TALLADEGA, Ala.: Returning to the ARCA Menards Series for the first time since last July, sophomore driver Ryan Huff (@driverRyanHuff) returns to Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway hungry for a top-10 finish in Saturday afternoon’s General Tire 200.
The third ARCA event of the season will mark Huff’s third-career superspeedway start after competing in both superspeedway races at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway and Talladega, respectively.
Earning finishes of 21st and 13th respectively, Huff is rejuvenated about the chance to compete on a superspeedway and eye his third top-10 finish in the ARCA Menards Series competition.
Huff will drive the No. 36 Ford Fusion in his eighth career ARCA Menards Series race.
“I can’t wait to climb back in an ARCA car this weekend at Talladega,” said Huff who recently celebrated his 20th birthday on Apr. 13. “It has been nearly nine months since I’ve last competed in the series, but we have assembled a good team and a fast race car to help us make this weekend’s race a memorable one.
“We had hoped to compete at Daytona in February, unfortunately, this new superspeedway car took a little longer to put together because of everything going on with COVID-19. But our team has worked hard, and I feel confident that we can come out of the box swinging and draft to a top-10 or better on Saturday.”
Knowing he’ll start Saturday afternoon’s 76-lap race from the rear of the field, Huff admits their game plan is subject to change but they know in order to finish first, you must first finish.
“We’ll planning to take a conservative approach to the race on Saturday,” added Huff. “It’s important for us to get a good finish and look ahead at the rest of our 2021 season. I learned a lot at Talladega last June, but I also learned that having the right drafting partners is part of having a successful race.
“Our goal is to make it to the first segment, see where we are at and then hopefully press the attack from there.”
This weekend, Huff is excited to work with new spotter Chris Monez – a veteran spotter in the NASCAR Cup Series, Xfinity and Truck Series. Monez came highly recommended by a member of his team and Huff believes he could be the missing piece of the puzzle to take his team to that next level.
“I’ve never worked with a NASCAR Cup spotter before, but I am definitely looking forward to it,” added Huff. “I heard that Chris is excellent when it comes to spotting at the superspeedways and I look forward to his guidance and expertise. With his direction, I feel I can only improve my craft on the superspeedways.”
The remainder of Huff’s 2021 ARCA Menards Series schedule is still being pieced together, but the Williamsburg, Va. native hopes to have a larger presence in the series.
“We’re still ironing out the details, but we’re hoping to make Charlotte our next race following Talladega,” Huff explained. “We planned to run at Kansas Speedway next weekend but logistically we couldn’t make it work because of our commitment to racing locally around Virginia.
“Hopefully, we can have some good runs in ARCA that will propel us forward to returning to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series later this year.”
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“I’m so thankful for Land & Coates for continuing their support this season and continuing to stand with us through the pandemic and all,” sounded Huff. “It’s important to me to make sure I represent them and their customers well, as we are committed to building this partnership to new levels this season.”
Since 2020, Huff has seven ARCA Menards Series starts to his credit with a career-best finish of eighth at Kansas Speedway in July 2020. He earned his first career top-10 finish at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway in June 2020. Huff has started a career-best 11th three times. Despite competing in just seven races in 2020, Huff finished 14th in the championship standings.
For more on Ryan Huff, follow him on Twitter (@driverRyanHuff) and like him on Facebook (@driverRyanHuff).
The General Tire 200 (76 laps | 202.16 miles) is the third of 20 races on the 2021 ARCA Menards Series schedule. Practice begins Sat., Apr. 24 with a half-hour practice session from 9:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. The race is set to take the green flag shortly after 12:00 p.m. The event will be televised live on FOX Sports 1 (FS1), while ARCARacing.com will stream live timing and scoring throughout the entire weekend festivities. All times are local (CT).
