OREGON, Wis. – After dominating the first three quarters of Friday’s ARCA Menards Series Shore Lunch 200 at Madison Int’l Speedway, Chandler Smith had to utilize pit strategy and some hard racing to earn his second straight series victory.
Smith won the last time he raced in the ARCA Menards Series at Toledo Speedway in May.
Smith, who started from the General Tire Pole after setting a track record in qualifying, stretched out nearly a half-lap lead as the field raced the first 112 laps caution-free. Then, Corey Heim lost control in turn three and made contact with the wall bringing out the first caution of the night. From there on, Smith would face pressure from – and eventually lose the lead to – Ty Gibbs.
Gibbs would hold the lead until a red flag for rain with 38 laps remaining. Just before the red was displayed, Smith came to the pits for two tires, and when the field went back under caution after the weather cell passed through the rest of the lead lap cars came to pit road handing the lead back to Smith.
Smith lost the lead to Michael Self on the restart, and Smith would lose second to his other Venturini Motorsports teammate Christian Eckes with 25 laps to go when Eckes made contact in turn one.
Eckes would go on to pressure Self for the lead but would spin down the frontstretch on lap 180. He would go on to finish seventh.
Once back under green, Self would retain the lead on the restart but Smith would move him out of the way just as their teammate Hailie Deegan’s engine expired. That would put the field under the red for the second time of the night for track cleanup, and left just five laps to settle it once back under green.
Self spun his tires on the restart, scrambling the field behind him. Gibbs would receive the black flag for changing lanes on the restart, and dropped from second to eighth at the finish.
Smith was ecstatic with his win, even if he had to knock fenders to do it.
“We’re in victory lane and that’s what matters,” he said. “If those guys are upset, I am sorry but it was rough out there tonight. I had people run into me all night long. That’s just how it was.”
Smith knew the only chance he had to win was to pit before the rest of the field did while it was sprinkling and hope the weather moved through quick enough to get back underway.
“It was out only hope at that point,” he said. “It could have rained and we would have been eighth or tenth. But once we got back underway we knew everyone else would pit and we’d get our track position back.”
Self was happy to finish second in his first appearance at Madison.
“This is a much better outcome than it could have been tonight,” Self said. “We went from asking Chandler how to get around this place to battling him for the win in about eight hours. I can’t say enough about my team to help make that happen. I am not mad about it at all but he did get into us down there and move me out of the way. I get it. That’s what he had to do.”
The Venturini duo finished just ahead of Sam Mayer. Travis Braden was fourth and Bret Holmes rounded out the top five.
The finish:
Chandler Smith, Michael Self, Sam Mayer, Travis Braden, Bret Holmes, Carson Hocevar, Christian Eckes, Ty Gibbs, Joe Graf Jr., Corey Heim, Tommy Vigh Jr., Hailie Deegan, Eric Caudell, Tim Richmond, Brad Smith, Dick Karth, Dick Doheny, Dale Shearer.