When it comes to the ARCA Menards Series, Ty Gibbs‘ consistent domination in 2021 has led to a number of wins for the driver of the No. 18. Gibbs was about to add win number six on the season Saturday (July 11) night at Elko Speedway, leading 236 of the 250 laps, until he didn’t and Corey Heim walked away with the Menards 250 victory.
On a restart with three laps to go, points leader Heim dove into turn 1 and bumped his championship rival Gibbs up the track, taking the lead away.
It’s Heim’s second straight main ARCA series win, the fourth of this season, and his fifth career victory.
“He’s going to go cry about it like he always does because he loses,” Heim said in a post-race interview with MAVTV. When asked if the move was planned, he simply replied with a “no comment.”
WOW@CoreyHeim3 muscles his way to the lead on the final restart and WINS at @elkospeedway ? pic.twitter.com/uI9QHPoFbp
— ARCA Menards Series (@ARCA_Racing) July 11, 2021
Gibbs finished fourth and exited the race second in points. He posted the fastest time in the practice session, then won the pole. After the race, he stayed coy with his remarks.
"I feel like we had a good Toyota and I'm thankful to be here. We're gonna keep moving on" says Gibbs on @MAVTV. #ARCAMenards #NASCAR "No reason to worry about anything, no reason to have any issues. He's got planned out for me so I'll just follow along. I'm happy where I'm at"
— Brett Winningham (@NASCAR_BRETT) July 11, 2021
Heim’s Venturini Motorsports teammates Jesse Love and Gracie Trotter both posted their career-best main ARCA series finishes in second and third, respectively.
Taylor Gray, who has rebounded from a non-racing car accident and missed a good portion of the season, came home in fifth to round out the top five.
Rookie Nick Sanchez wound up sixth for his seventh straight top 10 finish. In his first main ARCA series race with GMS Racing, Daniel Dye finished in seventh place. Willie Mullins finished as the last driver on the lead lap in eighth place, nabbing his first top 10 finish of this season. Thad Moffitt continued his top 10 streak with his eighth straight top 10 finish in ninth. In his main ARCA series debut, Adam Lemke rounded out the top 10.
ARCA will continue its five straight race stretch next Saturday (July 17) when the series visits Berlin Raceway. The 0.438-mile short track in Marne, MI will host the series in the Zinsser Smart Coat 200 which will begin at 8 p.m. ET with TV coverage provided by MAVTV and available on TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold.
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I think Brett Winningham did some editing on Ty Gibbs MAV TV interview.