Red Flags at Phoenix as Lighting & Rain Play Spoil Sport Amidst ARCA show

The NASCAR ARCA race out in Phoenix has been a real hoot, a nice change of pace from the wild ride that was the Daytona opener. However, we’ve had our fair share of “ARCA moments” – those little reminders that we’re watching some of the newer talents finding their feet, which shows in some of the on-track scuffles.

But now, we’re paused with a red flag waving over the General Tire 150 at Phoenix, because the weather decided to throw a curveball.

Red Flag halts the race eventually shortening the Phoenix race

On 115th lap, NASCAR had to stop the race mid-way all thanks to some lightning flirting with the area and rain may be on its way. We’d be looking at 35 laps left on the clock once we get the green light to resume this showdown in NASCAR’s feeder series.

When the skies opened up and the track got soaked, the folks in charge decided to call it a day early, with Sawalich leading the charge at that moment. He ended up snagging the victory in the Phoenix Raceway ARCA Menards Series race that got cut short by rain, driving the Joe Gibbs Racing #18 and beating out Gio Ruggiero in the VMS #20. This win marks Sawalich’s fifth in the main series and his second in the West series.

The race was bustling with action, with William Sawalich and Gio Ruggerio pretty much stealing the show the whole time. Despite the race being pretty clean overall, with just a couple of multi-car tangles, the first mess happened right off the bat on the first lap, roping in West newcomers Danica Dart and Cody Kiemele.

“I mean, for sure, not the way we want to win a race but our Starkey Soundgear Toyota was really good all night. I kind of fell back during that first stint and the guys made a good adjustment. I’m super proud of them for doing that and sticking with me. I mean, we ran a good race and definitely had a chance to win it so I’m really proud about it,” Sawalich told FOX Sports 1 post-race. “

But it wasn’t just William Sawalich who left an impression; a bunch of rookies and seasoned racers alike really showed what they’re made of in the rain-shortened ARCA race in Phoenix.

Performance of other drivers in the second race of ARCA

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Gio Ruggiero grabbed the runner-up spot in his big-league debut in the #20, and boy, was he flying. He led some laps and had a clean but fierce contest with Sawalich, even though they exchanged some paint fighting for the lead.

Grant Enfinger, a regular in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and a past ARCA champ, snagged third place. Jumping in with the West crew at Sigma Performance Services for this race, he landed the team its top finish yet. Enfinger shared with FS1 that Phoenix was his one and only race on the calendar for 2024.

Other than that, Isabella Robusto, hitting the track for the first time, really stole the show with her drive. The newcomer didn’t just show up; she finished sixth in her first ARCA showdown.

Read More: William Sawalich Lets Slip a 7-Word Disappointment on His ARCA Phoenix Win

“It’s unreal. I wish we had one less caution there in the race and it was 35 laps longer. The car was definitely better on the long run. We saw that in the first half, was able to run up to third place and was running down second there for a while. So, I had a really good car. Can’t thank Venturini Motorsports and Toyota enough,” Robusto asserted in her post-race interview.

Jack Wood, Andres Perez de Lara, Toni Breidinger, and Lavar Scott also made it to the top 10 at Phoenix.

And then, just before we hit the halfway mark with a planned pit stop coming up, Eric Johnson Jr clipped David Smith, sending Jake Bollman spinning into the mix. Both Bollman and Smith ended their day early, landing in P31 and P32 place with DNFs to their names.