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The ARCA Menards Series headed to Iowa Speedway on Saturday, July 24, for 150 laps at “The Fastest Short Track on the Planet.” Fans tuned in to see another battle between Ty Gibbs and Corey Heim, but the grandson of NASCAR Hall of Fame owner Joe Gibbs turned in a dominant performance en route to his sixth win of the year.
Gibbs kicked off the trip to Iowa Speedway by winning the General Tire Pole Award in qualifying. He then led 149 of the 150-lap main event, building up a 1.5-second advantage over runner-up Daniel Dye, the winner of the race at Berlin Raceway on July 17. Taylor Gray, Heim, and Nick Sanchez finished third, fourth, and fifth, respectively.
“I feel like you’re almost a painter here, you’re just working the brush on the canvas, on an open canvas, there’s so much room to work with,” Gibbs said after the win, per Jayski. “It’s a Phoenix, it’s an Atlanta. There’s so many different places to go from top to bottom. You’ve got everywhere, and all of the bumps, so much characteristic to this place. It’s a well-built racetrack.”
Along with adding a sixth win to his season total, Gibbs made history at Iowa Speedway. He became the first driver to lock up multiple wins at the D-shaped track. The ARCA Menards Series first started racing at Iowa in 2006, resulting in 14 different winners until Gibbs changed the trend.
Gibbs Made a Move in the Championship Standings
The driver of the No. 18 entered the July 24 race needing to make some moves to overtake Heim in the championship standings. He had one more win (five) than Heim (four) but trailed his peer by five points after the first 10 races of the season. However, Gibbs took back control after his dominant performance.
According to the AMS site, Gibbs locked up one point for winning the pole and then added another for leading one lap. He captured a third point for leading the most laps. These three points combined with those he earned for winning and gave him a four-point advantage over Heim with nine races remaining in the season.
Gibbs will have another opportunity to lock up more points when the ARCA Menards Series continues. The next race on the schedule is the Calypso Lemonade 200 at Indiana’s Winchester Speedway on July 31. The race will take place at 8 p.m. ET and will air live on MAVTV Motorsports Network. Subscribers to NBC Sports Gold’s TrackPass can access a live stream to watch the event.
Drive for Diversity Members Continue to Impress
While the battle between Gibbs and Heim became the focal point on July 24, two other drivers continued to showcase their skills behind the wheel. Rajah Caruth and Nick Sanchez, who both race for NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program, turned in solid performances once again.
Sanchez started 10th at Iowa Speedway and spent his evening near the front of the pack. He ultimately turned in a fifth-place finish, marking his sixth top-five of the year and his ninth consecutive top-10 finish. Sanchez has yet to win a race in 2021, but his consistency has kept him fourth overall in the standings.
Caruth, on the other hand, primarily races in the ARCA Menards East Series but faced off with Gibbs, Heim, and the other drivers due to the Iowa date bringing multiple series together on the same track. Caruth has only competed in six ARCA Menards East Series races during the 2021 season, but he has turned in strong performances in the majority of them. The July 25 event was no exception as he finished ninth overall, his fourth top-10 finish of the year.
Both Drive for Diversity members will continue to fight for strong finishes in what remains of their respective schedules. Caruth will compete in the Sprecher 150 at the Milwaukee Mile on Aug. 29, another combination race featuring both series. Sanchez will join Gibbs and the other AMS drivers at Winchester Speedway on July 31.
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