The ARCA race at Daytona was incredibly chaotic, much like the Truck Series race. Daytona International Speedway is notorious for hosting some of the wildest NASCAR races in history, and the 2024 season openers were no exception. The Truck Series race was a wreck fest, with the race ultimately ending under caution. Surprisingly, the ARCA season opener had a nearly identical incident occur.
Right from the start, the race was filled with chaos. Within just four laps, multiple drivers were involved in a massive crash. As the race continued, with 18 laps to go, the pole sitter found themselves caught up in another incident. This late crash led to the race going into overtime.
On the final lap, two drivers from Venturini Motorsports, who had been leading for most of the race, lined up side by side. Unlike before, they chose not to do a teammate restart. This decision proved to be crucial, as another driver behind them, Jake Finch, pushed too hard and caused a massive wreck. Meanwhile, Gus Dean managed to avoid the chaos and secure the victory.
During the wreck, Finch’s car made contact with the outside wall, resulting in several cars on the outside lane being collected in the chaos. One driver, Andres Perez, who had been driving alongside the leaders, ended up on top of Jankowiak’s car, triggering the mess.
The NASCAR fans who were eagerly anticipating the race knew that there would be some chaos, but they certainly didn’t expect it to be such a disaster. Many of them expressed their disappointment and took to social media to share their views. They criticized the drivers for their lack of skill and even labeled some of them as privileged individuals.
Unfortunately, the last lap of the race tarnished what could have been a significant moment for the team and an emotional one for the drivers. For Gus Dean, the victory held great meaning as he dedicated it to his grandfather. Additionally, Venturini celebrated their 100th race win.
It’s astonishing to think that wealth and privilege seem to be the only qualifications needed to be behind the wheel tonight. I can’t help but wonder what could have been if I had the money to participate in one of these races.
Gus Dean is not the true winner in my opinion. He either directly or indirectly caused multiple wrecks involving his teammates.
It’s a shame that Andrés was having such a great race, only for it to end in such a heartbreaking way.
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According to the Source firstsportz.com