NEWTON, Iowa — On a day where several ARCA Menards Series championship contenders struggled, Ty Gibbs just kept rolling along.
The 17-year-old from Charlotte, North Carolina, dominated the Shore Lunch 150 in yet another impressive performance from the Joe Gibbs Racing driver.
Gibbs led 140 laps en route to his second straight win and the third in his last four starts. Throw in an ARCA Menards Series East win earlier this summer and the West finale to close out 2019, and Gibbs has won five of his last eight starts across all three.
While he fended off challenges from Chandler Smith, Hailie Deegan and Sam Mayer at various points of the race, his No. 18 Monster/Terrible Herbst/ORCA Toyota finished 1.410 seconds ahead of Mayer. Mayer appeared to be closing fast in the final laps but scrapped the wall and was unable to complete the final charge.
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Bret Holmes finished third, followed by Chandler Smith and Taylor Gray.
Gibbs started fifth after the field was set on Sioux Chief Showdown points, but took only 10 laps to get to the front.
Because he isn’t 18 yet, Gibbs is not running the full ARCA Menards Series schedule. Over the last two years, he has eight wins and eight runner-up finishes in 25 starts across the ARCA Menards Series as well as the East and West series. More importantly, he won round three of the Sioux Chief Showdown and gained ground on Smith.
Smith, who won the first two Sioux Chief Showdown races, leads Michael Self by 10 points and Gibbs by 13. Gibbs’ lone hiccup this year was a 15th because of mechanical issues at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis.
Self overcame electrical issues to finish sixth and maintained his 21 point lead over Holmes in the ARCA Menards Series title race. Max McLaughlin and Kory Swanson, who were both making their series debut, were seventh and eighth, respectively. Gracie Trotter finished ninth and Thad Moffitt 10th.
Drew Dollar, who entered the event tied with Holmes for second in points, and Hailie Deegan, who was fourth, both had mechanical problems. Dollar had engine issues and wound up 17th, while Deegan had a second-place run ended by broken trackbar and finished 18th. Dollar is third in points, 33 behind Self and three in front of Deegan.
The Shore Lunch 150 aired live on MAVTV and TrackPass on NBC Gold.
The ARCA Menards Series will stay in the midwest, heading to Kansas Speedway Saturday. The Sioux Chief Showdown resumes with a doubleheader at Ohio’s Toledo Speedway on July 31 and August 1.
Source: NASCAR Integrated Marketing Communications
By: Jason Christley/ARCARacing.com
Photo Credit: Barry Cantrell/ARCA Racing
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