Ty Gibbs regained his ARCA Menards Series swagger Saturday night, and in the process, seized the championship lead by winning the Shore Lunch 150 at Iowa Speedway.
The 18-year-old grandson of NASCAR and Pro Football Hall of Famer Joe Gibbs was nearly flawless. He led 149 of the 150 laps en route to his sixth win of the 2021 season and his second straight win at the World’s Fastest Short Track.
It’s a track and a race that helped him snap a three-race winless streak and leapfrog Corey Heim in the point standings.
“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,” said Gibbs, shortly after driving his No. 18 Toyota to victory lane. “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 really a well-built racetrack.”
Gibbs’ dominant day began by winning the General Tire Pole Award in qualifying, then he continued his dominance when the sun set.
Daniel Dye, a week after winning his first ARCA Menards Series race, made a valiant effort to catch Gibbs in the closing laps. But Dye settled for second, as Taylor Gray, Corey Heim and Nick Sanchez rounded out the top five.
“I did everything I could,” Dye said as he stood alongside his No. 21 Chevrolet. “I wrecked the car a couple times trying to reel in Ty, but … this is a dream. I’m racing in front of 5,000 fans at one of the coolest tracks I’ve been to and finishing second to one of the best there is in ARCA. So mad we didn’t win, but we’ll take it.”
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The ARCA Menards Series heads to Winchester Speedway in Indiana next Saturday for the Winchester 150.
— Iowa Speeedway —