DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (January 13, 2024) – Defending ARCA Menards Series East champion William Sawalich led the way in the second and final day of activity at the annual ARCA Menards Series Pre-Race Practice at Daytona International Speedway.
Sawalich, in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, timed in at 49.318 seconds | 182.489 miles per hour, just 0.014 seconds quicker than NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour ace Patrick Emerling, who timed in at 49.332 seconds | 182.437 miles per hour in his No. 53 Emerling Gase Motorsports Ford.
Andres Perez, who will compete in all 20 ARCA Menards Series races in 2024, was third in the No. 2 Rev Racing Chevrolet at 49.357 seconds | 182.375 miles per hour. Anthony Bello, in the No. 02 Young’s Motorsports Chevy, and Tanner Gray, in a second Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, rounded out the top five.
Veteran Dale Quarterley was sixth, inaugural Chicago Street Race winner Shane Van Gisbergen was seventh, Mandy Chick was eighth, Thomas Annunziata was ninth, and Jeff Scofield rounded out the top ten.
• Friday Daytona ARCA Preseason Testing Speeds
• Saturday Daytona ARCA Preseason Testing Speeds
• Combined Daytona ARCA Preseason Testing Speeds
Saturday’s on-track activity was slowed twice for incidents.
The first involved Bounty Rookie Challenge driver Isaac Johnson and his teammate Greg Van Alst. Johnson struck a piece of debris, doing significant damage to the nose and oil lines of his No. 34 Ford. Defending race winner Van Alst was in a tight draft with Johnson, and the debris also struck his car. The resulting delay lasted nearly 30 minutes as Johnson’s car dropped a significant amount of oil on the track surface, necessitating a lengthy clean-up.
Shortly after going back under green, Scofield cut a tire exiting turn four and spun in a tight pack of cars. Andrew Patterson, driving the No. 73 KLAS Motorsports Ford, spun trying to avoid and the two cars made contact as they slid towards the inside wall. Scofield’s car had significant damage to the left side, while Patterson’s car suffered damage to the nose and right front fender. Both drivers were evaluated and released from the infield care center.
The ARCA Menards Series will return to Daytona International Speedway to officially kick off the 2024 season with the 61st annual Daytona ARCA 200. Practice is set for Thursday, February 15, General Tire Pole Qualifying will follow on Friday, February 16, and the 80-lap/200-mile race is set for 1:30 pm ET on Saturday, February 17.
Top 10 speeds from ARCA Testing Day 2:
1. (No. 18S) William Sawalich – 182.489mph
2. (No. 53E) Patrick Emerling – 182.437mph
3. (No. 2) Andres Perez – 182.375mph
4. (No. 02B) Anthony Bello – 182.345
5. (No. 18G) Tanner Gray – 182.264mph
6. (No. 4) Dale Quarterly – 182.183mph
7. (No. 28V) Shane van Gisbergen – 182.149mph
8. (No. 74) Mandy Chick – 181.653mph
9. (No. 44) Thomas Annunziata – 181.642mph
10. (No. 07) Jeff Shofield – 181.528mph
About Automobile Racing Club of America:
The Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA), founded in 1953 by John and Mildred Marcum in Toledo, Ohio, and acquired by NASCAR in April 2018, is the leading grassroots stock car sanctioning body in the United States.
Bridging the gap between NASCAR’s top three national touring series and weekly racing all across the country, the organization administers more than 100 events annually, including the ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series East, ARCA Menards Series West, plus weekly racing at Toledo and Flat Rock Speedways.
For more information about ARCA visit www.arcaracing.com, or follow ARCA on Facebook (@ARCARacing) and Twitter (@ARCA_Racing).
Source: Automobile Racing Club of America
