Friday, March 12
Track: Phoenix (Ariz.) Raceway, one-mile paved tri-oval
Race: 2 of 20
Event: General Tire 150 (150 laps, 150 miles)
Schedule
Final Practice: 3:45 p.m. ET
Qualifying: 5:30 p.m. ET
Race: 7:30 p.m. ET (MAVTV)
Taylor Gray, No. 17 Ripper Coffee Fusion
- Friday night will mark Gray’s second career start at Phoenix Raceway. He qualified seventh and finished third in ARCA Menards Series West action on November 7 of last year. The event was the first race together for the young driver and crew chief Chad Johnston.
- Johnston has called the shots for 17 NASCAR Cup Series races at the one-mile tri-oval with five top-five and eight top-10 finishes between Martin Truex Jr., Tony Stewart and Kyle Larson. Last fall was his first time serving as an ARCA crew chief.
- Gray’s older brother, Tanner, piloted the No. 17 Ford Performance Fusion to a fourth-place result in last year’s March event at Phoenix.
Gray on Phoenix: “The last few races at Phoenix the No. 17 has run really well with my brother in the spring and then me in the fall. To finish third in my first race at the track was pretty cool and I think we have a great opportunity to back that up with another solid run this time. It will be my first race with the Ripper Coffee colors on the car, so hopefully we can give them a good showing.”
Thad Moffitt, No. 46 CleanPacs Ford Fusion
- Moffitt will make his second career start at Phoenix Raceway on Friday night. His previous start at the one-mile racetrack came on March 6 of last year with an 18th-place result after an accident on lap 127.
- In addition to the March race, crew chief Derek Smith returned to Phoenix in November for the ARCA West race with David Gilliland and the No. 4 Ford Fusion. The duo swept the weekend by qualifying on the pole and leading 23 laps en route to victory.
- CleanPacs brand by Aqua ChemPacs returns as primary sponsor of the No. 46 Ford Fusion for Phoenix after adorning the quarter panels in the season opener at Daytona. Moffitt will carry the blue and green colors in five additional ARCA Menards Series events – Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway, Pocono (Pa.) Raceway, Iowa Speedway and Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.
Moffitt on Phoenix: “Phoenix is a super fun racetrack and one of my favorite that we go to. When you get guys to move up and use the traction compound it opens the track up and allows you to use multiple lanes throughout the race. Restarts are insane too with everyone fanning out 4-5 wide through the dogleg. There are a lot of great cars entered for this weekend, so it should be an awesome race.”
