Season 38 of the ARCA Menards East Series kicks off Saturday, March 23 at Five Flags Speedway. The 0. 5-mile short course, highlighted by the Snowball Derby in December, will host the East Course for the seventh time.
The 18 drivers entered for the 150-lap race are the most recorded at Five Flags since the 2020 edition. Among those 18 drivers, one stands out for his short-track prowess.
Yes, Bubba Pollard will drive the No. 1 Chevrolet of former team owner James Finch. Short-track enthusiasts know Pollard for his successes, which recently came with the victory of the 2024 Rattler 250 at South Alabama Speedway. The Pensacola 150 will be Pollard’s East Series debut; he already has five starts in the ARCA Menards series.
Pollard has done it at many racetracks; Can he win the East race?
“Yes, I promise you, it’s going to be a contender in all three,” Five Flags co-owner and general manager Tim Bryant told Frontstretch.
Although Pollard has never won the Derby, so close in 2023, it has been a success on the track. He is a multi-time champion of the Blizzard Series, a series of 4 very recent races leading up to the Snowball Derby. He won more than 30 races at Five Flags.
However, Bryant calls Pollard the favorite to win the East race. Instead, Bryant said two more were the first two to watch out for Saturday night.
“Gio Ruggiero is definitely a contender, no matter what he drives,” Bryant said. “And of course, he’ll be here in a Venturini Motorsports car, so we know he’s going to be a contender. But I am completely convinced that the favorite for the ARCA race is William Sawalich. He just got an ARCA win at Phoenix Raceway and drives a Joe Gibbs Racing car, so he’ll be the guy with a goal on his back.
Sawalich is the East’s defending winner at Five Flags, his first win en route to the 2023 series championship. He beat Ruggiero in Phoenix; They finished 1-2 respectively. Ruggiero finished third in the 2023 Snowball Derby.
Ruggiero will challenge Sawalich for the 2024 East crown, and Ruggiero has also had success on newer models. Among his accomplishments is winning the 2023 Winchester 400, a historic short track race.
Ruggiero drives the No. 20 for VMS, the access he finished third in the Five Flags East ’23 event. Who drove it that day? The son of Pollard team owner Jake Finch, who will drive the No. 55. Bryant is Finch will be one of the contenders on Saturday night.
“He won a championship here in our Outlaw department before moving up to the later ranks of styles,” Bryant added. “He’s going to do double duty, just like Bubba, running the ARCA East race, where Finch finished third last year, and then Sunday’s super late-style race. “
In the East 23 race at Five Flags, Luke Fenhaus gave Pinnacle Racing Group a second-place finish in the team’s debut. This year, Connor Zilisch drives the No. 28 Chevrolet full-time in the East. Zilisch also has a résumé.
In 2024 alone, Zilisch won the Rolex 24 at Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring Mobil 1. Zilisch will have a busy day on Saturday; He made his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debut at Circuit of the Americas. He will miss the standings at Five Flags, but his No. 28 will be in the hands of the family.
“I’ve prepared a lot to be in position for any of the races,” Zilisch told ARCA Racing. “I’m in a position to make the most of the opportunity with ARCA’s car and truck. Pensacola will be the most important thing, because I’m going to go out on track with no training or qualification and no ARCA car on an oval. There will be a lot of new things for me, but I’m doing everything I can. be in a position to do so.
In addition to the four drivers, Bryant highlighted two others who will be fast on Saturday: Hunter Wright and Tyler Scofield. Wright will make his series debut in the No. 95 MAN Motorsports. Wright won the 2024 Asphalt Stock Car World Series. Racing Pro Late Model Championship at New Smyrna Speedway in Florida.
“Hunter has yet to figure out his way to victory here in Pensacola, however, he has been a contender, most commonly in the pro style ranks with a few one-off visits to super recent styles,” Bryant said. So it’s his first outing in the ARCA East series here and at least it’s a track he knows well, so I’m expecting a smart race from Hunter.
Scofield makes his debut in the series; his father, Jeff Scofield, made his season opener of the national series at Daytona International Speedway, but weathered an accident early in the race, which left him with a retirement in 36th place.
“Tyler didn’t run here at Five Flags,” Bryant said. His father, Jeff, raced here and remains a wonderful runner today. They’re guys from Central Florida and they know how to do homework, that’s for sure.
The Snowball Derby brings together a mix of NASCAR drivers like 2023 winner Ty Majeski, ARCA drivers like Ruggiero and recent modeling talent like Pollard.
“We love seeing our young drivers embark on an adventure to succeed at the next level,” said Bryant. “And certainly, we’re seeing that with the guys coming from the newest models in the ARCA East series. At the same time, we appreciate our veterans who are simply fans of short tracks. This weekend we have a clever combination of both and that’s just the way we like it.
On Sunday, the day after the East race, the ASA Stars National Tour will compete in its second event of the season at Five Flags. Ruggiero and Finch serve a dual role. Pollard will host a tripleheader this weekend. He competed in the Crown Stock race, which preceded the East race, as well as the East and ASA races.
If Pollard wins on the weekend, he’ll win $5,000 and a fan will win $1,000.
“He can certainly drive it all and do it well,” Bryant said. I think he’s going to be a contender. “
In the six East races and six national races in Pensacola, the winner has only started the top five outdoors twice; All winners started in the best 10. On-court experience is rarely a prerequisite to winning according to Bryant, but it’s beneficial.
“Experience at any track is definitely a credit to a driver,” Bryant said. “He knows the track best and its characteristics. People will tell you that Five Flags is a bit fickle. Even Bubba, who has probably done more laps here than who will compete in the race.
“The track is adjusted frequently. With the weather, and I don’t know the reasons, if we’re built on an Indian burial ground or whatever, however, the circuit has some features that are different. From that point of view, I don’t know if it’s a great merit for someone who has raced here compared to someone who hasn’t raced here.
My prediction: Pollard wins the Pensacola on Saturday night.
You will be able to follow the race live on Saturday, March 23 at 8:30 p. m. AND on FloRacing.
Mark Kristl joined Frontstretch at the start of the 2019 NASCAR season. He is the editor of the site’s ARCA Menards series. Kristl is also an Eagle Scout and a proud alumnus of the University of Dayton.