2023 ARCA West at Portland: Team Reactions and Analysis

Oct 31, 2023

By Vincent Delforge, Special to Kickin’ the Tires

The fourth race of the ARCA Menards West Series season, the Portland 112, ended with the first win of the season after three consecutive second positions for the championship leader Landen Lewis. His second career win after Bakersfield last year for his debuts. A first in career for his crew Richard Mason.

But it was not an easy victory. He battled through the race, coming back from a penalty and fighting an epic battle with Xfinity Series rider Cole Custer over the final two laps of the race.

In the championship he made good business by taking advantage of the collision in the last corner of Sean Hingorani and Trevor Huddleston while they were on the podium.

He also took advantage of the mechanical problems of the brothers Reif, Tanner and Tyler, to increase his lead to 24 points over the second, Hingorani, in the championship. The latter is tied on points with Tyler Reif but is ranked second due to more wins, two to one. Bradley Erickson (-25) and Trevor Huddleston (-28) complete the top five in the championship.

For a complete recap of the race, I invite you to read the article « Race review » available here: www.kickinthetires.net/nascar/arca-series/arca-west-portland-review/

Complete race results: www.racing-reference.info/race-results/2023-04/AW/

Driver & owner point standings: www.racing-reference.info/standings/2023/AW/

As after each race we are going to detail the statistics for each driver, embellished with the reactions collected from many of them, drivers, owners and crew chiefs.

-70th season in history.

-Race number 1008 since the inception of the West Series in 1954.

-2023 race number 4 of 12.

-Race number nine at Portland International Raceway (PIR) since 1986.

-First time the track used is measured at 1.970 mile. Previously 1.967 or 1.980 mile.

-Win No. 2 for Chevrolet at PIR. Ford is the winningest manufacturer here with 5 wins ahead of Chevrolet (2), Dodge and Pontiac with one each.

-247th win for Chevrolet in West Series

-11th win for owner Steve McGowan. The all-time most successful owners in history are Bill McAnally (99), Fred Elder (45), Bob Bruncati (42) and Ernie Conn (41).

-Win No. 2 for McGowan Motorsports with Cook Racing Technologies after Bakersfield in 2022.

The all-time most successful teams in history are Bill McAnally Racing (99), McCoy Racing (54), The Racing Farmers (47), Bruncati Racing (42) and Gene Price Motorsports (26).

-Win No. 1 for McGowan Motorsports with Cook Racing Technologies at PIR. The most successful team at PIR Bruncati Sunrise Ford Racing, with three victories.

-Second career win for Landen Lewis(twelfth career start) and the first at PIR. Jake Drewis the most successful pilot at PIR with two wins. In all, 8 different drivers have won at least one race.

-Landen Lewis is the 8th different winner at KCRP.

-Fourth pole position for Chevrolet at PIR. Among the manufacturers, Ford leads with 5 poles ahead of Chevrolet (4).

– 4th time in 9 races that the poleman wins at PIR.

-Second career pole position for Landen Lewis in his 12th career start.

-Landen Lewis is the 205th pole winner in history.

-Third pole for owner Steve McGowan at PIR after 2009 and 2010 with driver David Mayhew.

-First pole for McGowan Motorsports with Cook Racing Technologies at KCRP. Bruncati Sunrise Ford Racing is the most successful teams at PIR with 3.

-Second pole for McGowan Motorsports with Cook Racing Technologies in West Series.

-15th pole for owner Steve McGowan in career.

-First career start in West Series for Caleb Shrader, Eric Johnson, Jr. and Roxali Kamper.

-Best career result in West Series for William Sawalich (4th), Caleb Shrader (7th), Eric Johnson, Jr. (10th), Roxali Kamper (24th)

-First top-5 in career in West Series for William Sawalich

-First top-10 in career in West Series for William Sawalich, Caleb Shrader, Eric Johnson, Jr.

-15th win for the No. 17 in history.

-18th pole for the No. 17 in history.

-First career win for crew Richard Mason.

-Second career pole for crew chief Richard Mason

-257th pole for Chevrolet in West Series.

-144th road track (including the 4 street races) race in history.

No. 02 Parker Retzaff (Young's Motorsports) Start: 5th – Fin: 5th

A race made up of ups and downs for Retzlaff who was very fast but also sometimes a bit messy as evidenced by his spin in the 42nd lap on Turn 5 when he was sixth. That said, he spent the first half of the race in the top-five. At the end of the race he was able to gain a few positions and return to the top-five following the collision between Hingorani and Huddleston. But all in all a great race that allows him some seat time for his Xfinity Series race the next day.

"Had a blast, learned a ton." Retzlaff said about his race.

No. 04 Ethan Nascimento (Nascimento-Joiner Motorsports) Start: 22nd – Fin: 23 rd DNS

After 10 laps with a pace improving as the practice progresses, Ethan will not be able to do the qualifying session or start the race there. The reason? The team recovered its engine to place it in the car of its big brother Eric. To favor Bubba who had a better knowledge of the PIR, a track on which he had shown to be very fast in previous years. In a small team, this decision is understandable and full of common sense.

No. 05 Dave Smith (Shockwave Racing) Start: 20th – Fin: 13th

A little accident during practice damaging the back of his car made him lose time and this was reflected in his position on the starting grid.

"My own darn fault."Smith said.

The race was complicated for the Canadian veteran due to an unstable car in corners. Note that he benefited from the free pass halfway through the race. But back in the lap, he did not find more speed afterwards and again lost a lap on the leaders during the long green flag at the start of the second segment. But his perseverance took him to 13th position, one lap behind the leader and that allows him to join the top-10 in the championship.

Smith summing up his race by : "I am shocked at 13th. Whatever I had for road course mojo it is need of a BIG tune up. Big thanks again to "the best crew out there"."

No. 4 Eric Nascimento (Nascimento-Joiner Motorsports) Start: 21st – Fin: 16th Oil Leak

Motor problem during practice. The team changed the engine. This operation taking time, he was unable to participate in the qualifying session. Starting from the rear of the pack, he would quickly climb back into the top-10 on lap seven. Ninth on lap eight, he had to stop at the chicane for having missed Turn 1.

But he was going to recover the lost positions and with 10 laps to go he was in a good fiftth position when he suffered an oil leak. In order not to aggravate the situation and risk breaking the engine, he stopped at the edge of the track while he was still seventh. Too bad because given his pace and the problems in the last laps of the drivers who preceded him at that time, the podium was possible.

"We swapped motors after practice my motor blew up so we took my brother's engine out and put it in my car started in the back and was up to fourth. Then we pitted and went back to the rear and charged back to fiftth and then got off track and lost a couple spots then we were smoking and pulled in. We had a top 5 car. Was very good being that I had nearly zero practice laps." Eric said.

No. 5 Riley Herbst (Jerry Pitts Racing) Start: 6th – Fin: 18th rear end

Excellent race from Herbst for his return to the West Series. He quickly gained positions at the start of the race and was in the rear bumper of Lewis for the first position when the second yellow flag was waved. He obtained command of the race for the restart following the penalty imposed on Lewis for entering the pitlane while it was still closed. He was going to lead until the mid-race break. Surprised at the restart by Custer, he would however remain huddled in his wake until his rear end broke 14 laps from the finish.

No. 7 Takuma Koga (Jerry Pitts Racing) Start: 18th – Fin: 8th

Portland is definitely the best track for Koga, who nevertheless obtained his worst result here in four races. So far he had obtained fifth position three times. This year he had to settle for eighth place after battling the whole race with a car that was difficult to turn in the middle of the slower corners. Starting 18th on the starting grid, he was 10th when Hingorani and Huddleston left the track in the last corner.

"Tonight 8th finished! Very tough road course racing. Thank you for all fans, all sponsors, ARCA officials and Jerry Pitts racing crew." Koga said.

No. 13 Todd Souza (Central Coast Racing) Start: 11th – Fin: 22nd crash

Second in the last race to date on the PIR last September, Souza obviously had the fastest car this year. His best lap in practice in 72.746 seconds after crossing the chicane being overestimated, he nevertheless remained the fastest with a "complete" lap in 75.983 seconds. Or 1.721 seconds faster than the second driver.

However, he was going to miss in qualifying with a modest 11th time. But he was making a good start to the race and was seventh on lap eight when his car shot straight into the tire barriers at Turn 5 after a mechanical issue. A big head-on crash. The front of the Ford was partially destroyed. Souza being fortunately unscathed.

Kelly Souza, his wife and team owner declaring: "Racing is tough. I say it all the time. I’m proud of my husband, the only full time ARCA Menards driver that does it while holding down another job. I’m also proud of my team for their dedication friendship and sacrifice. It's not easy being away from home so often. Yesterday in Portland Todd had his dream car.

"He was super fast, the fastest in practice and sadly saw the race come to an end on lap 8 with an accident that thankfully looked worse than it was. Thank you for the texts and messages asking if he's ok. He is physically ok but emotionally we are all devastated. No chassis damage and the small fire was quickly extinguished. Next week is another road course at Sonoma. We can do this!"

No. 14 Davey Magras (Davey Magras Racing)Start: 19th – Fin: 9th

An eventful race for Magras who started from 19th position. But he was fighting well with other good road track riders like Ryan Philpott or Takuma Koga. He spun twice during the first part of the race. The first time alone by biting the grass outside Turn 4 on the sixth lap without causing a yellow flag as he was quick to get back on the road! The second time in Turn 9 while driving on the oil left by Keller, following the breakage of his engine on the 16th lap.

Benefiting from the free pass during the fourth caution, he was gradually gaining positions and was at the door of the top 10 on the last lap…. Until two drivers in front of him (Hingorani and Huddleston) came off the track in the last corner and presto Magras obtained his second career top10 in as many starts!

Davey Magras about his race: "Yes, overcooked in turn 4 early in the race and spun again on backstretch, this time in the oil from the #70 blown motor. Tires flat spotted badly as a result. Car was lacking a bit of grip but felt we have made some huge gains since September. Looking forward to changing the car setup tomorrow for Sonoma and bolting on a new set of Generals (tires)."

No. 15 Sean Hingorani (Venturini Motorsports) Start: 2nd – Fin: 11th

Hingorani had a very good race tarnished by rookie mistakes. Indeed he was most often between second and fourth position during the race. But twice, he missed his restart. Nothing serious, just a bit of lost time or one or another position that he was able to regain in the following laps. Third on the final lap, he collided with second-placed Huddleston on the final corner. He eventually finished in 11th position, losing big championship points to Lewis. But his speed suggests a great race in Sonoma.

"Had good speed but not the results we wanted" Hingorani said.

No. 16 Tanner Reif (Bill McAnally Racing) Start: 12th – Fin: 14th

Too much trouble for the driver of BMR No. 16. Too bad because he had a fast car. After each problem, he managed to take positions from his opponents. The strategy of making a first pit stop early in the race seemed to be the right one. Unfortunately the car was handicapped by mechanical problems causing Tanner to lose many laps. It was then a question of surviving and bringing the car back to the finish to lose a minimum of points.

What he did. But this is far from satisfying his ambitions.Too much trouble for the driver of BMR No. 16. Too bad because he had a fast car. After each problem, he managed to take positions from his opponents. The strategy of making a first pit stop early in the race seemed to be the right one. Unfortunately the car was handicapped by mechanical problems causing Tanner to lose many laps. It was then a question of surviving and bringing the car back to the finish to lose a minimum of points.

"Portland was an absolute blast! Had so much fun and a super fast car. Couldn't thank the team enough for their work and for some great calls throughout the race. Made some rookie mistakes and struggled at the start but eventually made my way up to 6th place from the back of the field and the car had speed for a top 5 finish. Sadly ran into mechanical failures with the fuel pump beginning to fail. Had to pull in to get it fixed. Went 4 laps down, but continued till the end of the race and salvaged a p.14 finish". Tanner explains to us.

No. 17 Landen Lewis (McGowan Motorsports with Cook Racing Technologies) Start: 1st – Fin: 1st

Do not talk to him about the second position! He had three in a row in the first three races of the season. After taking his second career pole, his first on a road track, Landen would lead the first part of the race while resisting threats from Hingorani, Herbst, Custer and the others. Penalized for entering the pitlane on lap 16 while it was still closed (during the second yellow flag).

He didn't get angry and methodically took down his opponents one by one. He made an excellent last restart and regained first position against Custer. He had to fight hard on the last lap against the latter to retain the lead. He won the race, his first on road track and his second in career. With an average finish of 1.8 in four races, he is a solid leader in the championship with a 24-point lead, or half a race over his closest rival!

"We pitted early but didn't know pit entry was closed. I knew we’d be alright. The pit cycle worked itself out, and we got up into the top five. Once the [penultimate] caution came out, it just gave me a boost of confidence. I was running the restart through my head trying to picture what was going to happen. I had really good starts all day long, so I wasn't doubting myself that I could get a good start, but I was thinking about good [Custer] would be. Getting into Turn 1 [on the last lap], I messed up and gave him an opportunity. "It was a dogfight, but also hard racing." Lewis said.

No. 18 William Sawalich (Joe Gibbs Racing) Start: 4th – fin: 4th

He started the race in fourth position and finished in fourth position. Sawalich made a mistake on lap five when he crashed into the back of Custer's car, third at the time. Big damage on the JGR Toyota. He was going to bring his car back to his pit box at slow speed, under the green flag, and lose a total of two laps to the leaders, the time to repair.

Benefiting twice from the free pass, he returned to the lap and then went methodically back up in the pack. His car being fast enough to finish sixth. He also benefited from the accident at the last corner to gain two positions.

No. 19 Eric Johnson, Jr. (Bill McAnally Racing) Start: 10th – Fin: 10th

For a first career race, Johnson, Jr. did well as he took the No. 19 down to 10th. A somewhat lucky top-10, but you still had to be in the right place at the right time. Spending most of the race between 10th and 13th position. His pace improved as the laps progressed. In Sonoma with a better knowledge of the car, it will be necessary to follow it with interest.

"This was a great experience for me and to come away with a top-10 finish and run all the laps was a great accomplishment today." Johnson, Jr. said.

No. 24 Dylan Lupton (Bill McAnally Racing) Start: 15th – Fin: 21st brakes/fire

This race will not remain in the best memories of Lupton. Engine problem during the practice, he managed to do the 15th time in qualifying. In the race, he came back to the door of the top 10 when during the first yellow flag, his brakes locked up on lap 8. Stopped near turn 7, Lupton had to get out of his car which caught fire. The overheating of the brakes, not cooled because of the stopping of the car being at the origin of the fire. Damaged car, it was retirement.

Lupton says: "It was not the day we were looking for here in Portland. We battled some issues leading up to the race. We gained ground in the early laps of the event, but our effort came to an end during that first caution."

No. 32 Dale Quarterley (Quarterley Racing) Start: 14th – Fin: 3rd

Road ringer par excellence, the "old" Quarterley is always fast and responds when an opportunity to achieve a good result presents itself to him. He spent almost the entire race between fifth and seventh position. During the last restart, he was particularly effective and was heading for fifth position when an accident in front of him in the last corner gave him two positions. And here is a new podium, his second consecutive after that of Sonoma last year.

No. 39 Roxali Kamper (Last Chance Racing Racing) Start: 24th – Fin: 24th DNS

What a disappointment for the young Roxali. Engine problem during the practice, she could only do one lap and in the qualifying session her engine broke in the backstretch during her first pace lap. She will not be able to start the race for lack of a backup engine.

Travis Kamper, her father and crew chief says: "Engine trouble ended Roxali's day early on. During qualifying the engine blew on the backstretch. A frustrating way to start things out in the series. Though she had a good experience here with the team."

No. 41 Tyler Reif (Lowden Jackson Motorsports) Start: 8th – Fin: 15th

For his first race in Portland, Tyler showed once again that he had talent. He was even quickly in the top-five after a few laps. At one point with the strategy he found himself second in the race before the trouble started. A broken shock causing him to lose two laps. Returning to the track, he who would have liked to give himself a nice 16th birthday present (June 5) but had to retire following the rupture of his suspension and his front left tire with nine laps to go and he was just outside the top-10. This makes him lose big points on the leader in the championship where he is third.

"Had a good car but not how we wanted it to end. After getting held up in traffic in qualyfing we ended up eigth driving are way up to fourth fast then up to second, Just as fast as the leaders. Unfortunately Broke a left front shock bolt causing us to fall back hard and go two laps down, then a couple laps after we fixed it blew the left front tire. Just no luck this weekend we where fast but wasn't are weekend." Tyler said.

"We were up to second, the left front shock mount bolt sheared and came out… Then cut a tire to end the day….eight laps down." Said Chris Lowden (owner).

No. 46 Kyle Sieg (Lowden Jackson Motorsports) Start: 23rd – Fin: 17th engine

We can say it, car No. 46 appears to be cursed this season whether it is with Smotherman or here with Sieg, it is perpetually plagued by mechanical problems. Here, it was the engine. Only one lap in practice, zero in the qualifying session. Yet Sieg was doing well at the start of the race, managing to gain positions. But its engine was losing power and the team preferred to stop the car definitively after its 44th lap before it broke for good. She was two behind the leaders.

No. 50 Trevor Huddleston (High Point Racing) Start: 7th – Fin: 12th

With the car that allowed Jake Drew to win all the road track races last year, Huddleston was in a trance. Excellent driving, especially in the second half of the race where he was on par with his teammate of the day Cole Custer. The double was even possible for the team at one point in the race.

But everything went wrong in the last corner. While occupying the second position behind Lewis, Trevor was the victim of the ardor of Sean Hingorani who pushed him into the grass. Time to get back on track and he crossed the finish line in 12th position. A result that absolutely does not reflect the superb race he had had so far.

No. 52 Ryan Philpott (Philpott Racing) Start: 16th – Fin: 19th engine

No success for Philpott this year. Lacking rhythm, he only managed briefly thanks to the strategies of each other to integrate the top10 a few moment. But it didn't last and shortly before the halfway point, when he was 14th, he had to park his car for good, his engine coughing threatening to break. He preferred to avoid the worst, breaking it for good to return better armed at Sonoma.

No. 55 Cole Custer (High Point Racing) Start: 3rd – Fin: 2nd

In order to prepare for his Xfinity Series race the next day, Custer came for a one-off appearance in the West Series. He was a formidable contender for victory. Well qualified, he had his first alert on lap five when Sawalich pushed him into the grass on Turn 4. Out of the top-10, he was going to make a pit stop on lap 17. Quickly moving up into the top-five. At the restart following halfway he took the advantage over Herbst and would keep the lead until the 54th lap.

Surprised by Lewis during the last restart, he briefly managed to regain first position at the start of the last lap by going inside in the first chicane. But Lewis accelerated better out of the chicane and regained first position in Turn 4. Coming out of Turn 7, Custer missed a gear shift and lost two positions. However, the collision in the last corner between the No. 15 and his teammate offered him second position on a silver platter.

No. 70 Kyle Keller (Kyle Keller Racing with Last Chance Racing) Start: 17th – Fin: 20th engine

Engine failure in Bakersfield, Engine failure at PIR… It doesn't matter the team and the car. Same result in the last two races for Keller. Indeed, for the two road track races of the season, he is not driving as usual for Jerry Pitts Racing but for his own KKR team in alliance with Last Chance Racing. The car from LCR used was the one driven last year by Vince Little.

A car that obviously had one or the other gremlins hidden in the engine. For his first road track race in career, Kyle was learning and showing himself to be more and more efficient when the engine broke at the end of the backstretch. The reason being that the transmission got stuck in second gear causing the engine to overspeed fatally.

"First Stock car road race in the books. Not the way we wanted to finish with a blown motor but we keep heading forward with a move to sonoma! Was running good in the race making gains when it happened but my team worked there tails off all week and friday! Thank you to my amazing crew for all there hard work!" Keller said.

No. 88 Bradley Erickson (Naake-Klauer Motorsports) Start: 13th – Fin: 6th

As always, the young rookie is studious and progressing quickly. For his first race at the PIR, he was easily in the top 10 when he was the victim of a mishap that you don't especially want to have on a road track. His shift lever broke. Forcing Erickson to spend time at his pit box.

The team will repair quickly but the No. 88 loses a lap on the leaders. Braldey climbs up to 13th position when the last yellow flag is waved. Benefiting from the free pass, he fully exploited this new opportunity offered to him and he took the checkered flag in an excellent sixth position.

Bradley Erickson says: "Very good weekend in Portland. I learned a ton. I was happy with finishing P6 for my first road course race. About halfway through the race my shifter broke and went one lap down because of it but we were able to catch the lucky dog at the end of the race and get 6th. For Sonoma, I feel confident just because I know what to expect from a road course race and aim for a better result"

Mike Naake (owner) says: "Everything went well. Bradley did a great job the first time ever going to Portland his first ARCA race. We had an unscheduled pitstop due to a broken shift lever …repair that lost a lap got a lap back finished sixth Made a big jump in points. We are now only one point out of second place no damage to the car and currently getting ready for Sonoma."

No. 99 Caleb Shrader (Bill McAnally Racing) Start: 9th – Fin: 7th

A specialist in road tracks, Shrader knew the PIR track like the back of his hand thanks to the SCCA races. And he put his experience to good use to claim a fine seventh position for his first career race in the West Series. He even entered the top-five for many laps. And yet all he wanted was to finish the race. In the end he is the best of the four BMR drivers.

"I was very excited to start this race, because it was an amazing opportunity for me. I just wanted to stay clean for a majority of the race, keep my fenders on and make sure I had something for the end. I gave it everything in the end and I’m very happy with my seventh-place finish for my first race." Shrader said.

Due to a goKart race (SKUSA Nationals) this weekend he will not be present in Sonoma. But he has proven he can do the job, so we absolutely have to see him back in the West Series quickly!

Next race this Friday, June 9 at Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, CA for the General Tire 200. Second and final road race of the 2023 season