The 2023 Pensacola 200 was the first stock car race of the 2023 ARCA Menards Series East season, and the 4th running of the event. The race was held on Saturday, March 25, 2023, 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 200 laps to complete. In his first career start, William Sawalich, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, would go on to obliterate the competition, winning the pole and leading every lap of the race to earn his first career ARCA Menards Series East win. To fill out the podium, Luke Fenhaus, driving for Pinnacle Racing Group, and Jake Finch, driving for Venturini Motorsports, would finish 2nd and 3rd, respectively.
Report
Background
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. It is christened after the nickname of Pensacola—"City of Five Flags."
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.
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 (R) denotes rookie driver.
#DriverTeamMakeSponsor01Dallas FruehFast Track RacingFordFast Track Racing06Nate MoellerWayne Peterson RacingToyotaPeterson Motorsports6Lavar Scott (R)Rev RacingChevroletMax Siegel Inc.10Ed PompaFast Track RacingFordHYTORC of New York / Double "H" Ranch11Zachary TinkleFast Track RacingToyotaRacing for Rescues / IndianaOwned.com12Tim MonroeFast Track RacingToyotaFast Track Racing15Sean Hingorani (R)Venturini MotorsportsToyotaGearWrench18William Sawalich (R)Joe Gibbs RacingToyotaStarkey / SoundGear20Jake FinchVenturini MotorsportsToyotaPhoenix Construction28Luke Fenhaus (R)Pinnacle Racing GroupChevroletChevrolet Performance31Rita Goulet (R)Rise MotorsportsChevroletHitman Wear41Tyler Reif (R)Lowden Jackson MotorsportsFordPower Gen Components / Stoney's46R. J. SmothermanLowden Jackson MotorsportsFordCountry AF Radio / Stoney's95Tanner ArmsMAN MotorsportsToyotaSunset Park RV Manufacturing98Dale ShearerShearer Speed RacingToyotaShearer Speed RacingOfficial entry list
Practice The first and only practice session was held on Saturday, March 25, at 2:30 PM EST, and would last for 1 hour. William Sawalich, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 17.665, and a speed of . Pos.#DriverTeamMakeTimeSpeed118William Sawalich (R)Joe Gibbs RacingToyota17.665101.896220Jake FinchVenturini MotorsportsToyota17.715101.609328Luke Fenhaus (R)Pinnacle Racing GroupChevrolet17.830100.953Full practice results
Qualifying Qualifying was held on Saturday, March 25, at 4:30 PM EST. 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.
William Sawalich, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, would score the pole for the race, with a lap of 17.220, and a speed of .
Qualifying results Pos.#DriverTeamMakeTimeSpeed118William Sawalich (R)Joe Gibbs RacingToyota17.220104.530220Jake FinchVenturini MotorsportsToyota17.484102.951328Luke Fenhaus (R)Pinnacle Racing GroupChevrolet17.536102.646441Tyler Reif (R)Lowden Jackson MotorsportsFord17.666101.89156Lavar Scott (R)Rev RacingChevrolet17.861100.778615Sean Hingorani (R)Venturini MotorsportsToyota17.952100.267795Tanner ArmsMAN MotorsportsToyota17.957100.239846R. J. SmothermanLowden Jackson MotorsportsFord18.24998.636911Zachary TinkleFast Track RacingToyota18.29698.3821012Tim MonroeFast Track RacingToyota18.87395.3741110Ed PompaFast Track RacingFord19.62391.7291201Dallas FruehFast Track RacingFord19.68591.4401331Rita Goulet (R)Rise MotorsportsChevrolet20.83286.4061406Nate MoellerWayne Peterson RacingToyota21.46383.8651598Dale ShearerShearer Speed RacingToyota––Official qualifying results
Race results FinSt#DriverTeamMakeLapsLedStatusPts1118William Sawalich (R)Joe Gibbs RacingToyota200200Running492328Luke Fenhaus (R)Pinnacle Racing GroupChevrolet2000Running423220Jake FinchVenturini MotorsportsToyota2000Running414615Sean Hingorani (R)Venturini MotorsportsToyota2000Running40556Lavar Scott (R)Rev RacingChevrolet1990Running396441Tyler Reif (R)Lowden Jackson MotorsportsFord1980Running387911Zachary TinkleFast Track RacingToyota1940Running378795Tanner ArmsMAN MotorsportsToyota1930Running369846R. J. SmothermanLowden Jackson MotorsportsFord1930Running35101110Ed PompaFast Track RacingFord1870Running34111012Tim MonroeFast Track RacingToyota370Overheating33121201Dallas FruehFast Track RacingFord220Overheating32131406Nate MoellerWayne Peterson RacingToyota30Brakes31141598Dale ShearerShearer Speed RacingToyota00Oil Pressure30151331Rita Goulet (R)Rise MotorsportsChevrolet00Suspension29Official race results
Standings after the race
Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 William Sawalich 49 2 Luke Fenhaus 42 (-7) 3 Jake Finch 41 (–8) 4 Sean Hingorani 40 (–9) 5 Lavar Scott 39 (–10) 6 Tyler Reif 38 (–11) 7 Zachary Tinkle 37 (–12) 8 Tanner Arms 36 (–13) 9 R. J. Smotherman 35 (–14) 10 Ed Pompa 34 (–15)
Note: Only the first 10 positions are included for the driver standings.
References