DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Gio Ruggiero (No. 18 1st Auto Group Toyota) scored the victory in the ARCA Menards Series’ season-opening General Tire 200 at Daytona International Speedway. Ruggiero held off Jake Bollman (No. 20 SynerFuse Toyota) on a one-lap overtime dash to the checkered to win for the first time in his ARCA Menards Series career.
Ruggiero has three career NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series starts at Daytona and its sister track, Talladega Superspeedway. His worst finish is second, twice, at Daytona in 2025 and 2026 and he won at Talladega in 2025. It was his first career ARCA Menards Series start at Daytona.
Bollman turned the fastest lap in Sioux Chief PowerPEX Pole Qualifying, but his time was disallowed after an infraction in post-qualifying technical inspection relegating him to 33rd starting position.
Bollman steadily worked his way through the field and missed two big accidents in the final ten laps to score his first career ARCA Menards Series top-five finish.
Kole Raz (No. 76 Breeze Hydrogen Fuels Ford) narrowly made the race on time, starting in the 32nd position.
Raz was bumped into the field when Bollman’s time was disallowed; had that not happened, he would have missed the starting field due to not having enough owner points from 2025 to fall back on. Raz finished a career-best third driving for 2009 ARCA Menards Series championship-winning crew chief Mark Rette and team co-owner Terry Jones, who finished second in the 2017 ARCA Menards Series race at Daytona.
Hometown hero Daniel Dye (No. 24 Champion Container Ford) restarted on the front row for the final restart but didn’t get help from behind over the final lap and dropped to fourth at the finish. Dye, from nearby Deland, Florida, finished in the top five in both career ARCA Menards Series starts at Daytona; he was third in 2022.
Glen Reen (No. 07 New Wave Bath Ford) scored his second consecutive top-five finish in the ARCA Menards Series in fifth. Reen, a former regular in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, also finished fourth last year at Watkins Glen International. Reen was joined in the top ten by KLAS Motorsports teammate Andy Jankowiak (No. 71 Dak’s Markets Chevrolet), who finished tenth.
Jack Wood (No. 28 Road Ranger Chevrolet) finished sixth driving for last year’s race-winning and championship-winning team, Pinnacle Racing Group. Wood’s teammate Taylor Reimer (No. 77 BuzzBalls Chevrolet) was running in the top ten late in the race before being befallen with electrical issues that ended her day in 30th position.
Jason Kitzmiller was also relegated to the 34th starting position after his qualifying time was disallowed, but he expertly drove to the front of the field and notched his third consecutive top-ten finish at Daytona in seventh.
Ryan Vargas (No. 91 Maples Motorsports Ford) led for the first time in his ARCA Menards Series career when he crossed the line first to complete lap 24. Despite losing the lead before the completion of the next lap, Vargas stayed in the top ten the rest of the way and came home a career-best eighth.
Bobby Earnhardt (No. 89 SmartGrid Integrations Chevrolet) kept team owner Tim Goulet’s car in the front half of the field all afternoon, scoring an impressive ninth-place finish. Earnhardt is the only member of the Earnhardt family driving in competition during SpeedWeeks 25 years after the loss of his grandfather Dale Earnhardt on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500.
