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.[5] 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.

2023 Pensacola 200
Race details[1][2][3][4]
Race 1 of 8 of the 2023 ARCA Menards Series East
Date March 25, 2023
Official name 4th Annual Pensacola 200
Location Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Florida
Course Permanent racing facility
0.5 mi (0.80 km)
Distance 200 laps, 100 mi (161 km)
Scheduled Distance 200 laps, 100 mi (161 km)
Average speed 82.286 mph (132.426 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Joe Gibbs Racing
Time 17.220
Most laps led
Driver William Sawalich Joe Gibbs Racing
Laps 200
Winner
No. 18 William Sawalich Joe Gibbs Racing
Television in the United States
Network FloRacing
Announcers Charles Krall
Radio in the United States
Radio ARCA Racing Network

Report

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Background

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Five Flags Speedway, the circuit where the race will be held.

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.[6] It is christened after the nickname of Pensacola—"City of Five Flags."[7]

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.[8][9]

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

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  • (R) denotes rookie driver.
# Driver Team Make Sponsor
01 Dallas Frueh Fast Track Racing Ford Fast Track Racing
06 Nate Moeller Wayne Peterson Racing Toyota Peterson Motorsports
6 Lavar Scott (R) Rev Racing Chevrolet Max Siegel Inc.
10 Ed Pompa Fast Track Racing Ford HYTORC of New York / Double "H" Ranch
11 Zachary Tinkle Fast Track Racing Toyota Racing for Rescues / IndianaOwned.com
12 Tim Monroe Fast Track Racing Toyota Fast Track Racing
15 Sean Hingorani (R) Venturini Motorsports Toyota GearWrench
18 William Sawalich (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Starkey / SoundGear
20 Jake Finch Venturini Motorsports Toyota Phoenix Construction
28 Luke Fenhaus (R) Pinnacle Racing Group Chevrolet Chevrolet Performance
31 Rita Goulet (R) Rise Motorsports Chevrolet Hitman Wear
41 Tyler Reif (R) Lowden Jackson Motorsports Ford Power Gen Components / Stoney's
46 R. J. Smotherman Lowden Jackson Motorsports Ford Country AF Radio / Stoney's
95 Tanner Arms MAN Motorsports Toyota Sunset Park RV Manufacturing
98 Dale Shearer Shearer Speed Racing Toyota Shearer Speed Racing
Official entry list

Practice

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The first and only practice session was held on Saturday, March 25, at 2:30 PM EST, and would last for 1 hour.[10] 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 101.896 mph (163.986 km/h).[11]

Pos.[12] # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 18 William Sawalich (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 17.665 101.896
2 20 Jake Finch Venturini Motorsports Toyota 17.715 101.609
3 28 Luke Fenhaus (R) Pinnacle Racing Group Chevrolet 17.830 100.953
Full practice results

Qualifying

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Qualifying was held on Saturday, March 25, at 4:30 PM EST.[10] 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.[13]

William Sawalich, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, would score the pole for the race, with a lap of 17.220, and a speed of 104.530 mph (168.225 km/h).[14]

Qualifying results

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Pos.[15] # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 18 William Sawalich (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 17.220 104.530
2 20 Jake Finch Venturini Motorsports Toyota 17.484 102.951
3 28 Luke Fenhaus (R) Pinnacle Racing Group Chevrolet 17.536 102.646
4 41 Tyler Reif (R) Lowden Jackson Motorsports Ford 17.666 101.891
5 6 Lavar Scott (R) Rev Racing Chevrolet 17.861 100.778
6 15 Sean Hingorani (R) Venturini Motorsports Toyota 17.952 100.267
7 95 Tanner Arms MAN Motorsports Toyota 17.957 100.239
8 46 R. J. Smotherman Lowden Jackson Motorsports Ford 18.249 98.636
9 11 Zachary Tinkle Fast Track Racing Toyota 18.296 98.382
10 12 Tim Monroe Fast Track Racing Toyota 18.873 95.374
11 10 Ed Pompa Fast Track Racing Ford 19.623 91.729
12 01 Dallas Frueh Fast Track Racing Ford 19.685 91.440
13 31 Rita Goulet (R) Rise Motorsports Chevrolet 20.832 86.406
14 06 Nate Moeller Wayne Peterson Racing Toyota 21.463 83.865
15 98 Dale Shearer Shearer Speed Racing Toyota
Official qualifying results

Race results

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Fin[16] St # Driver Team Make Laps Led Status Pts
1 1 18 William Sawalich (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 200 200 Running 49
2 3 28 Luke Fenhaus (R) Pinnacle Racing Group Chevrolet 200 0 Running 42
3 2 20 Jake Finch Venturini Motorsports Toyota 200 0 Running 41
4 6 15 Sean Hingorani (R) Venturini Motorsports Toyota 200 0 Running 40
5 5 6 Lavar Scott (R) Rev Racing Chevrolet 199 0 Running 39
6 4 41 Tyler Reif (R) Lowden Jackson Motorsports Ford 198 0 Running 38
7 9 11 Zachary Tinkle Fast Track Racing Toyota 194 0 Running 37
8 7 95 Tanner Arms MAN Motorsports Toyota 193 0 Running 36
9 8 46 R. J. Smotherman Lowden Jackson Motorsports Ford 193 0 Running 35
10 11 10 Ed Pompa Fast Track Racing Ford 187 0 Running 34
11 10 12 Tim Monroe Fast Track Racing Toyota 37 0 Overheating 33
12 12 01 Dallas Frueh Fast Track Racing Ford 22 0 Overheating 32
13 14 06 Nate Moeller Wayne Peterson Racing Toyota 3 0 Brakes 31
14 15 98 Dale Shearer Shearer Speed Racing Toyota 0 0 Oil Pressure 30
15 13 31 Rita Goulet (R) Rise Motorsports Chevrolet 0 0 Suspension 29
Official race results

Standings after the race

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References

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  1. ^ "Pensacola 200 at Five Flags Speedway". ARCA. January 6, 2023. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
  2. ^ "Entry list: Pensacola 200 at Five Flags Speedway". ARCA. March 21, 2023. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
  3. ^ "Qualifying results: Pensacola 200 at Five Flags Speedway". ARCA. March 25, 2024. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
  4. ^ "Race results: Pensacola 200 at Five Flags Speedway". ARCA. March 25, 2023. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
  5. ^ Christie, Toby (March 25, 2023). "William Sawalich Leads Wire-to-Wire to Score Win in ARCA East Debut at Five Flags". TobyChristie.com. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
  6. ^ "Track History". Archived from the original on January 29, 2010. Retrieved December 12, 2010.
  7. ^ "Five Flags of Derby". Archived from the original on December 1, 2010.
  8. ^ "NASCAR results at Five Flags Speedway". Racing Reference. Retrieved July 22, 2016.
  9. ^ "Schedule". Archived from the original on March 17, 2010.
  10. ^ a b "Schedule of events: Pensacola 200 at Five Flags Speedway". ARCA. February 27, 2023. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
  11. ^ "Practice results: Pensacola 200 at Five Flags Speedway". ARCA. March 25, 2023. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
  12. ^ "2023 Pensacola 200 Practice Results". Racing-Reference.info. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
  13. ^ Fenwick, Adam (March 20, 2023). "PIT BOX: ARCA Menards Series East season roars to life Saturday at Five Flags Speedway". ARCA. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
  14. ^ Calloni, Josh (March 25, 2023). "William Sawalich Earns Pole for ARCA East Season Opener at Five Flags". Frontstretch.com. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
  15. ^ "2023 Pensacola 200 Qualifying Results". Racing-Reference.info. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
  16. ^ "2023 Pensacola 200 - The Third Turn". The Third Turn. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
Previous race:
2022 Bush's Beans 200
ARCA Menards Series East
2023 season
Next race:
2023 General Tire 125