Friday, May 7, 2021

RCA EAST “Crosley Record Pressing 200”

RCA EAST “Crosley Record Pressing 200”

Nashville (3/8) Race Preview
#RaceNashville #MusicCity200 #NorthSouthChallenge

By Nascarvd Nascarvédé 

 

RCA EAST “Crosley Record Pressing 200” #ARCA

 

After more than two months of waiting, our patience is finally paying off. The East Series is back for its 3rd race of the season. After Max Gutierrez in New Smyrna and Sammy Smith in Pensacola, who will take home the trophy at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway, Nashville, TN?

 

There will not be 36 possibilities to bet on a winner. Indeed they are only 14 registered for this race. And among them, 9 have a real chance of visiting Victory Lane. The big absentee is Taylor Gray. Victim of a road accident, he still has to wait to be fully recovered after surgery to repair his 4th lumbar vertebra, his foot and his left ankle. In such a short championship with only 8 races, he's already out for the title.

 

There will be 200 laps on the 0.596 mile paved oval which was previously on the calendar of the Cup Series (1958-1984), the Xfinity (1984-2000) and even the Camping World Truck (1996-2000). The ARCA, in its national version, came there 6 times between 1992 and 2019. Finally concerning what interests us here, the EAST Series, it will be the 3rd time after the races of 2007 and 2008 respectively won by Rogelio Lopez and Matt Kobyluck.

 



The race will be divided into 3 segments with breaks on (or near) the 75th and 150th laps.

 

We will review the 14 drivers entered.

 

#06 Wayne Peterson

Last minute hired, he's just there to…? In fact, I don't know why he's there… It’s not to get a good result, he's the undisputed master of "start & park" ! With 112 DNFs in 116 races including 36 times after ... zero lap! It's not for the gains either. They are already ridiculous in ARCA for the winner, so for the 14th and last ... Evil tongues will say that he escaped from his retirement home ... At 82 years old he deserves all our respect for his tenacity.

 

#6 Rajah Caruth

Struggling in New Smyrna and surprisingly good in Pensacola. The REV Racing driver will have to confirm that he can be a regular candidate for the top5.

 



#10 Dick Doheny

He knows the track to have driven very little there in 2019 ... He's part of the badly named Fast Track Racing led by Andy Hillenburg. Nailing a top 10 in the event of a massacre among the leaders is his only hope.

 

#11 Richard Garvie

Aside from the missed race in Kansas due to illness, he's the one who rode the most in ARCA this year as he combines the ARCA, East and West. Thanks to the DNFs he had obtained his first top10 at Pensacola despite he was 22 laps behind the winner! But the guy is friendly and passionate.

 

#12 Stephanie Moyer

Like her teammate Richard Garvie, she had for her debut at Pensacola benefited from the rout of several favorites to obtain a nice 8th position with 12 laps behind the 7th and without.. no less than 2 spuns. Difficult learning but ultimately successful!

 

#18 Sammy Smith

Succeeding Ty Gibbs at the wheel of the #18, he quickly showed that he knew how to operate top quality equipment. 2nd for his debut, he obtained a victory on his 2nd attempt. And with the manner. Pole position, and the most laps led. In short 2021 was to be a partial season, it's now a full season with the goal of winning the championship. And Sammy already leads the standings with an 8 point lead over Taylor Gray and 9 over Max Gutierrez.

 

#21 Conner Jones

This is the newbie to the race. The young driver from Fredericksburg, VA replaces Jack Wood in the #21 at GMS. Indeed, Jack having changed his 2021 plans by leaving the East in favor of a full season in the ARCA National Series. Jones, who usually rides in CARS Late Models, set the bar high by announcing that he was aiming for no more and no less than a top 3 for his debut.

 

#30 Max Gutierrez

The Rette-Jones Racing #30 driver took the photo finish victory at New Smyrna but had a complicated race at Pensacola where to get 7th position he had to benefit 3 times from the free pass. He didn't have the speed. Hope he finds her in Nashville.

 



#41 Carson Kvapil

Travis’s son, the 2003 NCWTS champion, showed he could go fast but also lacked the pace for an entire race. He's looking for his first top10 of the season. In his defense, he also had his share of problems that he was not the source of. Luck is a determining factor in motorsport.

 

#42 Parker Retzlaff

He's very, very fast, no doubt about it. But he will have to funnel his enthusiasm so as not to burn out his tires and brakes like in New Smyrna where he led the race more than 5 seconds ahead before collapsing. Once he has completely mastered the management of a race, he will be formidable. And Parker learns fast. So that could be the case here in Nashville.

 

#43 Daniel Dye

Very fast but he too must manage his effort better (like Parker) and be let down by bad luck (like Carson). If everything works correctly, he will at least be a candidate for the top5.

 

#48 Brad Smith

The veteran has fun, he rides at his own pace and when the car hold up, he goes under the checkered flag. We wish him a good walk and who knows a top10 is still possible.

 

#54 Joey Iest

Twice 5th is really good. But that didn't mean Joey was a candidate for victory. He's young and is discovering the tracks. But so are the majority of his opponents. He will be the only representative of David Gilliland Racing following the withdrawal of his teammate Taylor Gray (#17). It's time to show more aggression on the track. To be more biting. This is the only complaint I can make with him.

 

#74 Mason Diaz

Mason is one of the most experienced drivers as he has competed in NCWTS and NXS races before. But he hasn't had a chance to win any races yet. With Visconti Motorsports he has a great car. He came very close to victory in New Smyrna and confirmed to Pensacola with a 2nd position. In my opinion, he's one of the favorites for the win.

 

Despite the low number of drivers, the quality is there and we should have a good race.

 

Race live this Saturday on TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold at 9:30 p.m. ET

 

 

Opinions in this Post are solely Nascarvd Nascarvédé
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