2024 Pensacola 150
| Race details[1][2][3][4] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 1 of 8 of the 2024 ARCA Menards Series East | |||
| Date | March 23, 2024 | ||
| Official name | 5th Annual Pensacola 150 | ||
| Location | Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Florida | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 0.5 mi (0.80 km) | ||
| Distance | 150 laps, 75 mi (120 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 150 laps, 75 mi (120 km) | ||
| Average speed | 74.298 mph (119.571 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Joe Gibbs Racing | ||
| Time | 17.126 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | William Sawalich | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Laps | 80 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 20 | Gio Ruggiero | Venturini Motorsports | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | FloRacing | ||
| Announcers | Charles Krall | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | ARCA Racing Network | ||
The 2024 Pensacola 150 was the first stock car race of the 2024 ARCA Menards Series East season, and the 5th running of the event. The race was held on Saturday, March 23, 2024, at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Florida, a 0.5 mile (0.80 km) permanent asphalt oval shaped short track. The race took the scheduled 150 laps to complete. In a thrilling race that featured an intense battle between Gio Ruggiero and William Sawalich, Ruggiero, driving for Venturini Motorsports, would take the lead from Sawalich on the final restart following the race break, and held him off for the final 70 laps to earn his first career ARCA Menards Series East win.[5] Sawalich, who started on the pole, dominated the first half of the race, leading a race-high 80 laps before loosing the lead on the final restart and ultimately finished 2nd. To fill out the podium, Bubba Pollard, driving for Phoenix Racing, would finish 3rd, respectively.
Report[edit]
Background[edit]
Five Flags Speedway is a half-mile (0.8 km) paved oval racetrack in Pensacola, Florida. It opened in 1953 and is located on Pine Forest Road.[6] It is christened after the nickname of Pensacola—"City of Five Flags."[7]
It runs several local classes during the regular racing season (March – October). These classes include Super Late Models, Pro Late Models, Pro Trucks, Outlaw Stocks, Sportsman, and Pure Stocks. The races are usual held on Friday nights bi-weekly. The track has also hosted many regional touring series.[8][9]
In 2019, the ARCA Menards Series returned to the track, but for one year only. After the merge between ARCA and NASCAR after the 2019 season, the former NASCAR K&N Pro Series East, (now called ARCA Menards Series East) began racing at Five Flags in 2020.
Entry list[edit]
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
Notes[edit]
- ^ Due to Connor Zilisch being at Circuit of the Americas for the NASCAR Truck Series race, Luke Fenhaus practiced and qualified Zilisch's No. 28 car. Zilisch was able to make the race.
Practice[edit]
The first and only practice session was held on Saturday, March 23, at 2:30 PM EST, and would last for 60 minutes.[10] Jake Finch, driving for Venturini Motorsports, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 17.479, and a speed of 102.981 mph (165.732 km/h).[11]
| Pos.[12] | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 55 | Jake Finch | Venturini Motorsports | Toyota | 17.479 | 102.981 |
| 2 | 18 | William Sawalich | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 17.511 | 102.793 |
| 3 | 1 | Bubba Pollard | Phoenix Racing | Chevrolet | 17.707 | 101.655 |
| Full practice results | ||||||
Qualifying[edit]
Qualifying was held on Saturday, March 23, at 5:00 PM EST.[10] The qualifying system used is a single-car, two-lap based system. All drivers will be on track by themselves and will have two laps to post a qualifying time. The driver who sets the fastest time in qualifying will win the pole.[13]
William Sawalich, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, would score the pole for the race, with a lap of 17.126, and a speed of 105.103 mph (169.147 km/h).[14]
Three drivers withdrew from the race: Ed Pompa, Brad Smith, and Dale Shearer.
Qualifying results[edit]
Race results[edit]
| Fin[16] | St | # | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 20 | Gio Ruggiero (R) | Venturini Motorsports | Toyota | 150 | 70 | Running | 47 |
| 2 | 1 | 18 | William Sawalich | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 150 | 80 | Running | 45 |
| 3 | 3 | 1 | Bubba Pollard | Phoenix Racing | Chevrolet | 149 | 0 | Running | 41 |
| 4 | 3 | 28 | Connor Zilisch (R) | Pinnacle Racing Group | Chevrolet | 148 | 0 | Running | 40 |
| 5 | 6 | 95 | Hunter Wright | MAN Motorsports | Toyota | 148 | 0 | Running | 39 |
| 6 | 10 | 10 | Mike Basham | Fast Track Racing | Ford | 145 | 0 | Running | 38 |
| 7 | 2 | 55 | Jake Finch | Venturini Motorsports | Toyota | 144 | 0 | Running | 37 |
| 8 | 8 | 11 | Zachary Tinkle | Fast Track Racing | Toyota | 144 | 0 | Running | 36 |
| 9 | 9 | 39 | D. L. Wilson | Costner Weaver Motorsports | Toyota | 142 | 0 | Running | 35 |
| 10 | 12 | 06 | Cody Dennison (R) | Wayne Peterson Racing | Toyota | 142 | 0 | Running | 34 |
| 11 | 11 | 93 | Colton Collins | Costner Weaver Motorsports | Chevrolet | 141 | 0 | Running | 33 |
| 12 | 13 | 99 | Michael Maples (R) | Fast Track Racing | Chevrolet | 131 | 0 | Running | 32 |
| 13 | 14 | 31 | Rita Goulet | Rise Motorsports | Chevrolet | 120 | 0 | Running | 31 |
| 14 | 15 | 12 | Presley Sorah | Fast Track Racing | Toyota | 42 | 0 | Electrical | 30 |
| 15 | 7 | 07 | Tyler Scofield | Scofield Motorsports | Chevrolet | 29 | 0 | Alternator | 29 |
| 16 | 16 | 0 | Nate Moeller | Wayne Peterson Racing | Ford | 2 | 0 | Engine | 28 |
| Withdrew | |||||||||
| 10 | Ed Pompa | Fast Track Racing | Ford | ||||||
| 48 | Brad Smith | Brad Smith Motorsports | Ford | ||||||
| 98 | Dale Shearer | Shearer Speed Racing | Toyota | ||||||
| Official race results | |||||||||
Standings after the race[edit]
|
References[edit]
- ^ "Pensacola 150 at Five Flags Speedway". ARCA Racing. December 12, 2023. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
- ^ "Entry list: Pensacola 150 at Five Flags Speedway". ARCA Racing. March 19, 2024. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
- ^ "Qualifying results: Pensacola 150 at Five Flags Speedway". ARCA Racing. March 23, 2024. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
- ^ "Race results: Pensacola 150 at Five Flags Speedway". ARCA Racing. March 23, 2024. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
- ^ Branscum, Benjamine (March 23, 2024). "Gio Ruggiero Gets It Done In Five Flags, Wins The Pensacola 150". TobyChristie.com. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
- ^ "Track History". Archived from the original on January 29, 2010. Retrieved December 12, 2010.
- ^ "Five Flags of Derby". Archived from the original on December 1, 2010.
- ^ "NASCAR results at Five Flags Speedway". Racing Reference. Retrieved July 22, 2016.
- ^ "Schedule". Archived from the original on March 17, 2010.
- ^ a b "Schedule of events: Pensacola 150 at Five Flags Speedway". ARCA Racing. February 22, 2024. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
- ^ "Practice results: Pensacola 150 at Five Flags Speedway". ARCA Racing. March 23, 2024. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
- ^ "2024 Pensacola 150 Practice Results". Racing-Reference.info. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
- ^ Fenwick, Adam (March 18, 2024). "PIT BOX: ARCA Menards Series East season roars to life Saturday at Five Flags Speedway". ARCA Racing. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
- ^ Calloni, Josh (March 23, 2024). "William Sawalich On Pole for ARCA East Season Opener". Frontstretch.com. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
- ^ "2024 Pensacola 150 Qualifying Results". Racing-Reference.info. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
- ^ "2024 Pensacola 150 - The Third Turn". The Third Turn. Retrieved March 24, 2024.