Smith Wins General Tire 200

Zane Smith, driver of the No. 41 LaPaz Margarita Mix Toyota, posed in Gatorade Victory Lane with the General Tire 200 Hammer and Anvil Trophy after winning in what was a photo finish on Friday. The finish was declared the closest finish in ARCA Racing Series history.
Zane Smith, driver of the No. 41 LaPaz Margarita Mix Toyota, posed in Gatorade Victory Lane with the General Tire 200 Hammer and Anvil Trophy after winning in what was a photo finish on Friday. The finish was declared the closest finish in ARCA Racing Series history.

TALLADEGA, AL – The unpredictability of stock car racing at Talladega Superspeedway was on full display Friday night, with a sudden flurry of late-race incidents leading to two “overtimes" and an eventual photo-finish General Tire 200 victory by Zane Smith.

A last-lap incident brought out the caution flag and caused the first one-lap OT, which was foiled by another crash on the backstretch.

On the second OT lap, Smith’s No. 41 LaPaz Margarita Mix Toyota and the No. 77 Big Tine Ford of Joe Graf Jr. spent most of the time door-to-door, racing on the edge. Smith crossed the stripe barely ahead of Graf, getting his second victory of the season.

How close was it? ARCA officials said the electronics showed a dead-heat, which meant a return to the old school method of reviewing the photo of the finish to determine the winner. ARCA called it the closest finish in series history.

“We’re four races in and we’ve got two wins … this year is going to be unreal," said Smith, from Huntington Beach, California.

The ARCA Racing Series had big news to start the day, with the announcement that it had been acquired by NASCAR.

“It's fantastic that we're going to be working together going off into the future," said NASCAR Vice Chairman/Executive Vice President Jim France. “Both organizations have a great history, with great championships. We’ve shared a lot of teams and drivers over the years. That will continue in a major way."

The ARCA Racing Series will continue to operate under its current structure through the 2019 season.

On Saturday, the NASCAR Xfinity Series’ Sparks Energy 300 will take a 2 p.m. green flag. Qualifying for the 113-lap/300-mile race is at 10 a.m.

[adinserter name="GOOGLE AD"]Friday featured two practice sessions for the Sparks Energy 300. Cole Custer (No. 00 Haas Automation Ford) led the first session with a fast lap of 194.125 mph; the second session was led by Shane Lee (No. 3 Childress Vineyards Chevrolet), at 187.938.

Also Friday, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series had a pair of practices for the weekend’s main event – Sunday’s 49th GEICO 500. Those sessions were led by Ty Dillon and two-time Talladega winner Jamie McMurray. Dillon led the first session in the No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet with a fast lap of 202.959 mph on the 2.66-mile tri-oval. McMurray, driving the No. 1 DC Solar Chevrolet, led the second session, at 203.975.

Fr8Auctions Qualifying for the GEICO 500 is set for Saturday at 12:05 p.m.

Results

Fin Str No Driver Hometown Car Laps Status
1 8 41 Zane Smith Huntington Beach, California Toyota 87 Running
2 17 77 Joseph Graf Jr. Mahwah, New Jersey Ford 87 Running
3 1 15 Michael Self Salt Lake City, Utah Toyota 87 Running
4 3 28 Sheldon Creed Alpine, California Toyota 87 Running
5 12 6 Josh Williams Port Charlotte, Florida Chevrolet 87 Running
6 5 78 Max Tullman Chester Springs, Pennsylvania Chevrolet 87 Running
7 11 55 Brandon Lynn Penn Yan, New York Toyota 87 Running
8 7 5 Bobby Gerhart Lebanon, Pennsylvania Chevrolet 87 Running
9 26 27 Travis Braden Wheeling, West Virginia Ford 87 Running
10 13 02 Andy Seuss Hampstead, New Hampshire Chevrolet 87 Running
11 16 57 Bryan Dauzat Alexandria, Louisiana Chevrolet 87 Running
12 14 32 Gus Dean Bluffton, South Carolina Chevrolet 87 Running
13 10 98 Blaine Perkins Bakersfield, California Chevrolet 87 Running
14 30 06 Con Nicolopoulos Columbus, Michigan Chevrolet 87 Running
15 22 34 Jesse Iwuji Carrollton, Texas Chevrolet 87 Running
16 20 63 Dave Mader III Homewood, Alabama Chevrolet 87 Running
17 18 18 Riley Herbst Las Vegas, Nevada Toyota 87 Running
18 25 38 Robert Powers Meridian, Idaho Chevrolet 87 Running
19 28 10 D.L. Wilson Waco, Texas Chevrolet 87 Running
20 23 52 Brandon Grosso Belle Mead, New Jersey Ford 84 Running
21 24 9 Thomas Praytor Mobile, Alabama Chevrolet 82 Running
22 15 20 Leilani Munter Rochester, Minnesota Toyota 81 Running
23 46 Sean Corr 79 Not Running
24 9 7 Codie Rohrbaugh Petersburg, West Virginia Chevrolet 76 Not Running
25 2 8 Chase Purdy Meridian, Mississippi Toyota 75 Not Running
26 6 54 Bo LeMastus Louisville, Kentucky Toyota 75 Not Running
27 19 23 Bret Holmes Munford, Alabama Chevrolet 45 Not Running
28 4 25 Natalie Decker Eagle River, Wisconsin Toyota 18 Not Running
29 27 11 Ed Pompa Ballston Spa, New York Toyota 14 Not Running
30 29 69 Kevin Hinckle Shawnee, Kansas Ford 2 Not Running
31 31 48 Brad Smith Shelby Township, Michigan Ford 0 Not Running