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The ARCA Menards East Series heads to the music city of Nashville, TN. / PC: ARCA Menards Racing FacebookAfter an incredible finish at Dover Motor Speedway, the ARCA Menards East Series will be rocking as they head to Nashville this Saturday for the “Music City 200” at the famous Fairgrounds Speedway. In the heart of the city, the East Series continues its 2023 season at one of America’s most famous short tracks.
Playing the classics
Looking back, the ARCA Menards Series first visited the short .596-mile track in 1992, where David Green won. Between 2015 and 2019, the ARCA Main Series made the transition to Music City. Winners include Grant Enfinger, Josh Williams, Zane Smith and Christian Eckes.
The ARCA Menards Series East made its inaugural visit to the track in 2007 when Matt Kobyluck took the checkered flag, with the series visiting the track since 2021. Sammy Smith has taken the trophy in each of the last two seasons.
Tuning for 200 laps
Heading into the 2023 Music City 250, Joe Gibbs Racing rookie driver William Savalich leads the ARCA East points. The Five Flags winner holds a one-point lead over Dover winner Jake Finch.
Finch will be looking to continue his momentum after his first career win. Last year’s winner will return behind the wheel of the No. 1 Toyota for his family team, Phoenix Racing. The Lynn Haven, Fla., native is driving for Venturini Motorsports for the first two races of the season. He will look to improve on his second place finish last season this weekend.
Luke Fenhaus is third in points after finishing second and third to start the season. After two of eight races, Lavar Scott and Zachary Tinkle round out the top five in the standings.
Tinkle will be looking to continue his strong start to the season with Fast Track Racing. The native of Speedway, Indiana, reached a career-high sixth at Dover Motor Speedway.
Rookie Sean Hingorani is sixth in the standings, just 16 points behind Savalic. The Newport Beach, Calif. native is hoping to bounce back after struggling in the East Series so far this season. Problems at Dover forced the 16-year-old to miss the start of the race, finishing 10th, 42 laps behind.
Other notable faces on the entry list include Brayton Laster, who will make his ARCA Menards Series East debut with Fast Track Racing. Tanner Arms will make his second East Series start of the season in the No. 95 for MAN Motorsports.
Late Model standout Gio Ruggiero will take the wheel of the No. 20 for Venturini Motorsports, replacing Jake Finch, making his ARCA Menards Series East debut. Stephanie Moyer also returns to the track, making her 2023 East season debut for Fast Track.
Official entry list for the 2023 Music City 200 at the Nashville Fairgrounds
| Login | # | Driver | A team | Crew chief |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 01 | Brayton Laster | Speedway racing Toyota |
Josh Duke |
| 2 | 06 | Nate Moeller | Wayne Peterson Racing Toyota |
Wayne Peterson |
| 3 | 1 | Jake Finch | Phoenix Racing Phoenix Construction Toyota |
Johnny Allen |
| 4 | 6 | Lavar Scott | Rev Racing Max Siegel Inc. Chevrolet |
Jay Wolfe |
| 5 | 10 | Tim Monroe | Speedway racing Universal Technical Institute Ford |
Tim Monroe |
| 6 | 11 | Zachary Tinkle | Speedway racing NASCAR Foundation NASCAR Day Giveathon Toyota |
Todd Parrett |
| 7 | 12 | Stephanie Moyer | Speedway racing Fast Track / UTI Chevrolet |
Dylan Hairston |
| 8 | 15 | Sean Don’t change | Venturini Motorsport Toyota |
Kevin Reed Jr |
| 9 | 18 | William Savalich | Joe Gibbs Racing Starkey / SoundGear |
Matt Ross |
| 10 | 20 | Joe Ruggerio | Venturini Motorsport Toyota |
Shannon Roorsch |
| 11 | 28 | Luke Fenhouse | Pinnacle Racing Group Chevrolet |
Shane Huffman |
| 12 | 31 | Rita Goulet | Rise Motorsports inspirationalchange.org Chevrolet |
Tim Goulet |
| 13 | 48 | Brad Smith | Brad Smith Motorsport Dill Ford |
Jeff Smith |
| 14 | 95 | Tanner Arms | MAN Motorsports Sunset Park Caravan Manufacturing Toyota |
Tony Ponkauskas |
| 15 | 98 | Dale Shearer | ShearerSpeed Toyota |
TBA |
You can watch the Music City 200 live on FloRacing at 9:30 a.m. EST on Saturday, May 13.