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The 2023 Pensacola 200 was the first stock car race of the 2023 ARCA Menards Series East season, and the 4th running of the event. The race was held on Saturday, March 25, 2023, at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Florida, a 0.5 mile (0.80 km) permanent asphalt oval shaped short track. The race took the scheduled 200 laps to complete. In his first career start, William Sawalich, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, would go on to obliterate the competition, winning the pole and leading every lap of the race to earn his first career ARCA Menards Series East win.[5] To fill out the podium, Luke Fenhaus, driving for Pinnacle Racing Group, and Jake Finch, driving for Venturini Motorsports, would finish 2nd and 3rd, respectively.
| Race details[1][2][3][4] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 1 of 8 of the 2023 ARCA Menards Series East | |||
| Date | March 25, 2023 | ||
| Official name | 4th Annual Pensacola 200 | ||
| Location | Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Florida | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 0.5 mi (0.80 km) | ||
| Distance | 200 laps, 100 mi (161 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 200 laps, 100 mi (161 km) | ||
| Average speed | 82.286 mph (132.426 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Joe Gibbs Racing | ||
| Time | 17.220 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | William Sawalich | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Laps | 200 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 18 | William Sawalich | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | FloRacing | ||
| Announcers | Charles Krall | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | ARCA Racing Network | ||
Report
Summarize
Perspective
Background
Five Flags Speedway is a half-mile (0.8 km) paved oval racetrack in Pensacola, Florida. It opened in 1953 and is located on Pine Forest Road.[6] It is christened after the nickname of Pensacola—"City of Five Flags."[7]
It runs several local classes during the regular racing season (March – October). These classes include Super Late Models, Pro Late Models, Pro Trucks, Outlaw Stocks, Sportsman, and Pure Stocks. The races are usual held on Friday nights bi-weekly. The track has also hosted many regional touring series.[8][9]
In 2019, the ARCA Menards Series returned to the track, but for one year only. After the merge between ARCA and NASCAR after the 2019 season, the former NASCAR K&N Pro Series East, (now called ARCA Menards Series East) began racing at Five Flags in 2020.
Entry list
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
Practice
The first and only practice session was held on Saturday, March 25, at 2:30 PM EST, and would last for 1 hour.[10] William Sawalich, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 17.665, and a speed of 101.896 mph (163.986 km/h).[11]
| Pos.[12] | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 | William Sawalich (R) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 17.665 | 101.896 |
| 2 | 20 | Jake Finch | Venturini Motorsports | Toyota | 17.715 | 101.609 |
| 3 | 28 | Luke Fenhaus (R) | Pinnacle Racing Group | Chevrolet | 17.830 | 100.953 |
| Full practice results | ||||||
Qualifying
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Perspective
Qualifying was held on Saturday, March 25, at 4:30 PM EST.[10] The qualifying system used is a single-car, two-lap based system. All drivers will be on track by themselves and will have two laps to post a qualifying time. The driver who sets the fastest time in qualifying will win the pole.[13]
William Sawalich, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, would score the pole for the race, with a lap of 17.220, and a speed of 104.530 mph (168.225 km/h).[14]
Qualifying results
| Pos.[15] | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 | William Sawalich (R) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 17.220 | 104.530 |
| 2 | 20 | Jake Finch | Venturini Motorsports | Toyota | 17.484 | 102.951 |
| 3 | 28 | Luke Fenhaus (R) | Pinnacle Racing Group | Chevrolet | 17.536 | 102.646 |
| 4 | 41 | Tyler Reif (R) | Lowden Jackson Motorsports | Ford | 17.666 | 101.891 |
| 5 | 6 | Lavar Scott (R) | Rev Racing | Chevrolet | 17.861 | 100.778 |
| 6 | 15 | Sean Hingorani (R) | Venturini Motorsports | Toyota | 17.952 | 100.267 |
| 7 | 95 | Tanner Arms | MAN Motorsports | Toyota | 17.957 | 100.239 |
| 8 | 46 | R. J. Smotherman | Lowden Jackson Motorsports | Ford | 18.249 | 98.636 |
| 9 | 11 | Zachary Tinkle | Fast Track Racing | Toyota | 18.296 | 98.382 |
| 10 | 12 | Tim Monroe | Fast Track Racing | Toyota | 18.873 | 95.374 |
| 11 | 10 | Ed Pompa | Fast Track Racing | Ford | 19.623 | 91.729 |
| 12 | 01 | Dallas Frueh | Fast Track Racing | Ford | 19.685 | 91.440 |
| 13 | 31 | Rita Goulet (R) | Rise Motorsports | Chevrolet | 20.832 | 86.406 |
| 14 | 06 | Nate Moeller | Wayne Peterson Racing | Toyota | 21.463 | 83.865 |
| 15 | 98 | Dale Shearer | Shearer Speed Racing | Toyota | – | – |
| Official qualifying results | ||||||
Race results
| Fin[16] | St | # | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 18 | William Sawalich (R) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 200 | 200 | Running | 49 |
| 2 | 3 | 28 | Luke Fenhaus (R) | Pinnacle Racing Group | Chevrolet | 200 | 0 | Running | 42 |
| 3 | 2 | 20 | Jake Finch | Venturini Motorsports | Toyota | 200 | 0 | Running | 41 |
| 4 | 6 | 15 | Sean Hingorani (R) | Venturini Motorsports | Toyota | 200 | 0 | Running | 40 |
| 5 | 5 | 6 | Lavar Scott (R) | Rev Racing | Chevrolet | 199 | 0 | Running | 39 |
| 6 | 4 | 41 | Tyler Reif (R) | Lowden Jackson Motorsports | Ford | 198 | 0 | Running | 38 |
| 7 | 9 | 11 | Zachary Tinkle | Fast Track Racing | Toyota | 194 | 0 | Running | 37 |
| 8 | 7 | 95 | Tanner Arms | MAN Motorsports | Toyota | 193 | 0 | Running | 36 |
| 9 | 8 | 46 | R. J. Smotherman | Lowden Jackson Motorsports | Ford | 193 | 0 | Running | 35 |
| 10 | 11 | 10 | Ed Pompa | Fast Track Racing | Ford | 187 | 0 | Running | 34 |
| 11 | 10 | 12 | Tim Monroe | Fast Track Racing | Toyota | 37 | 0 | Overheating | 33 |
| 12 | 12 | 01 | Dallas Frueh | Fast Track Racing | Ford | 22 | 0 | Overheating | 32 |
| 13 | 14 | 06 | Nate Moeller | Wayne Peterson Racing | Toyota | 3 | 0 | Brakes | 31 |
| 14 | 15 | 98 | Dale Shearer | Shearer Speed Racing | Toyota | 0 | 0 | Oil Pressure | 30 |
| 15 | 13 | 31 | Rita Goulet (R) | Rise Motorsports | Chevrolet | 0 | 0 | Suspension | 29 |
| Official race results | |||||||||
Standings after the race
|
References
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