NOTEBOOK: Strong field of drivers looking to make history in 60th ARCA Daytona 200

Saturday’s Daytona 200 at Daytona International Speedway marks the 60th visit by the ARCA Menards Series to the World Center of Racing.

It’s a monumental moment for ARCA, which was founded in 1953 by John Marcum as the Midwest Association for Race Cars. The series was rebranded as the Automobile Racing Club of America in 1964, the same year the series made its Daytona debut.

The inaugural race at Daytona, held on Feb. 9, 1964, was a 250-mile affair that was won by Nelson Stacy. The three-time ARCA Menards Series champion took the lead on the 73rd circuit and went on to beat runner-up Ernie Derr by more than a lap.

In all, 41 drivers have secured ARCA Menards Series victories in the Daytona 200. The exclusive list of race winners features a number of recognizable names.

Benny Parsons conquered the ARCA field at Daytona in 1969, one year after claiming his first of two series championships. Driving a Ford Torino Talladega, Parsons led all but 11 of the 120 laps contested to earn his only Daytona ARCA triumph. He would go on to collect his second ARCA championship later that season.

One year later, two-time ARCA champion and 1976 Daytona 500 pole-sitter Ramo Stott wrote his own chapter in Daytona history. Driving a new Plymouth Superbird, Stott inherited the lead when Iggy Katona’s car suddenly blew a tire with only seven miles left in the race. Stott was running third at the time, but when second-place Charlie Watson had to brake to avoid Katona’s crashing car, Stott slipped past to take the lead and later the victory.

ARCA at Daytona: Entry list | Complete event schedule

You can’t talk about the history of ARCA at Daytona without talking about Kyle Petty’s unbelievable victory in 1979. Making not just his ARCA debut, but also his racing debut, the 19-year-old Petty held off John Rezek and Phil Finney in the final laps to claim an incredible triumph that has never been duplicated.

Two years later, the unforgettable Tim Richmond arrived on the scene in emphatic fashion by claiming an ARCA victory at Daytona. Driving an Oldsmobile previously campaigned by Hoss Ellington’s team in the NASCAR Cup Series, he held off Joe Ruttman in a race that also featured Davey Allison and Ken Schrader.

A future Daytona 500 winner, Ryan Newman first tasted victory at Daytona in the ARCA Menards Series. Driving for Roger Penske, Newman secured his ARCA triumph at Daytona in 2001 after drafting by Ricky Hendrick on the 64th circuit to take the lead for the final time.

Long before he was a two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, Kyle Busch also made a name for himself by winning in ARCA competition at Daytona. Overcoming a one-lap penalty for a pit road violation, Busch held off eight-time ARCA champion Frank Kimmel to take the victory.

The man who has enjoyed the most success at Daytona in ARCA competition is Bobby Gerhart, a winner of eight ARCA Menards Series races at the legendary 2.5-mile superspeedway. His first victory came in 1999 and doubled as his first ARCA triumph in 113 starts.

Of his eight victories, the wildest one turned out to be his last in 2012. Running fifth coming out of Turn 4 on the final lap, Gerhart rocketed into the lead when the four cars in front of him driven by Brandon McReynolds, Chris Windom, Will Kimmel and Steve Blackburn ran out of gas. The final lap was the only lap Gerhart led that day.

With no previous race winners entered in Saturday’s 2023 opener, we’re guaranteed to see a name added to the list of ARCA Menards Series victors at Daytona.

All eyes on Frankie Muniz ahead of his ARCA debut

When the green flag waves to start Saturday’s Daytona 200 at Daytona, all eyes will be on Frankie Muniz, the driver who recorded the fastest lap in Thursday’s hour-long practice session.

The actor-turned-racer is making his ARCA Menards Series debut in Saturday’s race for Rette Jones Racing. It’s a moment many years in the making for Muniz, who has long been interested in racing.

He made his professional racing debut in 2006 when he competed in what was then called Formula BMW USA, an open-wheel racing series. He used that experience to advance to the Atlantic Championship, another open-wheel series, where he raced from 2007-09 and earned a best finish of fourth.

He didn’t return to professional racing again until 2021, when he raced a pro late model at Kern County Raceway Park in Bakersfield, California. He took part in the Daytona pre-race practice in 2022, and that ultimately led him to his current deal with Rette Jones Racing, which will see him contest the entire ARCA schedule.

The driver from Wood-Ridge, New Jersey, has only one goal. He wants to prove he belongs.

“I want to prove to people that I’m here to take it seriously. I’m not just here for a fluke. I’m not just here for publicity,” Muniz said. “I’ve wanted this my entire life. You know what I mean?

“I’m mad I waited 12 years after my last racing experience to get here. I want people to look at me and see me on track and go, ‘Wow, he belongs.’”

A.J. Moyer throwing back to his champion father

A.J. Moyer will make his Daytona debut in style Saturday by honoring his father, 1981 ARCA Menards Series champion Larry Moyer.

The younger Moyer will drive a car with a wrap reminiscent of the scheme his father drove to the ARCA championship during the 1981 season.

Can’t wait to get this #06 @TeamChevy on the high banks of @DAYTONA with @ARCA_Racing pic.twitter.com/8RmOMUQYsu

— A.J. Moyer Racing (@realAJMOYER) January 31, 2023

The elder Moyer captured his lone ARCA championship largely thanks to consistency. He won just one race, at Ohio’s Dayton Speedway, compared to Marvin Smith’s four victories in six starts that year. Moyer’s victory at Dayton would turn out to be his only in ARCA competition, but it was enough to catapult him to the series title.

At 35, A.J. Moyer will now make his Daytona ARCA debut. He has competed in five ARCA Menards Series events thus far, earning a career-best finish of ninth in his debut at another Ohio track, Toledo Speedway.

NOTES:

• A whopping nine drivers will be making their ARCA Menards Series debuts in Saturday’s race. They include Lavar Scott, Zach Herrin, Frankie Muniz, Robby Lyons, Hunter Deshautelle, Steve Lewis Jr., Logan Misuraca, Gage Rodgers and Miguel Gomes.
• Since 1979, the Daytona 200 has been won from the pole seven times: Jeff Purvis in 1993, Andy Hillenburg in 1997, Bobby Gerhart in 2005 and 06, John Wes Townley in 2013, Michael Self in 2020 and Corey Heim in 2022.
• Willie Mullins, the 2018 Daytona runner-up, will make his 25th series start in Saturday’s Daytona 200. He’ll once again have Brayton Laster, who is making his third series start, as his teammate.
• NASCAR Whelen Euro Series driver Miguel Gomes will bring some international flair to Saturday’s race. The driver from Portugal will drive the No. 02 Chevrolet for Young’s Motorsports, who is fielding the car in partnership with the Empire Racing Group.
• Don’t count out 62-year-old Dale Quarterley during the Daytona 200. He acquired a superspeedway car from GMS Racing during the offseason and could be a surprise contender at the end of Saturday’s 80-lap event.