KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Gio Ruggiero (No. 18 1st Auto Group Toyota) scored his second ARCA Menards Series win of the season in Saturday’s Tide 150 at Kansas Speedway.
Ruggiero took the lead from Jack Wood (No. 28 Pinnacle Racing Group Chevrolet) on the first of two overtime restarts and then held off Daniel Dye (No. 24 Champion Container Chevrolet) on the second and final overtime attempt to hold on for the win.
Ruggiero won the season opener at Daytona International Speedway in his only other ARCA Menards Series start of 2026.
“You just got to do whatever it takes to win,” Ruggiero said. “That’s what I did. I thought we had a really strong car, and I just couldn’t let these guys down and lose the race. My crew chief Matt Ross just had a baby, so I needed to get him a nice gift, [which was] to win. I definitely executed on those last restarts and did what it took.”
Dye, who led for 15 laps, finished second in his second start of the season for the Sigma Performance Services team; it is his 18th career top-five finish and his best since he finished second at Phoenix Raceway in 2022.
ARCA Menards Series championship points leader Jake Bollman (No. 20 Nitro Motorsports Toyota) finished third, his second top-five finish of the season. He finished second in the season opener at Daytona.
Despite scuffing the backstretch wall and later damage to the left front nose of his car, Gavan Boschele (No. 25 All-Pro Auto Reconditioning Toyota) finished fourth in his second career ARCA Menards Series start and his first since he finished eight in his debut at Berlin Raceway in 2024.
Lanie Buice (No. 77 Sunoco Chevrolet) finished fifth to earn her first career top-five finish in five career ARCA Menards Series starts.
Jason Kitzmiller (No. 97 A.L.L. Construction / Carter CAT Chevrolet) finished sixth, his best finish of the season. Kitzmiller, who entered the race second in the ARCA Menards Series standings, finished seventh at Daytona.
Jade Avedisian (No. 15 Yahoo Toyota) finished seventh, the second of three female drivers in the top 10. The record for the most female drivers in the top 10 is four in 2024 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds (Isabella Robusto, second; Taylor Reimer, third; Toni Breidinger, sixth; Amber Balcaen, eighth). Three female drivers finished in the top 10 last year at Toledo Speedway (Robusto, fourth; Reimer, sixth; Becca Monopoli, 10th).
Monty Tipton (No. 17 Bare Bones Toyota) finished eighth in his second career ARCA Menards Series start and his first ever on a 1.5-mile speedway. Tipton was driving for Cook Racing Technologies, the team that won the 2023 ARCA Menards West owner’s championship.
Thomas Annunziata (No. 70 JBL Toyota) rallied late from a lap down to finish ninth, the final car on the lead lap.
Dystany Spurlock (No. 66 Foxxtecca Ford) started last in the 29-car field and steadily climbed through the field to finish 10th in her ARCA Menards Series debut. By taking the green flag, Spurlock became the first Black female driver to ever compete in an ARCA Menards Series race.
The only incident of the race occurred on lap 76 when Garrett Mitchell (No. 30 BaldEagle.com Ford), known to his millions of fans as Cleetus McFarland on YouTube, lost an oil line on the front stretch immediately in front of Isabella Robusto (No. 55 Mobil 1 Toyota) and Andy Jankowiak (No. 71 Sbarro Toyota). Mitchell slid in the fluid all the way through turns one and two while Robusto made contact with the outside wall and Jankowiak slid through the infield grass. All three were evaluated and released from the infield care center.
