Saturday, February 27
Track: 5 Flags (Fla.) Speedway, half-mile paved oval
Race: 2 of 8
Event: Pensacola 200 Presented by INSPECTRA (200 laps, 100 miles)
Schedule
Final Practice: 1:15 p.m. ET
Qualifying: 3:30 p.m. ET
Race: 6:00 p.m. ET (Trackpass on NBC Sports Gold)
Taylor Gray, No. 17 Ford Performance Fusion
- Gray will make his second career start at 5 Flags Speedway on Saturday. On October 11 of last year, he qualified second and finished fourth in his first appearance at the Pensacola, Florida oval.
- In the ARCA Menards Series East season opener at New Smyrna Speedway, Gray earned his second career ARCA pole and led 43 laps en route to a third-place result in one of the closest finishes in ARCA history.
- In one year of action across the ARCA National, East and West Series’, the young driver has 11 starts on half-mile ovals with one win, seven top-five and 10 top-10 finishes.
- Click here for Gray’s career statistics.
Gray on Pensacola: “5 Flags is probably my favorite short track to race at on the schedule this year. It’s such a cool place with a lot of history. The surface is rough which makes you have to save your tires and it makes strategy come into play – I love it. We ran really well there in October and we had a lot of speed in the season opener at New Smyrna, so I can’t wait to get to the track again.”
Joey Iest, No. 54 ASN/Basila Ranch Ford Fusion
- Iest made his debut with David Gilliland Racing at New Smyrna (Fla.) Speedway on February 8 and brought home a fifth-place finish after qualifying third.
- While the west coast native has never visited 5 Flags Speedway, he is no stranger to the short track scene with most of the tracks in the central California area being smaller than a half-mile.
- Pensacola will be the first race together for Iest and crew chief Derek Smith after David Gilliland served as the crew chief in the season opener. Smith is a veteran in the ARCA series’ and most recently won with Gilliland at Phoenix Raceway last November.
- Click here for Iest’s career statistics.
Iest on Pensacola: “After New Smyrna, I can’t wait to get back to the track again with DGR. The team and car were outstanding and it seemed like we kept getting faster throughout the day. I like the half-mile race tracks where you have to take care of your brakes and save your tires for the end, so Pensacola should be a fun track for me and my experience on the west coast bullrings should help.”
