The 2023 Atlas 200 was the 19th stock car race of the 2023 ARCA Menards Series season, and the 26th iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, September 30, 2023, in Salem, Indiana at Salem Speedway, a 0.555 miles (0.893 km) permanent oval shaped racetrack. The race took the scheduled 200 laps to complete. In a wild race, Jesse Love, driving for Venturini Motorsports, would put on a blistering performance, leading every lap from the pole to earn his 12th career ARCA Menards Series win, and his tenth of the season.[4] To fill out the podium, Andrés Pérez de Lara, driving for Rev Racing, and Christian Rose, driving for AM Racing, would finish 2nd and 3rd, respectively.

2023 Atlas 200
Race details[1][2][3]
Race 19 of 20 of the 2023 ARCA Menards Series
Date September 30, 2023
Official name 27th Annual Atlas 200
Location Salem Speedway, Salem, Indiana
Course Permanent racing facility
0.555 mi (0.893 km)
Distance 200 laps, 111 mi (178 km)
Scheduled Distance 200 laps, 111 mi (178 km)
Average speed 74.678 mph (120.183 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Venturini Motorsports
Time 17.106
Most laps led
Driver Jesse Love Venturini Motorsports
Laps 200
Winner
No. 20 Jesse Love Venturini Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network FS2
Announcers Eric Brennan and Phil Parsons
Radio in the United States
Radio ARCA Racing Network

In addition to winning, Love would ultimately clinch the 2023 ARCA Menards Series championship one race early by taking the green flag.[5][6]

Background

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Salem Speedway is a .555-mile (0.893 km) long paved oval racetrack in Washington Township, Washington County, near Salem, Indiana, United States, approximately 100 miles (160 km) south of Indianapolis. The track has 33° degrees of banking in the corners. Major auto racing series that run at Salem are ARCA and USAC.

Entry list

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  • (R) denotes rookie driver.
# Driver Team Make Sponsor
0 Nate Moeller Wayne Peterson Racing Toyota Wayne Peterson Racing
2 Andrés Pérez de Lara (R) Rev Racing Chevrolet Max Siegel Inc.
03 Alex Clubb Clubb Racing Inc. Ford Clubb Racing Inc.
06 Kevin Hinckle Wayne Peterson Racing Ford KH Automotive
10 Tim Monroe Fast Track Racing Ford Fast Track Racing
11 Zachary Tinkle Fast Track Racing Toyota Racing for Rescues
12 Ed Pompa Fast Track Racing Ford HYTORC of New York, Double "H" Ranch
15 Toni Breidinger Venturini Motorsports Toyota Victoria's Secret, Raising Cane's
18 William Sawalich Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Starkey, SoundGear
20 Jesse Love Venturini Motorsports Toyota JBL
25 Brent Crews Venturini Motorsports Toyota Yahoo!, Mobil 1
30 Frankie Muniz (R) Rette Jones Racing Ford Ford Performance
31 Brayton Laster Rise Motorsports Chevrolet Rise Motorsports
32 Christian Rose (R) AM Racing Ford West Virginia Tourism
48 Brad Smith Brad Smith Motorsports Ford Oktoberfest Race Weekend
66 Jon Garrett (R) Veer Motorsports Chevrolet Fort Worth Screen Printing
68 Mike Basham Kimmel Racing Ford Kimmel Racing
69 Will Kimmel Kimmel Racing Ford Kimmel Racing
95 Conner Popplewell MAN Motorsports Toyota Sunset Park RV Manufacturing
Official entry list

Practice

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The first and only practice session was held on Saturday, September 30, at 3:45 PM EST, and would last for 45 minutes.[7] William Sawalich, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 17.232, and an average speed of 115.947 mph (186.599 km/h).[8]

Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 18 William Sawalich Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 17.232 115.947
2 69 Will Kimmel Kimmel Racing Ford 17.608 113.471
3 2 Andrés Pérez de Lara (R) Rev Racing Chevrolet 17.672 113.060
Full practice results

Qualifying

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Qualifying was held on Saturday, September 30, at 5:15 PM EST. The qualifying system used is a single-car, two-lap system with only one round. Whoever sets the fastest time in that round will win the pole.[7] Jesse Love, driving for Venturini Motorsports, would score the pole for the race, with a lap of 17.106, and an average speed of 116.801 mph (187.973 km/h).[9]

Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 20 Jesse Love Venturini Motorsports Toyota 17.106 116.801
2 18 William Sawalich Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 17.117 116.726
3 69 Will Kimmel Kimmel Racing Ford 17.308 115.438
4 25 Brent Crews Venturini Motorsports Toyota 17.541 113.905
5 32 Christian Rose (R) AM Racing Ford 17.725 112.722
6 2 Andrés Pérez de Lara (R) Rev Racing Chevrolet 17.808 112.197
7 30 Frankie Muniz (R) Rette Jones Racing Ford 17.880 111.745
8 15 Toni Breidinger Venturini Motorsports Toyota 17.942 111.359
9 95 Conner Popplewell MAN Motorsports Toyota 18.029 110.821
10 11 Zachary Tinkle Fast Track Racing Toyota 18.094 110.423
11 66 Jon Garrett (R) Veer Motorsports Chevrolet 18.542 107.755
12 31 Brayton Laster Rise Motorsports Chevrolet 18.560 107.651
13 68 Mike Basham Kimmel Racing Ford 18.683 106.942
14 12 Ed Pompa Fast Track Racing Ford 19.123 104.482
15 48 Brad Smith Brad Smith Motorsports Ford 19.763 101.098
16 03 Alex Clubb Clubb Racing Inc. Ford 19.786 100.980
17 10 Tim Monroe Fast Track Racing Ford 20.275 98.545
18 06 Kevin Hinckle Wayne Peterson Racing Ford 20.922 95.498
19 0 Nate Moeller Wayne Peterson Racing Toyota 22.939 87.101
Official qualifying results

Race results

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Fin[10] St # Driver Team Make Laps Led Status Pts
1 1 20 Jesse Love Venturini Motorsports Toyota 200 200 Running 49
2 5 2 Andrés Pérez de Lara (R) Rev Racing Chevrolet 200 0 Running 42
3 4 32 Christian Rose (R) AM Racing Ford 200 0 Running 41
4 7 15 Toni Breidinger Venturini Motorsports Toyota 199 0 Running 40
5 8 95 Conner Popplewell MAN Motorsports Toyota 198 0 Running 39
6 2 18 William Sawalich Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 195 0 Running 38
7 10 66 Jon Garrett (R) Veer Motorsports Chevrolet 192 0 Running 37
8 13 12 Ed Pompa Fast Track Racing Ford 187 0 Running 36
9 11 31 Brayton Laster Rise Motorsports Chevrolet 180 0 Running 35
10 6 30 Frankie Muniz (R) Rette Jones Racing Ford 119 0 Running 34
11 9 11 Zachary Tinkle Fast Track Racing Toyota 116 0 Engine 33
12 19 25 Brent Crews Venturini Motorsports Toyota 104 0 Running 32
13 3 69 Will Kimmel Kimmel Racing Ford 103 0 Suspension 31
14 17 06 Kevin Hinckle Wayne Peterson Racing Ford 88 0 Mechanical 30
15 15 03 Alex Clubb Clubb Racing Inc. Ford 45 0 Drive Train 29
16 14 48 Brad Smith Brad Smith Motorsports Ford 19 0 Oil Pressure 28
17 16 10 Tim Monroe Fast Track Racing Ford 9 0 Handling 27
18 12 68 Mike Basham Kimmel Racing Ford 5 0 Mechanical 26
19 18 0 Nate Moeller Wayne Peterson Racing Toyota 4 0 Handling 25
Official race results

Standings after the race

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References

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  1. ^ "Entry list: Atlas 200 at Salem Speedway". ARCA. September 27, 2023. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
  2. ^ "Qualifying results: Atlas 200 at Salem Speedway". ARCA. September 30, 2023. Retrieved September 30, 2023.
  3. ^ "Race results: Atlas 200 at Salem Speedway". ARCA. September 30, 2023. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
  4. ^ Calloni, Josh (September 30, 2023). "Jesse Love Wins at Salem, Locks Up 2023 ARCA Championship". Frontstretch. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
  5. ^ Fenwick, Adam (September 26, 2023). "PIT BOX: Champion-crowning moment looms as ARCA Menards Series reaches Salem Speedway for season's penultimate race". ARCA. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
  6. ^ Haislop, Tadd (September 30, 2023). "Jesse Love wins 2023 ARCA Menards Series championship". ARCA. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
  7. ^ a b "Schedule of events: Atlas 200 at Salem Speedway". ARCA. July 27, 2023. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
  8. ^ "Practice results: Atlas 200 at Salem Speedway". ARCA. September 30, 2023. Retrieved September 30, 2023.
  9. ^ Kristl, Mark (September 30, 2023). "Jesse Love Scores ARCA Pole at Salem". Frontstretch. Retrieved September 30, 2023.
  10. ^ "2023 Atlas 200 - The Third Turn". The Third Turn. Retrieved October 1, 2023.


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2023 Bush's Beans 200
ARCA Menards Series
2023 season
Next race:
2023 Shore Lunch 200