The ARCA Menards Series took over Michigan International Speedway Friday for the Henry Ford Health 200. The entry list for the event at the 2.0-mile oval featured 24 entries with nobody going home.
Weather issues canceled the scheduled practice session slated for 1:30 p.m. ET. Cars were able to get on track about 45-minutes later for an abbreviated practice – which also set the starting field for the race. Andres Perez was fastest and thus scored the pole for the event followed by Gus Dean, Connor Zilisch, Tanner Gray, and Andy Jankowiak in the top five.
The field went green just after 6:00 p.m. ET. with Perez leading the two-by-two freight train into turn one. Perez, searching for his first career ARCA Menards Series victory, led the opening six circuits of the race.
Connor Zilisch, piloting the No. 28 Chevrolet, then took the lead from Perez – leading through the next 16 circuits. That is when the No. 18 car of Tanner Gray entered the picture.
Gray inched closer to take the lead away from the leader with 23 complete. He would then cruise to the first of two scheduled modified live pit stop competition cautions at lap 35. Zilisch, Perez, Kris Wright, Gus Dean, and Andy Jankowiak sat in the top five.
The field went back green for the second of three segments with Gray controlling the field. Zilisch, restarting on the outside lane beside Gray, had an issue getting through the gears and dropped back to the tail of the top five.
The track remained green through the second segment with the second scheduled competition caution displayed at lap 70. Gray, Zilisch, Wright, Jake Finch, and Perez ran in the top five.
Pit stops began with the usual suspects staying at the front of the field for the restart with 23 to go.
Following an intense restart, with the top four going four-wide momentarily, Zilisch snatched the lead from Gray – who fell another spot to third as Finch moved into second.
Zilisch managed to hold off Perez, after Gray bounced his No. 18 Toyota off the outside wall, to score the Henry Ford Health 200 at Michigan victory.
The driver of the No. 28 Chevrolet, having just turned 18 years of age from Mooresville, North Carolina, earned his fourth trip to victory lane this season in the ARCA Menards Series.
Andres Perez, Tanner Gray, Jake Finch, and Kris Wright sat in the top five.
Taking home top 10s were Greg Van Alst, Jason Kitzmiller, Toni Breidinger, Christian Rose, and Amber Balcaen.
The series will quickly shift focus to Sunday at the Illinois State Fair in Springfield, IL. The Springfield ARCA 100, held on a 1.0-mile dirt oval, airs live on FOX Sports 1 at 2:00 p.m. ET.
About Me: Brett has been following the sport of NASCAR since the beginning of the 2006 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. Since Brett was 13, he has had a passion of chasing a job in sports that not many get the opportunity of doing. He has been in the NASCAR media since the middle of the 2010 season. Since then, he has been a part of many racing podcast shows to improve his talents. He has written forracingonfuel.comandtheracingwheel.com. Currently, Brett writes formotorsportsnat.comandTracksideChatter.com. You can find him on twitter@NASCAR_Brett.
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