ARCA: Michael Self wins wreck-filled season opener at Daytona

By Alex Herbst | Feb 10, 2018

DAYTONA BEACH, FL - FEBRUARY 10: The grandstands are seen prior to practice for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Advance Auto Parts Clash at Daytona International Speedway on February 10, 2018 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images) /

The ARCA Racing Series always puts on a show to start off their season at Daytona International Speedway, and 2018 was no exception.

The stock car season begins at Daytona, where it all began so many years ago on the beaches for NASCAR. But on Saturday, it is the ARCA Racing Series Presented by Menards who gets the new year rolling, with the developmental series once again leading into a big day of NASCAR action on Sunday. And as is tradition for the series, the Lucas Oil 200 was full of excitement, drama, and late race wrecks.

The race, originally scheduled for just 80 laps, ran for a total of 92 circuits before the checkered flag flew. Three attempts at finishing the race under the green flag were needed to decide the winner, with Venturini Motorsports driver Michael Self surviving the late crashes that took out many other contenders. It is Self’s second win in the ARCA Racing Series, and his first ever at Daytona.

Venturini Motorsports stole the show by the end of the night on Saturday, with three of the top five finishers coming from the Toyota squad. Natalie Decker, who started on pole for the 200-mile event, finished fifth while veteran Tom Hessert finished fourth. However, the favorites to win the race were nowhere in sight by the end of the event, many taken out in big late race wrecks.

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Perhaps the most spectacular of the incidents involved the top four cars hunting for the win. Sheldon Creed, Sean Corr, Travis Braden, and Chase Purdy looked to settle the victory between themselves until a bump draft went wrong and took all four out of contention in turn 3. Other favorites including Noah Gragson, Zane Smith, and Gus Dean were eliminated in other incidents as well.

Here are the full race results from the Lucas Oil 200 Driven by General Tire for the ARCA Racing Series at Daytona:

Michael Self, Toyota, Venturini Motorsports
Willie Mullins, Ford, Belmont Racing
Sheldon Creed, Toyota, MDM Motorsports
Tom Hessert, Toyota, Venturini Motorsports
Natalie Decker, Toyota, Venturini Motorsports
Max Tullman, Chevrolet, Mason Mitchell Motorsports
Noah Gragson, Toyota, DGR-Crosley Racing
Lelani Munter, Toyota, Venturini Motorsports
Andrew Belmont, Ford, Belmont Racing
Riley Herbst, Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing
Jerry De Weerdt, Chevrolet, Braxx Motorsports
Bobby Gerhart, Chevrolet, Gerhart Racing
Kirk Horton, Chevrolet, Norm Hutton Racing
Thomas Praytor, Chevrolet, Max Force Racing
John Ferrier, Ford, Empire Racing
Chuck Hiers, Toyota, Wayne Peterson Racing
Scott Reeves, Chevrolet, Kimmel-Finney Racing
Con Nicolopoulos, Chevrolet, Wayne Peterson Racing
Andy Seuss, Chevrolet, Our Motorsports
Sean Corr, Chevrolet, Empire Racing
Chase Purdy, Toyota, MDM Motorsports
Travis Braden, Ford, RFMS Racing
Brad Smith, Ford, Hylton Racing
Bret Holmes, Chevrolet, Bret Holmes Racing
Gus Dean, Chevrolet, Win-Tron Racing
Zane Smith, Toyota, MDM Motorsports
Mark Thompson, Ford, Phoenix Air Racing
Dave Mader III, Chevrolet, MB Motorsports
Tony Mrakovich, Toyota, Fast Track Racing
Will Rodgers, Ford, Ken Schrader Racing
Bo LeMastus, Ford, Chad Bryant Racing
Quin Houff, Chevrolet, Mason Mitchell Motorsports
Bryan Dauzat, Chevrolet, Dauzat Racing
Daniel Sasnett, Chevrolet, Win-Tron Racing
Ed Pompa, Toyota, Fast Track Racing
Jesse Iwuji, Chevrolet, Darrell Basham Racing
Grant Quinlan, Ford, Rette Jones Racing
Codie Rohrbaugh, Chevrolet, Rohrbaugh Racing
Ronnie Osmer, Ford, Max Force Racing

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The next race for the ARCA Racing Series Presented by Menards is nearly two months away. The series returns to action from Fairgrounds Speedway in Nashville, Tennessee on Saturday, April 7. Coverage of the Music City 200 can be seen on MAVTV.