The ARCA Menards Series East kicks off the 2023 racing season on Saturday, March 25 at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Florida with the Pensacola 200. The race will mark the start of the series’ 37th year of operation, dating back to 1987 and the days of the old NASCAR Busch North Series.
There are 18 cars entered for the Pensacola 200 to date, led by Tyler Reif. The 15 year old is coming off his first-career ARCA win in the ARCA Menards Series/ARCA Menards Series West combination event just this past Friday night at Phoenix Raceway.
Former Five Flags Speedway Super and Pro Late Model winner William Sawalich will make his ARCA East debut in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18. His first start under the ARCA umbrella at Phoenix was a strong one, having won the General Tire Pole Award and led the most laps before a late incident ended his shot at a win.
Defending CARS Pro Late Model Tour champion Luke Fenhaus makes his ARCA debut for Pinnacle Racing Group. Former Five Flags Speedway Outlaw track champion Jake Finch returns to the ARCA Menards Series East at his home track.
Rev Racing’s Lavar Scott and Venturini Motorsports’ Sean Hingorani begin their 2023 championship chases at Five Flags Speedway, along with Ed Pompa, Zachary Tinkle, Rita Goulet, RJ Smotherman, Brad Smith and Dale Shearer.
This will be the series’ sixth event at Five Flags Speedway, with a history of winners having gone on to NASCAR success. Current NASCAR Senior VP of Racing Development Ben Kennedy won the inaugural race in 2013 over Gray Gaulding and Johnny VanDoorn. Other AMSE winners at Five Flags include 2021 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion Ben Rhodes, and two-time series champions and now NASCAR Xfinity Series regulars Sam Mayer and Sammy Smith.
The ARCA Menards Series National tour made six trips to Five Flags Speedway from 1992-2019. Roy Payne won the first event at the Pensacola oval, while Harold Fair, Gary Bradberry, Bob Schacht and Michael Self also took wins.
The ARCA Pensacola 200 race weekend begins Friday night, March 24 with Lloyd’s Glass Pure Stocks, Zoom Equipment Pro Trucks, and the debut of the all-new Crown Stock division. Racing is scheduled to start at 8:00pm CT.
The ARCA Menards Series East headlines the weekend’s racing action Saturday with the Pensacola 200. ARCA practice takes place at 2:30, with qualifying at 4:30 and racing at 7:00. An on-track autograph session is also scheduled at 5:45. The Modifieds of Mayhem Tour will also be in action.
Tickets for the double-header of racing action are available now and can be purchased at https://bit.ly/ARCAPensacola200. For more information visit www.5flagsspeedway.com or www.trackenterprises.com. You can also stay up to date by following 5 Flags Speedway and Track Enterprises on Facebook.
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