with his best run being a sixth at the facility back in 2009.
- Brad Perez is making his second ARCA Menards Series start of 2024 in Friday’s Zinsser SmartCoat 150. His first appearance at Phoenix Raceway served as Perez’ first ARCA Menards Series appearance in nearly three years, but he will seek to improve upon a 38th place finish that stemmed from an overheating issue.
- Tim Richmond is back with the ARCA Menards Series for his fourth start of the 2024 campaign. Richmond opened the year with a top-five performance at Daytona International Speedway and looks to continue keeping his family-owned car in one piece during his third visit to the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
