After a handful of hectic late race restarts, Tristan McKee found victory lane in the ARCA Menards Series East season opener at Hickory Motor Speedway.
McKee started seventh and didn’t find his way into the top three until well into the second half of the race. In fact, Max Reaves held the lead for the first 130 laps of the race. However, the 15-year-old McKee was able to capitalize on late race chaos between Reaves, Landon Huffman and himself to find victory lane.
“We were struggling with the car quite a bit. Kevin and the guys made a really good adjustment at the halfway break,” McKee told FloRacing. “They got into it there, got a good launch on the restart and came away with the win.”
Reaves ended up finishing second, with reigning East champion Isaac Kitzmiller coming across the line in third. Derek Kneeland finished fourth, with Nitro Motorsports team owner Nick Tucker rounding out the top five in his own No. 70 Toyota.
“We were the best by far tonight, props to Tristan McKee and PRG, but they had nothing on us. The No. 9, I think he was trying to take us both out. But, if you can’t beat them, you’ve gotta wreck them,” Reaves told FloRacing. “There’s a reason I’m in that car, and not one of the other ones; I’m just thankful to be here.”
The remaining top 10 finishers included Huffman, Dystany Spurlock, Jackson McLerran, Craig Pellegrini and Austin Vaughn. Spurlock, who was making her debut, is the first African American woman to make a start in the series.
“When I said they gave me a rocket tonight, they gave me a rocket tonight,” Spurlock told FloRacing. “Of course, I’m still learning, but the car felt good, so I was going for it.”
At the initial drop of the green flag, Reaves jumped out in front early after Kneeland spun the tires on the outside of the front row. That allowed both Reaves and Tucker to slip through, with Kneeland quickly falling to fifth. A quick caution flew, however, as Brian Barbarow went for a spin in turn 2.
The second restart of the race proved that the first was not a driver error, but rather an indication of a slippery top lane. Tucker spun the tires much like Kneeland, again allowing Reaves to pull away.
Reaves set sail for the next 35 laps until another yellow for Quinn Davis flew, racking the field back up once again. Tucker brought out a yellow of his own a few laps later, spinning in turn 1 battling for position underneath Kitzmiller.
By the end of the first half of the race, Reaves had led every lap. When the cross flags flew, so did the caution for the scheduled halfway break.
The No. 18 again retained the lead as the race got going agian, with Huffman and McKee in tow. It took about 20 laps after that restart, but McKee was able to get around Huffman, utilizing a bump-and-run, taking over the runner-up position.
McKee and Huffman continued to swap both paint and positions in second and third, with some help from lapped traffic along the way. Barbarow would look his No. 34 once again on the frontstretch a few laps later, bringing out the fourth caution of the evening.
The subsequent restart was the first of the night in which the outside lane kept up with Reaves on the bottom. Huffman hung with Reaves for the first two laps of the run, but the No. 18 was too quick and slipped away from there. McKee wasted no time behind, getting around Huffman to set himself up inside the top two. However, a few laps later, George Siciliano spun at the entrance of pit road in turn four, for yet another yellow.
McKee was able to lineup on Reaves’ outside for the first time all race, and showed how strong his No. 77 Chevrolet was in the process. He was able to keep the No. 18 in his sights in the first laps of the run, where Reaves had been so strong all evening. Just as the battle was beginning to shape up once again, though, Barbarow went for another spin, bringing out yet another yellow.
Reaves was seemingly able to learn McKee’s timing on the restart, getting out to a much better jump with under 30 laps to go. Grouping up the field put a blanket over third on back, allowing for a handful of hard battles late in the going. Connor Hall put the bumper to Huffman for third, allowing Kneeland, Kitzmiller and Tucker to close in on the No. 9 for a handful of laps. However, Barbarow’s evening of despair continued, spinning for the fourth and final time on the night, setting up the field for another late race restart.
Under the yellow, Hall was on pit road exiting his car, as a mechanical issue ended his night early after running inside the top five. The gloves came off once the green flew again as Reaves, McKee and Huffman swapped the lead well over five times within the first six laps of the run. Each of the three used their own version of a bump-and-run, eventually spinning Huffman off the rear end of McKee to bring out a caution.
The final restart of the race was the first in which Reaves was not in control from the bottom lane, and it proved to be a difference maker. McKee held off Reaves, returning the favor for the other numerous restarts of the evening. Reaves kept McKee in his sights over the final five laps, but was not able to get close enough to make a move for the win. McKee found victory lane, with Reaves finishing runner up after leading most of the event.
The East series returns to racing next Saturday, April 4, at yet another historic venue. Teams will contest the high-banked Rockingham Speedway for the second consecutive season, as part of a double header with the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. That race will air on FloRacing and the NASCAR Channel starting at 11 a.m. ET.
