Bret Holmes (No. 23 Holmes II Excavation Chevrolet) broke a tie with Travis Braden (No. 27 MatrixCare/Consonus Ford) atop the standings of the S&S Volvo Laps Completed award at Salem on Sunday. Holmes finished in tenth, one lap down, but took the lead for the year after Braden finished seven laps down following an impact with the wall under green flag conditions. Holmes has now completed 385 of a possible 387 laps in the 2019 ARCA Menards Series season.
The S&S Volvo Laps Completed award for Salem was shared among several drivers, with Sam Mayer (No. 21 Chevy Accessories Chevrolet), Carson Hocevar (No. 28 Scott’s KBR Development Chevrolet) and Corey Heim (No. 22 Speedway Children’s Charities Ford) each completing all of the 101 laps that were able to be run before rain ended the day early. Heim was the only driver of that trio that also completed all 200 laps at the previous race in Pensacola.
Braden saw his share of the lead in the year-long S&S Volvo Laps Competed standings take a hit when he smacked the wall and had to make a green-flag pit stop 80 laps into the race at Salem. Braden lost several laps while the RFMS Racing crew made repairs and put on fresh General Tires. A caution flew shortly thereafter, ruining any chance that Braden had at making up some laps under green with newer tires than the rest of the field. Braden finished 12th, completing 94 of 101 laps.
Holmes now is atop the leaderboard with 385 laps completed. Joe Graf Jr. (No. 77 Eat Sleep Race Ford) leapfrogs Braden to move to second with 381 laps completed. Braden slides to third with 379 laps under his belt. Bounty Rookie of the Year contender Tommy Vigh Jr. (No. 10 Extreme Kleaner Ford) holds down fourth at 370 laps completed and Heim is in fifth at 301 laps completed.
The next ARCA Menards Series race will be at Talladega Superspeedway on April 26th. The General Tire 200 is scheduled for 76 laps around the mighty 2.66-mile superspeedway. The race has a tendency to be extended, though, due to green-white-checkered finishes. Last year’s running saw 87 total laps while 2017 was extended to 82 laps. 2016 actually saw the event shortened by two laps due to an impending storm; 2015 was yet another example of the race running longer than intended. The last time a Talladega race ran exactly to the scheduled distance was in 2014. It should be noted that current S&S Volvo Laps Completed leader Bret Holmes has a tumultuous relationship with his home track. The Munford, Alabama native has crashed out violently at Talladega in back-to-back years.
ARCA PR
