For a series that has faced criticism for its car count over the past several years, 30 drivers are entered for the ARCA Menards Series race at Michigan International Speedway, the most since the 2016 event.
Furthermore, zero former winners, not even from the NASCAR national series MIS events, are entered. It’ll be a 100-lap race to take home the trophy from winning the Henry Ford Health 200.
So, who are the favorites, and what are the storylines?
Expect the usual frontrunners to contend for the victory. The last time someone won an ARCA MIS race from starting outside the top five was in 2012, and the last driver to win from starting outside the top 10 was in 1997. So if you want to win at MIS, you’d better qualify well.
In the owners’ points top 10, therefore, are Joe Gibbs Racing, both Pinnacle Racing Group entries, four Nitro Motorsports ones, Maples Motorsports’ No. 91, KLAS Motorsports’ No. 71, and CR7 Motorsports’ No. 97.
PRG has a two-race winning streak at MIS and Chevrolet has won three of the last four there, too. Connor Mosack will drive the No. 28 Chevrolet and Lanie Buice will drive the No. 77 Chevrolet.
Mosack has four MIS starts in his career, with one top five and one top-10 finish, including his third-place result in the ARCA race there in 2023. He also led nine laps in that race.
Buice, meanwhile, is visiting Michigan for the first time. In her five-race ARCA tenure, she has one top five and three top 10s. Her crew chief Kevin Reed Jr. has won three times this year with Tristan McKee in the No. 77.
Gio Ruggiero is the only multi-time national division winner this season and he returns to the JGR No. 18. Ruggiero competed in both the ARCA and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races at Michigan in 2025. He finished fourth in the ARCA one, including leading 35 laps.
“When you need to get laps at a place like Michigan to help you race your truck, that’s exactly why Gio Ruggiero is here,” ARCA Communications Manager Charlie Krall said on the Frontstretch Happy Hour Podcast. “He’s going to get to come and run 200 miles in race conditions against a pretty stout field.”
JGR and Pinnacle have both won in 2026. Nitro has not. Its five-car effort at Michigan should have a good shot at the victory.
Isabella Robusto started second and finished ninth in this race last year. Thomas Annunziata’s crew chief Shannon Rursch has won twice at MIS, in 2019 and 2023. To boot, Jake Bollman leads the points. Bollman has history on his side, too. Michigan has seen 16 first-time winners over the years. Yes, the Nitro full timers will be strong.
So too will the team’s two part-time drivers, Wesley Slimp and Gavan Boschele. Slimp’s No. 15 entry is 12th in owners’ points despite not competing at Toledo Speedway. Boschele has a pair of fourth-place runs in his two main-series starts this year, including at intermediate Kansas Speedway.
Bollman leads the points by 17 over Ryan Vargas, 20 over Annunziata, 31 over Andy Jankowiak and 43 over Jason Kitzmiller.
Vargas has made two NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series starts at MIS. His No. 91 MMS entry is fifth in owners’ points, clearly performing outstandingly against well-backed and manufacturer-backed organizations.
“I feel great, honestly,” Vargas told Frontstretch. “We’ve done a lot of work on Goldie since Kansas, and with my previous laps there, I feel a bit more at ease. However, I’ve yet to run an ARCA car here, so I’m in for a learning curve. The experience will help for sure, but with a different engine/aero package compared to O’Reilly, it’s going to be a learning process. A good run is just sticking to our plan of being smart and letting the race come to us. Being smart got us here.”
Vargas finished 11th in that Kansas race, gaining three spots from start to finish.
Jankowiak suffered a serious blow to his goal of staying full time and chasing the driver’s championship when he crashed at Toledo. He has visited Michigan three times and notched a fourth-place showing in the ’23 edition.
“We need a home run at Michigan and Pocono Raceway to keep the charge going into Berlin Raceway or Elko Speedway,” Jankowiak told Frontstretch. “We love Michigan and feel great heading into there. We have one of our favorite cars going and we feel very confident.”
Kitzmiller had a solid day at Toledo, P7, following his crash at Watkins Glen International in the previous race. He’s been to Michigan six times, scoring three top 10s with back-to-back ones.
“Michigan has always been a track I’ve looked forward to going to,” Kitzmiller said in a team release. “It’s a fast place with a lot of room to race, and we’ve been able to put together some solid runs there over the years. Our team has continued to make gains throughout the season, and I feel like we’re heading there with a lot of confidence.
“If we can qualify well, keep up with the track conditions and make the right adjustments throughout the race, I think we’ll have an opportunity to be in the mix when it matters most. Hopefully, we can put together another strong finish and maybe even leave there with our best result of the year.”
Admittedly, it’d be a disservice to this column not to mention Cleetus McFarland, AKA Garrett Mitchell, and George Siciliano, known as Squirrel McNutt. They’ll be back in their regular Nos. 30 and 0. McFarland will be pulling double duty as he will make his second career Truck start on Saturday at Michigan. Neither driver has competed at MIS before.
“We’ve been counting down the days to get back in an ARCA car,” McFarland said in a team release. “Talladega was a blast and gave us a lot of confidence. To be able to race up front, lead laps and come that close to a win showed what this team is capable of.
“Michigan is going to be a new challenge, but that’s part of the fun. Getting to race both the ARCA car and the Truck this weekend means a lot more seat time, a lot more learning and hopefully a chance to be competitive in both races.
“It’s a big weekend, and we’re going to give it everything we’ve got.”
Rette Jones Racing previously had actor-turned-racecar driver Frankie Muniz in its ARCA car at Michigan. Muniz captured his career-best racing result in the ’23 ARCA race at Michigan when he came home fifth, also his lone top five.
As for Siciliano, he was 12th in the Kansas race earlier this year.
“I’m excited to get back in the car and see what Michigan is all about,” Siciliano said in a team release. “Every race this season has taught me something different, and I feel like I’ve become more comfortable and confident each time we’ve unloaded. … Those experiences have been huge for my development, and hopefully we can use everything we’ve learned so far to put together our best race yet.
“The goal is simple — stay patient, execute all day and put ourselves in position at the end. If we do that, I think a top-10 finish is something we can definitely contend for.”
Hot take: McFarland finishes inside the top five while Siciliano finishes 11th.
We’ll find out where they’ll finish, along with their competitors, in the ARCA race on Friday, June 5. The green flag will fly at 5 p.m. ET with TV coverage provided by FOX Sports 2.
Mark Kristl joined Frontstretch at the beginning of the 2019 NASCAR season. He is the site's ARCA Menards Series editor. Kristl is also an Eagle Scout and a proud University of Dayton alum.
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