Getty Ty Gibbs celebrates a win at the Daytona Road Course.
The ARCA Menards Series kicked off a packed schedule on Saturday with the Dutch Boy 150. The NASCAR race at Kansas Speedway started with a crash and featured several wild moments packed into only 100 laps. Ultimately, Ty Gibbs turned in a dominant performance in the No. 18 Toyota and won his second race of the season.
Gibbs started on the pole Saturday afternoon, giving him an early advantage over his fellow drivers. He led the field to the green flag and then proceeded to maintain his lead for all 100 laps, building up a five-second lead over runner-up Drew Dollar. Though Gibbs did not simply just hold a simple line. He had to navigate around his fellow drivers with some nifty moves and avoid slower cars.
This dominant victory gave Gibbs his third top-five finish in four races and his second win of the season. The 18-year-old also rebounded from a mid-race crash that ruined his trip to Talladega Superspeedway for the General Tire 200 last week.
A violent collision sent two drivers to the infield care center
Shortly after the green flag waved, the ARCA Menards race came to a halt. Two drivers collided in Turn 2 on the first lap, destroying their stock cars and bringing out the red flag. They both went to the infield care center for further examination but avoided injuries.
Red flag is out for track cleanup
Another look at the crash involving @bretholmes23 and Scott Melton
The incident occurred after Bret Holmes’ No. 23 began to spin on Turn 2. He went sideways as drivers navigated around him, but Scott Melton was unable to avoid him in the No. 69. He slammed into Holmes’ driver’s side and destroyed both race cars. Holmes later explained that he lost air after being stuck in the middle of the pack.
“I’m fine. Just kind of what happens. You get stuck in the middle three-wide. You’ve got no air on the side of your car, and you get sucked around real quick,” Holmes said after the crash, per the ARCA Twitter account. The FS1 broadcast team added that the middle lane on Turn 2 is the worst place to be as a driver.
Gibbs continues to turn heads during his win-filled 2021 season
The 18-year-old grandson of Joe Gibbs has impressed several times during his 2021 season. He kicked off his ARCA Menards Series season with a win at Phoenix and then added another during Saturday’s trip to Kansas. These wins gave him 10 in his ARCA Menards career, as well as 22 top-five finishes.
However, Gibbs has not simply contended for wins in the ARCA Menards Series. He also impressed during brief appearances in the Xfinity Series. Gibbs made his debut at the Daytona Road Course on Feb. 20, a race that he won after leading 14 laps.
Gibbs has continued to make sporadic appearances in the Xfinity Series while driving the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Supra. He also competed at Phoenix Raceway, finishing second overall behind Austin Cindric after starting in the 27th position. Gibbs most recently competed at Martinsville, finishing fourth while JR Motorsports driver Josh Berry won his first career Xfinity Series race.
Gibbs will now have an opportunity to continue his successful season with another ARCA Menards Series race on May 22. The drivers will head to Toledo Speedway for the Herr’s Potato Chips 200. The race at the short track will take place at 8 p.m. ET and will feature 200 laps.
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