The 2023 Atlas 200 was the 19th stock car race of the 2023 ARCA Menards Series season, and the 26th iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, September 30, 2023, in Salem, Indiana at Salem Speedway, a 0.555 miles (0.893 km) permanent oval shaped racetrack. The race took the scheduled 200 laps to complete. In a wild race, Jesse Love, driving for Venturini Motorsports, would put on a blistering performance, leading every lap from the pole to earn his 12th career ARCA Menards Series win, and his tenth of the season. To fill out the podium, Andrés Pérez de Lara, driving for Rev Racing, and Christian Rose, driving for AM Racing, would finish 2nd and 3rd, respectively.
In addition to winning, Love would ultimately clinch the 2023 ARCA Menards Series championship one race early by taking the green flag.
Background Salem Speedway is a long paved oval racetrack in Washington Township, Washington County, near Salem, Indiana, United States, approximately south of Indianapolis. The track has 33° degrees of banking in the corners. Major auto racing series that run at Salem are ARCA and USAC.
Entry list
(R) denotes rookie driver.
#DriverTeamMakeSponsor0Nate MoellerWayne Peterson RacingToyotaWayne Peterson Racing2Andrés Pérez de Lara (R)Rev RacingChevroletMax Siegel Inc.03Alex ClubbClubb Racing Inc.FordClubb Racing Inc.06Kevin HinckleWayne Peterson RacingFordKH Automotive10Tim MonroeFast Track RacingFordFast Track Racing11Zachary TinkleFast Track RacingToyotaRacing for Rescues12Ed PompaFast Track RacingFordHYTORC of New York, Double "H" Ranch15Toni BreidingerVenturini MotorsportsToyotaVictoria's Secret, Raising Cane's18William SawalichJoe Gibbs RacingToyotaStarkey, SoundGear20Jesse LoveVenturini MotorsportsToyotaJBL25Brent CrewsVenturini MotorsportsToyotaYahoo!, Mobil 130Frankie Muniz (R)Rette Jones RacingFordFord Performance31Brayton LasterRise MotorsportsChevroletRise Motorsports32Christian Rose (R)AM RacingFordWest Virginia Tourism48Brad SmithBrad Smith MotorsportsFordOktoberfest Race Weekend66Jon Garrett (R)Veer MotorsportsChevroletFort Worth Screen Printing68Mike BashamKimmel RacingFordKimmel Racing69Will KimmelKimmel RacingFordKimmel Racing95Conner PopplewellMAN MotorsportsToyotaSunset Park RV ManufacturingOfficial entry list
Practice The first and only practice session was held on Saturday, September 30, at 3:45 PM EST, and would last for 45 minutes. William Sawalich, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 17.232, and an average speed of . Pos.#DriverTeamMakeTimeSpeed118William SawalichJoe Gibbs RacingToyota17.232115.947269Will KimmelKimmel RacingFord17.608113.47132Andrés Pérez de Lara (R)Rev RacingChevrolet17.672113.060Full practice results
Qualifying Qualifying was held on Saturday, September 30, at 5:15 PM EST. The qualifying system used is a single-car, two-lap system with only one round. Whoever sets the fastest time in that round will win the pole. Jesse Love, driving for Venturini Motorsports, would score the pole for the race, with a lap of 17.106, and an average speed of . Pos.#DriverTeamMakeTimeSpeed120Jesse LoveVenturini MotorsportsToyota17.106116.801218William SawalichJoe Gibbs RacingToyota17.117116.726369Will KimmelKimmel RacingFord17.308115.438425Brent CrewsVenturini MotorsportsToyota17.541113.905532Christian Rose (R)AM RacingFord17.725112.72262Andrés Pérez de Lara (R)Rev RacingChevrolet17.808112.197730Frankie Muniz (R)Rette Jones RacingFord17.880111.745815Toni BreidingerVenturini MotorsportsToyota17.942111.359995Conner PopplewellMAN MotorsportsToyota18.029110.8211011Zachary TinkleFast Track RacingToyota18.094110.4231166Jon Garrett (R)Veer MotorsportsChevrolet18.542107.7551231Brayton LasterRise MotorsportsChevrolet18.560107.6511368Mike BashamKimmel RacingFord18.683106.9421412Ed PompaFast Track RacingFord19.123104.4821548Brad SmithBrad Smith MotorsportsFord19.763101.0981603Alex ClubbClubb Racing Inc.Ford19.786100.9801710Tim MonroeFast Track RacingFord20.27598.5451806Kevin HinckleWayne Peterson RacingFord20.92295.498190Nate MoellerWayne Peterson RacingToyota22.93987.101Official qualifying results
Race results FinSt#DriverTeamMakeLapsLedStatusPts1120Jesse LoveVenturini MotorsportsToyota200200Running49252Andrés Pérez de Lara (R)Rev RacingChevrolet2000Running423432Christian Rose (R)AM RacingFord2000Running414715Toni BreidingerVenturini MotorsportsToyota1990Running405895Conner PopplewellMAN MotorsportsToyota1980Running396218William SawalichJoe Gibbs RacingToyota1950Running3871066Jon Garrett (R)Veer MotorsportsChevrolet1920Running3781312Ed PompaFast Track RacingFord1870Running3691131Brayton LasterRise MotorsportsChevrolet1800Running3510630Frankie Muniz (R)Rette Jones RacingFord1190Running3411911Zachary TinkleFast Track RacingToyota1160Engine33121925Brent CrewsVenturini MotorsportsToyota1040Running3213369Will KimmelKimmel RacingFord1030Suspension31141706Kevin HinckleWayne Peterson RacingFord880Mechanical30151503Alex ClubbClubb Racing Inc.Ford450Drive Train29161448Brad SmithBrad Smith MotorsportsFord190Oil Pressure28171610Tim MonroeFast Track RacingFord90Handling27181268Mike BashamKimmel RacingFord50Mechanical2619180Nate MoellerWayne Peterson RacingToyota40Handling25Official race results
Standings after the race
Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Jesse Love 963 2 Andrés Pérez de Lara 822 (-141) 3 Christian Rose 800 (-163) 4 Frankie Muniz 774 (-189) 5 Jon Garrett 699 (-264) 6 Brad Smith 608 (-355) 7 A. J. Moyer 570 (-393) 8 William Sawalich 511 (-452) 9 Toni Breidinger 489 (-474) 10 Tim Monroe 353 (-610)
Note: Only the first 10 positions are included for the driver standings.
References